Defining disability
The Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) recognises the definition of disability as:
Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term (lasting 6 months or more) physical, mental health, intellectual, neurological, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
This definition is based on descriptions recognised by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability (UNCRPD) and Australian government. This ‘Convention’ defines disability within the context of the social model of disability, which recognises that negative attitudes and environmental barriers impact on people’s ability to participate equitably in work and life. The Convention contains principles of human rights and capability building so that persons with disabilities have agency to contribute to social and public life.
The Victorian Government also acknowledges and values the social model of disability.
The VPSC Accessibility Action Plan is underpinned by this shared understanding of the social model of disability – to remove barriers to the workplace. This is consistent with the values we hold as a sector. We respect the human rights of people with disability.
Understanding the lived and living experience of our workforce
Providing a workplace with dignified and universal access for our employees is a priority for us. We aim to ensure that every aspect of our physical and operational environment works together seamlessly to deliver an equitable experience for everyone.
VPSC is committed to being an employer that is genuinely accessible and inclusive. We want employees with lived or living experience of disability to fully engage in social and working life at the VPSC.
To provide everyone access to our physical work environment, we need to understand the experiences of people with disability. This includes people with permanent, temporary or situational sensory, cognitive or other conditions.
We provide ways for employees to raise concerns and suggest improvements to our policies, frameworks and systems. This includes those with accessibility criteria and insights from the People Matter Survey and other pulse survey results. All feedback and insights were used to inform the actions in this plan.
To ensure continuous improvement and accountability, the VPSC will regularly review its access and inclusion activities. We will address any barriers that impact our employee’s ability to access the support they need in the workplace.
To demonstrate our commitment to access and inclusion, we’ll:
- report on the implementation of our plan in our annual report
- publish our plan on our website
- lodge a copy of the plan with the Australian Human Rights Commission.