Council is set to consider a draft Accessibility Action Plan for the next four years at Wednesday’s meeting before sending it out to consultation across February and March.
This comes as Council is set to create a Disability Advisory Panel to provide on-going input from the community.
TWiSK can report that the action plan contains very few actions. It would be best described as the ‘minimum viable policy’, that identifies little more than legislative requirements.
Port Phillip compares poorly
Unlike comparable inner‑Melbourne councils, the Port Phillip does not currently have a standing Disability Advisory Committee.
While councils such as the Melbourne, Yarra and Darebin maintain formal disability advisory committees with lived‑experience membership, clear terms of reference and an ongoing role in shaping policy, programs and capital works, Port Phillip relies primarily on time‑limited consultation linked to its Accessibility Action Plans.
Council papers indicate an intention to establish a disability advisory body in the future, but so far this function has not been formalised, leaving Port Phillip without a permanent governance mechanism to provide continuous, community‑led disability advice across all areas of council decision‑making.
