Focus area 1 – Developing positive community attitudes and upholding the rights of people with disability

a) Providing resources, training and education to support the delivery of rights based, person-centred health care for people with disability

Action 1: Implement a Disability Navigator in My Health Learning

Responsible: Health Education and Training Institute

Year due: 2026

Measure: Implemented.

Action 2: Collate, report and monitor My Health Learning disability related training completion data

Responsible: Health Education and Training Institute

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Number NSW Health staff by district completed module/s in 6-month period.

Action 3: Scope development of an NSW Health teaching pack - tool kit of generic templates for teaching aids and resources

Responsible: Health Education and Training Institute

Year due: 2026

Measure: Findings of scoping study – next steps.

Action 4: Review and refresh and/or build statewide learning resources related to disability

Responsible: Health Education and Training Institute

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Learning resources added, deleted, updated.

Action 5: Deliver Finding Your Way (FYW) Capability Training to support staff to initiate and engage in culturally responsive shared decision making with Aboriginal people with an intellectual disability, their families and carers

Responsible: Agency for Clinical Innovation

Year due: 2026

Measure: Number of people who complete the FYW capability training and bespoke module(s).

Priority group: Aboriginal people with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 6: Scope development of resources co-designed with Aboriginal people with an intellectual disability, their families and carers to support culturally responsive shared decision-making targeting Aboriginal people and communities

Responsible: Agency for Clinical Innovation

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Resources developed that are co-created with Aboriginal consumers.

Priority group: Aboriginal people with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 7: Provide avenues for NSW public dental staff to improve their capability including through webinars, mini-residency program and external courses

Responsible: Centre for Oral Health Strategy

Years due: 2026-2029

Measures: Number of staff completed the mini residency. Number of staff attending webinars.

Action 8: Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health (MHB) to support the Intellectual Disability Mental Health Network, to strengthen and expand training and education resources that assist NSW Mental Health staff to respond effectively to the needs of people with intellectual disability and autism across mental health services

Responsible: Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2027

Measure: Network meetings continued.

Priority group: People with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 9: Develop an integrated Intellectual Disability Mental Health training pathway with multimodal components to facilitate general upskilling and just-in-time specialist skill development

Responsible: Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Training pathway implemented.

Priority group: People with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 10: The delivery of workshops that support health and mental health staff to develop specialist assessment and care skills in working with people with intellectual disability and other complex needs

Responsible: Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Workshops delivered.

Priority group: People with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 11: Statewide Intellectual Disability Mental Health Hubs offer Project ECHO and the Kid’s Webinar Series and other training initiatives

Responsible: Mental Health Branch, Ministry of Health

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Number of NSW Health participants.

Priority group: People with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 12: Develop Wellbeing and Health In-reach Nurse Coordinator Program workforce capability in relation to supporting students with additional needs and/or disability

Responsible: Healthy Families and Communities Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Training opportunities made available for wellbeing nurses.

Action 13: Develop and launch a short, targeted communication campaign “I am Visible” that creates awareness of accessible communication from health literacy perspectives

Responsible: Strategic Planning, Economics and Experience Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Campaign active across planned channels and audience engagement measured.

Action 14: Partner with Council for Intellectual Disability to create resources to support end of life and palliative care literacy for people with intellectual disability

Responsible: Social Policy and Health Equity Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2027

Measure: Resources published.

Priority group: People with an intellectual disability, their families and carers.

Action 15: Develop an ‘Emergency Care Institute ECI clinical tool’ including key principles for providing person centred care in emergency department for people with a disability

Responsible: Agency for Clinical Innovation

Year due: 2026

Measure: Publication and dissemination of resource.

Action 16: Develop and implement the NSW Health Disability Inclusion Communication Plan to increase awareness and use of resources across NSW Health

Responsible: Social Policy and Health Equity Branch, Ministry of Health

Years due: 2026-2029

Measures: Plan developed. Number of distribution rounds. Number of recipients.

Action 17: Delivery of disability inclusion training for Local Health District staff in partnership with Get Skilled Access

Responsible: Social Policy and Health Equity Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Number of staff completed training.

Action 18: Develop a learning resource to address unconscious bias

Responsible: Health Education and Training Institute

Year due: 2027

Measure: Available to NSW Health staff on My Health Learning.

b) Increasing awareness and understanding of people with disability as colleagues and part of the NSW community

Action 1: Develop and implement a campaign to: (a) encourage staff to include their disability status in StaffLink to support an accurate understanding of the proportion of our workforce with disability, and; (b) increase awareness and adoption of existing tools, resources and training, including the outputs of the NSW Government Disability Review (EY Review)

Responsible: Workforce Planning and Talent Development Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2027

Measures: Campaign plan developed and implemented. Decrease in the gap between number of staff disclosing their disability between PMES and Stafflink. Number of staff accessing tools, resources and trainings.

Action 2: Executive Director/Deputy Secretary invite NSW Health Ministry branch, pillar and organisation staff to complete a disability inclusion eLearning module in My Health Learning

Responsible:

• Ministry of Health
  • Workforce Planning and Talent Development
  • Health Protection NSW
  • Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence
  • Strategic Planning, Economics and Experience
  • Strategic Capital Planning and Asset Management
  • Government Relations
  • Nursing and Midwifery Office
  • Centre for Oral Health Strategy
  • Centre for Population Health
  • System Information and Analytics
  • Regional Health
  • Mental Health
  • Workplace Relations
  • Centre for Aboriginal Health
  • System Management
  • Social Policy and Health Equity
  • Healthy Families and Communities
  • Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs
• Cancer Institute
• Clinical Excellence Commission
• NSW Ambulance
• eHealth NSW
• Bureau for Health Information

Years due: 2026-2029

Measures: Number of staff completed eLearning. Number of staff invited to complete eLearning.

Action 3: Include a focus on people with disability at Human Experience Week, Gathering of Kindness and Conversation in Human Experience events

Responsible: Strategic Planning, Economics and Experience Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Event evaluation captures reflections on inclusion and accessibility.

Action 4: Facilitate opportunities with the statewide Asset Management Community of Practice to increase knowledge and awareness of the needs of people with disability

Responsible: Strategic Capital Planning and Asset Management Branch, Ministry of Health

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Number presentations.

Action 5: Feature internet stories to increase awareness and understanding of disability throughout the organisation

Responsible: HealthShare NSW

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: 4 published stories to align with events/awareness days.

Action 6: Promote workshop/education attendance through regular communications/newsletters – e.g., completion of a short Disability Inclusion eLearning module in My Health Learning

Responsible: System Performance Support Branch, Ministry of Health

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Percentage of staff who complete the training.

Action 7: Facilitate opportunities with statewide Service Planning Directors and teams to increase knowledge and awareness of the needs of people with disability

Responsible: Strategic Planning, Economics and Experience Branch, Ministry of Health

Year due: 2026

Measure: Number of presentations/information shared.

Action 8: Increase visibility of guides, tools and training that supports the Alcohol and Other Drugs workforce to work more inclusively alongside people with disability

Responsible: Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs

Years due: 2026-2029

Measure: Guidance disseminated – number of rounds and number of recipients.