Disability access and inclusion

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• UTS Access and Inclusion Plan 2025–2030

  The Access and Inclusion Plan 2025–2030 is UTS’s sixth Disability Action Plan. It builds on the progress of previous plans to enhance our provision of education, employment, and digital facilities that are accessible and inclusive for all people.

  This plan was informed by a formal evaluation and research study that explored how best to engage people with lived experience of disability in the planning process. 

  This helped guide meaningful and accessible consultation activities, ensuring the voices and expertise of people with lived experience of disability shaped the direction of the plan from the outset. 

  Face-to-face and online appreciative inquiry sessions were held to inform the development of the plan. These sessions included staff and students with lived experience of disability, alongside those with a professional or personal interest in accessibility at UTS. Targeted consultation was also undertaken with staff and teams responsible for accessibility across the university.

  UTS aims to be a leading tertiary education provider and employer for people of all abilities. This means moving beyond compliance to model intersectional disability inclusion. UTS affirms our commitment to eliminate, as far as possible, direct and indirect disability discrimination. We will remove barriers to full participation in education, employment, and social activities by incorporating access and inclusion into planning and delivery and providing reasonable adjustments where required. Further, we aim to lead the way in innovative inclusive practice across all our work and to embed universal design into our everyday practices.

  Access and Inclusion Plan 2025–2030

  In the Access and Inclusion Plan 2025–2030, UTS intends to extend our progress to date through implementing key actions across five focus areas: 

  • Accessible environments 

  • Culture 

  • Learning and education 

  • Employment 

  • Research and innovation

  Accessible environments 

  UTS will provide accessible services, social opportunities, facilities, and amenities and grounds, ensuring an optimal inclusive experience for students, staff, and visitors. 

  To do this we will: 

  • ensure that our policies and practices deliver built and digital environments that are accessible to students, staff, and visitors with disability

  • ensure all new digital platforms meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA and that accessibility experts are engaged from the beginning of development

  • ensure information on how UTS supports accessibility and inclusion for staff, students, and community members with disability is easy to find

  • provide accessible feedback channels and respond with timely communication and action 

  • continually review our processes to ensure best practice in our approaches to workplace health and safety for UTS staff with disability 

  • continually review student housing to ensure optimal accessibility and inclusion for student residents with disability 

  • work to improve availability of accessible parking and amenities for staff and students with assistance animals.

  Culture 

  UTS will embed a culture of inclusivity that recognises and embraces the value that people with disability bring. 

  To do this we will: 

  • ensure our marketing, communications, and events reflect the diversity of the UTS community by affirmatively promoting disability through appropriate language and imagery 

  • lead the higher education sector in providing opportunities for people with disability to participate in the cultural life of UTS, including art and sport, by developing community partnerships and through a continuing program of accessible and inclusive events

  • develop, promote, and celebrate the leadership of people with disability at UTS 

  • increase opportunities for UTS staff to support community-based disability organisations through the rollout of our Social Justice Leave initiative and brokered volunteering

  • champion access and inclusion across the UTS community and formally recognise contributions to inclusive practice.

  Learning and education

  UTS will ensure that our enrolment and student administrative systems, teaching practices, learning materials, digital learning platforms, curriculum, assessment procedures, and research environments are flexible, accessible, and inclusive for prospective and current students with disability.

  To do this we will:

  • ensure that the UTS digital learning environment complies with the WCAG 2.2 Level AA

  • require all teaching staff to demonstrate an understanding of Inclusive EducationPrinciples and how to deliver and support inclusive education

  • provide technical support and guidance for faculties and teaching staff to enhance the delivery of classroom accessibility

  • embed accessible practice within curricula, during assessment, and in the professional experience environment

  • ensure all digital platforms include enforceable accessibility requirements in vendor contracts and are accessibility tested throughout design and development

  • ensure full access to all new systems and websites at UTS by working with relevant staff, vendors, and service providers to incorporate universal design and comply with accessibility standards WCAG 2.2 AA

  • establish a central human contact point for all accessibility queries for staff, students, and visitors to triage appropriate support, streamline communication, and improve quality casework and seamless collaboration between support services and faculties

  • integrate awareness of accessibility and support for postgraduate research students with disability into researcher development and doctoral supervision development programs

  • improve our IT systems and resources to ensure early provision of accessible course materials (i.e., before the commencement of teaching), and promptly resolve flagged issues

  • work to constantly improve the student experience for all students with temporary or ongoing disability

  • work to provide opportunities for students to experience authentic disability related learning and undertake work integrated learning projects with community-based disability organisations.

  Employment

  UTS recognises the benefits of a diverse workforce that is reflective of the wider community. We will ensure that our business operations and strategies reflect a long-term, sustainable, independent commitment to social impact, including by actively addressing barriers to employment and professional development for current and future staff with disability.

  To do this we will:

  • ensure the needs of students with disability are included in UTS employability initiatives

  • ensure robust data is available through the UTS Enterprise Resource Planning on numbers of staff with disability to enable the development of improved targets and initiatives

  • ensure all UTS hiring managers undertake training in unconscious bias in recruitment

  • embed a culture that supports workplace flexibility across UTS

  • ensure all UTS supervisors/managers undertake Disability Confident Manager training

  • ensure workplace adjustments reflect international best practice, are adequately resourced, and include access to flexible work arrangements

  • include Disability Awareness training in onboarding and embed access and inclusion responsibilities in staff work plans

  • support staff to build the capabilities and confidence to manage, teach, collaborate, and engage with staff, students, and other stakeholders with disability and act in support of access and inclusion

  • ensure staff with disability have access to accessible IT (including personal devices when they have not been issued a UTS device), technical expertise, support, and guidance.

  Research and innovation

  UTS will provide research leadership by working with industry and community partners to co-create a more accessible and inclusive world for people with disability.

  To do this we will:

  • develop a UTS Disability Research Capability statement that details our distinctive capabilities in innovative industry and community engaged research

  • create a career development strategy to strengthen support (including IT support) for higher degree research students and researchers with disability at UTS

  • increase regular engagement with disability focused community partners to identify opportunities for strong innovative research partnerships

  • increase our disability research impact and engagement with public debate on disability and inclusion through seeking opportunities for policy advocacy

  • explore opportunities for innovative and collaborative disability research and practice with an intersectional focus, in particular building on research in the Indigenous and disability spaces

  • use UTS’s own purchasing power and that of the Australian Universities Procurement Network to influence our supply chain to be increasingly accessible and inclusive.

  Communicating the plan

  The plan will be communicated widely across UTS through staff and student channels. It will be made available online on the UTS website and will be provided to the Australian Human Rights Commission for online publication.

  Implementation

  All UTS staff, including senior executives, managers, and supervisors, are responsible for implementing the actions in this plan.

  Where it is identified that staff need to undertake training, all staff will be required to undertake such activities as part of their paid duties.

  Governance 

  The UTS Vice-Chancellor’s Social Justice and Inclusion Committee has overall responsibility for monitoring, evaluating, and ensuring the implementation of this plan. 

  UTS welcomes feedback on this Access and Inclusion Plan, which can be provided to the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion at: 

  • Telephone: +61 2 9514 1084 

  • Email: equity@uts.edu.au 

  • Website: socialjustice.uts.edu.au

• Support for students

  UTS has legal responsibilities as an employer and education provider. We must ensure that students with disability can access and participate in education on the same basis as other students. But we aim to go much further than that. Inclusive education is characterised at UTS by a positive stance towards diversity and difference that anticipates learner variability, recognises diverse strengths, and employs multiple ways of engaging with students.

  An inclusive learning environment refers to the ways in which the UTS creates a meaningful, welcoming and engaging environment for all our students, to facilitate equitable and successful participation.

  If you are a current or future student, you may want to check out:

  • The Accessibility Service, the university’s central contact point for all students living with disability, medical or mental health conditions
  • Faculty academic liaison officers (ALOs), academic staff who assist students with disabilities, ongoing health conditions, carer responsibilities or who are pregnant

• Support for staff

  UTS is the first Australian university to sign the Mindful Employer Charter – a voluntary agreement by Australian employers who care about improving mental health in the workplace. The Charter is a statement of broad principles for employers to work towards, and a demonstration of commitment to best-practice mental health and safety in the workplace.

  Work environments

  If you have a disability or illness, the university will assist you to carry out your work efficiently by making reasonable changes to the job itself, your work environment or even your work conditions. This is known as ‘workplace adjustment’. 

  UTS is required under Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your disability in order to avoid direct or indirect discrimination.

  Making your work environment accessible may involve a number of environmental considerations, flexibility of work practices, and specific access requirements addressed in team systems and processes. 

  Workplace adjustments can be permanent or temporary. They may include:

  • provision of adaptive or modified equipment
  • job redesign
  • modification of a work area or common areas
  • training or retraining (yourself or your colleagues)
  • changes to a staff member’s work hours

  Detailed information on workplace adjustment is available on the UTS intranet, Staff Connect. Refer also the Workplace Adjustment Procedure.

  If you would like to discuss your needs or questions, you can contact the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion.

• Accessible facilities at UTS

  Access ramps, accessible parking and accessible toilets can be found on the UTS campus map (select the ‘Access and amenities’ tab).

  The UTS accessible environments policy ensures that all new facilities are designed to be accessible, and remedial works are carried out where required. This includes:

  • Design, construction and maintenance of physical facilities
  • Access, egress and circulation, continuous accessible pathways of travel, and satisfactory linkages with transport
  • Amenities, such as toilets, furniture and equipment
  • Communications, including hearing augmentation, lighting and signage

• Accessible parking permits

  To park in accessible parking at UTS you need to get a UTS accessible parking permit. To get a UTS accessible parking permit:

  • UTS staff should fill out a parking permit form and send it to the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion at equity@uts.edu.au. You can also call them on (02) 9514 1084.
  • UTS students should contact the Accessibility Services in Student Services Unit. Email accessibility@uts.edu.au or phone 9514 1177
  • Visitors should contact the Security Office. Email security.general@uts.edu.au or phone 1800 249 559.

• Mental health

  Nearly half (45%) of all Australians will experience a mental illness sometime in their life. In any one year, 20% of Australians aged 16 to 85 years will experience a mental illness.

  UTS aims to support staff and students to participate fully in university life and realise their full potential in work and study. When we are mentally healthy we can fully enjoy and appreciate our day-to-day life, our environment and relationships, and we are able to deal with life’s challenges.

  Mental health support at UTS

  The UTS Counselling Service offers a confidential counselling service to help with a wide range of personal, psychological, study-related and administrative difficulties.

  The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to all UTS staff and their immediate family members. It provides a free, professional and confidential wellbeing coaching service.

  UTS Student Mental Health Strategy outlines UTS's commitment to creating a community and environment that contributes to strengthening and supporting the mental health of our students.

  Free training for staff is available. This includes:

  • Mental health for supervisors – designed specifically for supervisors,with an introduction to the impact mental health problems have in the workplace, recognising the signs and symptoms of mental health problems and how to respond to emerging mental health problems.
  • Mental health awareness – course covers introductory information about mental illness and explores mental health in the UTS context, and is particularly relevant to academic staff. This course can also be tailored to meet the specific needs of your area
  • Mental health first aid – a multi-award winning program, delivered across Australia and internationally. The 12-hour program teaches people how to confidently and effectively support others experiencing mental health problems or crises until medical or other professional support arrives. Staff can complete the course in two full-day or four half day sessions.

  Upcoming courses are listed online, and are periodically advertised on staff notices. If you would like to inquire about tailoring a course, contact the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion.

  More help is available

  There are a wide range of services available to help you manage any health concerns. 

  Community health centres aim to improve health and wellbeing through a range of health assessment, management, counselling and education services. They are open to the community through direct walk-ins, telephone contact or via referral. Specific services include mental health, alcohol and drug services, health therapies, community nursing, family and child health, aged assessment and rehabilitation and health education programs. There is also counselling and support and treatment for anyone who may have social, emotional, psychiatric or relationship problems.

  Your doctor, or General Practitioner (GP), can give you advice and if necessary, refer you to specialised health professionals. The Beyond Blue directory has a list of local doctors who have specialist training in mental health issues.

  Community mental health centres are found in every area of Sydney. These teams consist of a number of health professionals (psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists and occupational therapists) who provide services to mentally ill clients such as assessment, support, case management and crisis response teams.

  Telephone counselling services

  • Lifeline
    Counselling and support available 24/7. Face to face counselling is available in some areas. Call them on 13 11 14.
  • Salvation Army Careline
    Counselling and support is available 24/7. Call them on 1300 36 36 22.
  • Kids Helpline
    Kids Helpline care and will listen any time, for any reason. Call them on 1800 551 800.
  • Mensline Australia
    Supporting men and their families. Call them on 1300 78 99 78.
  • Family Drug Support
    Family drug support is available 24 hours a day. Call them on 1300 368 186.
  • Alcohol and Drug Information Services (ADIS)
    Available across Australia, 24 hours a day. They try to answer any questions about alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. Call them on 1800 422 599.
  • QLife
    Australia’s first nationally-oriented counselling and referral service for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people. Counselling services will be available 7 days a week, 365 days a year between the hours of 3pm – 12am Australia wide.
    Call them on 1800 184 527.