To inform us in the development of our Disability Access and Inclusion Plan we consulted within SAPOL and with the wider South Australian community.
Consultation was divided into two phases: the first helped us plan the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan and the second sought feedback on a draft of the Plan.
For the first stage of the consultation we had 74 people complete the disability section of an internal SAPOL Diversity and Inclusion Survey, and 145 people complete an external online survey accessed through the yourSAy website. We also connected with 34 people or groups outside SAPOL through email, video, phone calls and one-on-one conversations.
Those who participated in the consultation shared with us stories and provided ideas, suggestions and recommendations. These were broadly incorporated into the plan with specific ideas, suggestions and recommendations included in a four-year work plan.
A total of 157 completed Diversity and Inclusion Surveys were received. Of these, 74 participants responded to the disability section of the survey. Of the 74 respondents, 17 (23%) indicated they have lived experience of disability.
A total of 145 completed surveys were received. Of these, 48 respondents (33%) indicated they have lived experience of disability.
Separate consultation took place with 34 individual people or organisations who provided direct responses or submissions initially through email contact which extended to one face-to-face consultation, 10 telephone consultations, five video consultations, three written submissions and one Auslan interpreted consultation.
A range of themes and focus areas were identified from the consultations that informed the development of the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan.
The phase two consultation sought to build on the information received from the phase one consultation, seeking specific comment on the draft Disability Access and Inclusion Plan, while also providing opportunity for new or broad comments. There was no separate broad internal consultation, rather a single consultation process was promoted both within SAPOL and externally.
The phase two consultation resulted in 11 survey responses and eight direct contacts from individuals or service delivery organisations. Responses and submissions supported information received during the phase one consultation; new information received led to one additional action being included and some minor wording changes to the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan.