State Disability Inclusion Plan

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services about South Australia's first disability inclusion plan.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: As part of the Marshall Liberal government's first 100 days in office the Disability Inclusion Act 2018 became the first piece of legislation passed in parliament and commenced on 1 July 2018. The legislation signalled the government's commitment to create a more inclusive South Australia. The act provides a legal framework to support equal access and participation for people with disability in the community, including in recreation, education, health, employment and transport. A key requirement of the act was the development of South Australia's first state disability inclusion plan. My question is: can the minister please update the chamber on the launch of Inclusive SA?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for her question. Indeed, it was a great privilege; the Premier launched the disability action plan entitled Inclusive SA, which is South Australia's first disability inclusion plan, for 2019-2023, on 1 November at the newly built accessible function centre of U City, which has been built by Uniting Communities. It was also attended on behalf of the opposition by the member for Playford, representing the member for Hurtle Vale.

There was a very large number of stakeholders who attended the launch, including people with lived experience, a large number of service providers from South Australia, and the Equal Opportunity Commissioner. We were pleased that local government was very well represented as well, particularly Campbelltown, West Torrens, and the City of Adelaide, as well as, I think from memory, Salisbury and Playford. They are all councils with a strong record in terms of inclusion in their respective districts.

The plan has highlighted a number of areas where particularly people with disability feel that it is important to improve a range of services that are provided by state and local governments. The particular areas for focus included: firstly, inclusive communities for all; secondly, leadership and collaboration; thirdly, accessible communities; and fourthly, learning and employment. It's very much a first step in terms of providing better services for people with disabilities. The NDIS, of course, is now the funder and provider of regulation for disability services going forward, so the state government is very much focused on the inclusion agenda.

There are some interesting elements that have been included in the plan, and I am particularly pleased that universal design is something that has been identified. Universal design is something that I know is very close to the heart of advocates, including people such as Kelly Vincent who ensured that that was included within the planning laws prior to her no longer being a member in this place. Recreation and Sport have also been very enthusiastic participants in this space, and Transport has had an ongoing interest in this, most recently with the southern tram stop in South Australia.

It outlines a roadmap forward in terms of all state government agencies and local government to ensure that places are not just physically more accessible but also for people who have sensory challenges and a range of other disabilities, that we will all be working towards ensuring that people can have full access to everything else that we take for granted.