WEBINAR | Disability Inclusion Series no. 4: Participation, Community Life and the Built Environment

Local governments play a critical role in facilitating participation, community life, and an inclusive built environment. However, many people continue to experience barriers to participation due to the inaccessibility of buildings, transport, public spaces and facilities.

Slide presentations for this webinar can be found here.

Participation is often limited by fragmented and complex transport systems for people with disability, including multiple eligibility schemes, reliance on volunteer transport, and difficulty navigating transport systems.

Within community life, barriers include limited inclusive opportunities, shortages of volunteers, and a lack of accessible spaces for group activities, which can reinforce low expectations and reduce visibility of people with disability.

In the built environment, ageing infrastructure, competing priorities such as heritage constraints and cost, and insufficient renewal funding present ongoing challenges for accessibility to the built environment.

This session focuses on identifying challenges, sharing responsibilities, and exploring practical strategies to help councils reduce barriers and create more inclusive, accessible communities that support participation in community life and the built environment.

Disability Inclusion Webinar Series

Webinar 1 – Education, Employment & Community Attitudes
How councils can influence education and employment outcomes, shift community attitudes, and address barriers using local programs and partnerships.

Webinar 2 – Safety, Justice, Gender Equality & Emergency Management
Local government’s role in creating safer, fairer communities and ensuring emergency management practices are inclusive and accessible.

Webinar 3 – Housing, Homelessness & Community Supports
How councils contribute to accessible housing, homelessness prevention, and strong community support systems, featuring practical, evidence‑based examples.

Webinar 4 – Participation, Community Life & the Built Environment
Strengthening participation, inclusion, and universal design in local environments through planning, community engagement, and infrastructure design.