The Council adopted the Access and Inclusion Plan (AIP) 2021-2025 at the Ordinary Council meeting on 24 November 2021. If you'd like to read about the decision, please read the minutes available here. The AIP will be be submitted to the Department of Communities (Disability Services) in December 2021.

The draft Access and Inclusion Plan (as well as the engagement which contributed to its development) was considered on 8 September at the Finance, Policy, Operations and Legislation Committee Meeting. The Committee raised some concerns regarding ‘Outcome 8: Create a welcoming and inclusive City’, and expressed a desire to further consider how this broad goal might be achieved.

The Committee decided to defer endorsement of the Plan to enable officers time to prepare a report to address the concerns/queries raised. The report is expected to be prepared in time for submission to the FPOL Committee on 10 November 2021. The minutes for the September meeting are available here.

The final stage of engagement in our Access and Inclusion Plan review closed in August. Based on this, no further amendments were necessary and the Plan will now be considered by Council for adoption. The draft Plan (as well as the engagement which contributed to its development) will be considered on 8 September at the FPOL committee meeting. The City of Fremantle would like to thank everyone who contributed to this review, in particular the commitment and contributions of Access and Inclusion Working Group members. The continuation of the plan’s identification as 'access and inclusion' reflects the commitment to supporting people with disability and the promotion of the value of a diverse and inclusive community.

Further information

You can find further information on the City's website, via the links below:
Report to Council - Click here to view the agenda
Attachments to Council - Engagement report and draft Access and Inclusion Plan

Attending Committee / Council

Finance, Policy, Operations and Legislation (FPOL) Committee
Wednesday 8 September 2021, 6.00pm, North Fremantle Community Hall 2 Thompson Road North Fremantle

Depending on the outcome at FPOL, it will then be considered at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 22 September 2021.

Committee meetings are open to the public. Members of the public are also welcome to attend or speak at council or committee meetings, you can find more information on this here.

What’s proposed?

Building on the success of previous initiatives, this Plan provides new opportunities to further ensure that challenges faced by many people living, working in, or visiting the Fremantle community are acknowledged and addressed. At a glance it proposes:

• Three focus areas based on key findings of the review and community engagement process:

1. Diverse, inclusive and thriving communities.
2. Accessible places and spaces
3. Equitable access to City services

• 24 priority actions under these focus areas, with responsibilities assigned across the organisation. Actions where the City has direct control or influence to achieve the legislated outcomes were prioritised for inclusion in the Plan.
• Actions that address our requirements under the Western Australian Disability Services Act 1993 (amended 2004) which includes working to achieve their seven legislated outcomes.
• Proposing an additional (eighth) non-legislated outcome as a commitment from the City to ‘create a welcoming and inclusive city’ and address inclusion and attitudinal (social and environmental) barriers to participation.

Share your thoughts

The draft Plan is now open for your feedback. There are several ways to share your feedback.

Online - Download a copy of the draft plan then provide your feedback online (below):

• Download a Word version of the draft plan here or in the document library.
• Download a PDF version of the draft plan here or in the document library.

Hard copy - A hard copy of the Plan and feedback form will be available at our drop-in session, or can be accessed at the Fremantle Library (Fremantle Oval 70 Parry St Fremantle) or The Meeting Place (245 South Tce South Fremantle).

In person - Attend our drop-in session 17 August 2021 at Fremantle Library (Fremantle Oval, 70 Parry Street). Drop in anytime between 3.00pm to 5.00pm to discuss the Plan with staff and provide your feedback.

Share your thoughts on the feedback wall below by 21 August 2021.

Click here to register for project updates and be contacted directly once the draft Access and Inclusion Plan is ready for feedback.

This project was temporarily on hold due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but development of the draft plan has now recommenced.

We're using the findings from the engagement to guide the development of actions across the organisation. Find out about what we heard from the community earlier in the year in the Community Engagement Report, available in the document library or by clicking here.

We expect a draft plan to be available for your feedback early 2021. Check back for updates, or email communityengagement@fremantle.wa.gov.au to be added to the mailing list for this project.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the City's operations and on the ways we can engage with the community. It's important that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to the Access and Inclusion Plan, including those who can't participate in online comment options.

We also recognise that people have a number of pressing priorities right now that might affect their ability to provide input. As a result and in order to develop the best possible plan, we're postponing work and further engagement on the new plan for now.

If you'd like to know when we're resuming this project, you can check this page for updates, or subscribe on this page to follow this project. We look forward to getting your input on the draft plan at a later stage.

As part of the review, we're looking at access & inclusion-related comments made during other recent City engagements, including on the Age Friendly City Plan, Walyalup Reconciliation Action Plan and the Community Safety & Crime Prevention Plan.

A number of these respondents liked the diversity of the Fremantle community, the public transport network and Fremantle's proximity to facilities. Key themes that arose as important for accessibility and inclusion into the future included:

Infrastructure

• Good, flexible public transport systems
• Accessible pathways that are well signed, even and unobstructed
• Accessible road crossings and intersections (roads are busy and time given to cross isn’t long enough)

Social inclusion

• Events and activities for people of all ages, including active events and options for people on a reduced income
• A sense of social connection, community and inclusiveness and opportunities to participate, including being part of groups etc
• Maintaining and encouraging diversity
• Supporting aboriginal people with disability
• A sense of safety and security, including good lighting

Facilities

• Ability to easily access facilities such as supermarkets, health services and community services (library, banking, post office etc)
• The need for accessible public toilets within the CBD.

These comments will also be taken into consideration when reviewing the Access & Inclusion plan.