Indigenous Australians with disability experience unique forms of marginalisation due to colonisation, institutional racism and intergenerational trauma. Monash recognises the important contributions Indigenous Australians, including those with disability, make to ways of knowing, being and doing that can further our understandings of wellbeing, disability and ableism.
Monash recognises the strength and generosity of those with lived and living experiences of disability and ableism, and wishes to thank those who have contributed to the formulation of this Action Plan. Their contributions have been invaluable in shaping our commitments to achieve a more inclusive and accessible university environment for people with disability.
Monash is deeply committed to building communities that are accessible, inclusive and equitable, within the University and across the broader societies where Monash has campuses or a major presence. As outlined in Impact 2030, advancing thriving communities that are cohesive and supportive, is one of the key challenges of our age.
Accessibility is an essential part of advancing equitable, cohesive and supportive communities. It is a fundamental human right that enables all people to live well, and live well together.
Monash is dedicated to building innovative solutions with communities to tackle systemic inequities including discrimination, intolerance, inequality, disadvantage and violence.
The Disability and Accessibility Action Plan 2024 - 2030 (‘DAAP 2024-2030’) is one of the ways in which Monash seeks to take action to create more accessible and inclusive University experiences for students, and staff, as envisioned in Monash’s overarching Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework 2022 - 2030.
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Intersectional
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We acknowledge that individuals have many facets that make up their identity and that if we focus on ending disadvantage through only one lens, we will miss the transformative nature of compounding discrimination. Accordingly, in our EDI practice, we seek to consistently apply an intersectional lens.
People-centred
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Our focus is on caring for and supporting members of the University community through understanding the diversity of individuals’ lived and living experiences of disability. This means not taking a one-size-fits-all approach, and instead listening and ensuring we work meaningfully to respond to the diverse realities of students, staff and community members who engage with Monash.
Dynamic and iterative
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We recognise that our knowledge and understanding of accessibility, disability and inclusion is developing, and will continue to evolve. We commit to using extensive and dynamic methods for listening, monitoring, evaluating and improving our practices to advance access and inclusion.
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Teaching and Learning
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We strive for accessible and universal design for teaching and learning practices embedded in curriculum design, development and delivery. This includes increasing staff capability in inclusive teaching practices and reasonable adjustment for disability across all Faculties and campuses. Students have increased job-related capabilities to support disability inclusion in their future beyond Monash.
What we will achieve:
- Increased knowledge and skills for inclusive practice in teaching and learning.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles embedded in teaching and learning resources.
- Course options enable students to develop job-related capabilities in disability inclusion.
Student Experience
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We strive for an inclusive, person-centred experience for students with disability through improved services and supports, and increased awareness and visibility of these services across all Faculties and campuses. Students with a disability have a sense of belonging at Monash.
What we will achieve:
- Increased awareness and visibility of existing disability supports for students.
- Existing programs and resources to maximise graduate employment prospects are promoted to students with disability.
- Improved accessibility of student residence infrastructure.
Employment, Workforce Capability and Organisational Culture
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We strive for inclusive practices across processes for attracting, recruiting, retaining and advancing our workforce. Support for staff with disability is increased through improved provision and visibility of support services and greater accessibility of staff platforms. All staff, including senior leaders, take responsibility for making environments accessible and inclusive across all Faculties and campuses.
What we will achieve:
- Improved knowledge and understanding of disability in the workforce.
- Improved mechanisms to attract, recruit and maintain diverse staff.
- Disability-related flexible work and career progression arrangements align to promote access and inclusion.
- Improved accessibility of digital platforms and resources used by staff.
- Enhanced initiatives and visibility of programs to support and retain a diverse staff.
Consultation, Feedback, Evaluation and Research
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We strive for increased use of existing data, evaluative processes and research evidence to inform policies and processes related to accessibility, disability and inclusion at Monash. Consultation mechanisms are improved, with a greater emphasis on co-designing solutions with staff and students with lived and living experience of disability across all Faculties and campuses.
What we will achieve:
- Increased use of co-design processes when seeking lived experience involvement in consultation processes.
- Reduced barriers to participation in consultation processes, and increased regular consultation.
- Improved use of data to enhance accessibility and inclusion.
- Expertise within the Monash community is harnessed to inform disability inclusion policies, initiatives and resources.
