People with disability

Advisory Committee Disability Network Access and Inclusion Plan International Day of People with Disability Accessibility services

We are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for people with a disability to take part in every aspect of community life and have fair access to Council and community programs, services and resources. 

More than 1 in 6 Australians have a disability. Based on this, we estimate more than 17,200 people live with diverse abilities in the Tweed.

A disability can include a physical or mobility impairment, a sensory or speech impairment like blindness or deafness, a cognitive or intellectual disability, or long-term health condition.

Some disabilities or conditions are not visible or do not appear obvious.

Over 7,200 people in the Tweed need help with activities due to their disability, health condition or due to old age.

Access and inclusion

We want the Tweed to be accessible and inclusive for everyone. 

Access means making sure that people with disability can easily take part in everything in the community, like going places, using services, getting information, and joining activities, without facing unnecessary problems or things that stop them.

Inclusion means making sure that people of diverse abilities are welcome and involved in all parts of society. It is about creating a place where everyone feels like they belong, can participate, and have a say, no matter their abilities.

Access and inclusion planning

The Tweed Access and Inclusion Plan 2023–2026 is Council’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP).

A DIAP identifies and removes access barriers so that communities are more inclusive of inclusion for people with disability and seniors. A DIAP provides direction to Council to address issues, engage, plan and co-design solutions with community over 4 years.

There are 4 key focus areas in the new DIAP:

1. Developing positive community attitudes and behaviours
2. Creating liveable communities
3. Supporting access to meaningful employment
4. Improving access to services through better systems and processes

Under the Disability Inclusion Act 2014, all Councils and public sector organisations need to have a DIAP.

The Tweed's Access and Inclusion Plan 2023–2026

The Tweed Access and Inclusion Plan 2023–2026 was adopted by Council on Wednesday 13 December 2023.

You can access the plan in either a full, summary or easy to read version:

Full version(PDF, 890KB) 
Full version (text only)(PDF, 882KB)
Summary version(PDF, 244KB)
Easy-read (web version)
Easy-read version(PDF, 11MB)
Easy-read (text only)(PDF, 152KB)

If you need assistance accessing these documents or would like a copy sent to you, please contact our Community Wellbeing Team at communitywellbeing@tweed.nsw.gov.au.

Pictured above: Courtney Peate’s Connect and Captivate team at Tweed Shire Council’s International Day of People with Disability community event, December 2022. Photo credit: Pipi and Palm photography

Disability Inclusive Emergency Planning Forum

Tweed Shire Council proudly hosted a Disability Inclusive Emergency Planning (DIEP) workshop on the 28 June 2023, as part of a national research study being conducted by The University of Sydney. 

The workshop explored a range of people-centred approaches to emergency management - with the aim of ensuring there is critical and ongoing development of inclusive local emergency management and disaster recovery practices that leave nobody behind.

The Tweed DIEP workshop outcomes report is available to download. These and other workshop reports in NSW and Victoria are now available online via Collaborate 4 Inclusion.

Watch a video of the workshop below. 
Video transcript(DOCX, 21KB)

For a toolkit for people with disability to create a personalised emergency plan, please visit Planning for an emergency.

Tweed Shire Equal Access Advisory Committee

The Tweed Shire Equal Access Advisory Committee works with Council to provide advice and community and organisational perspectives on access and inclusion issues, and to support Council to plan and deliver the Tweed Access and Inclusion Plan.

For more information about the Commitee including Terms of Reference and meeting minutes, please visit the Tweed Shire Equal Access Advisory Committee page.

Members of the Tweed Equal Access Advisory Committee talk about the importance of being included in the community and how Council has played a key role in achieving this.

Tweed Disability Network

The Tweed Disability Network is a forum for consultation between organisations that support people with disability and their carers to collaborate, advocate, exchange information and stay informed about sector reforms so that organisations are responsive to community needs in the Tweed Local Government Area.

Attendance at forums is open to community care organisations that support people with disability in the Tweed or Northern NSW/Gold Coast region. People with disability, their families and carers are also welcome to attend.

To receive all the latest information from the Tweed Disability Network, sign up for the mailing list.

International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD)

Find out how the Tweed is celebrating IDPwD in 2024. 

International Day of People with Disability is a United Nations designated day held annually on 3 December.

The day is a global initiative aimed at promoting awareness, understanding, and acceptance of more than 1 billion people who live with disabilities.

We recognise and celebrate the achievement and contributions of people with disabilities in our community.

Watch members of the Tweed Equal Access Advisory Committee share their experiences and stories to celebrate 2021 International Day of People with Disability.

Policies and previous events