Kiama Council has unveiled its vision for a more inclusive and accessible LGA with the release of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2023-2027.

At the same time, Kiama Council released an accompanying Implementation Plan describing what Council will do for the first year of the plan. These include engaging with the community to inform Council’s policies and strategies, building disability awareness and confidence in local businesses, informing and empowering Council staff to better understand disabilities, and exploring opportunities for better representations of people living with disabilities at Council.

The Action Plan includes findings such as the median age of Kiama LGA residents being 48 years as of 2021, which was also the average age of someone in Kiama living with a disability. It also found that 5.2 per cent of Kiama’s population has a profound disability that requires assistance for vital activities, a 23 per cent increase compared with 2016.

The Plan also included a survey that found that 19 per cent of Kiama residents surveyed feel people with a disability are welcomed in the community, while 14 per cent disagreed.

Kiama Council’s Director for Planning, Environment and Communities Jessica Rippon said the DIAP was an important tool for Council for providing a proud, inclusive and connected community for everyone.

“An essential part of developing our new DIAP was consulting widely with those in our community with disability as well as those involved with providing services and facilities they rely on.”

“This ensures the DIAP is well designed and targeted for people with a disability, but also gives our community a sense of shared ownership of and responsibility for seeing it implemented, along with Council.”

The Implementation Plan includes 32 actions across 13 priority areas, which will be embedded into Council’s Delivery Program and Operational Plan as part of the budget process for 2024-25.

Jessica Rippon added that the majority of commitments under the Implementation Plan are achievable through existing Council works and staff resources.

 You can read the full DIAP here.