Disability@UNSW

Welcome from the Diversity Champion

     
"My longstanding interest and commitment to diversity issues derives from two very simple beliefs:
  • that fairness requires equality of access and opportunity across any relevant community - in our case, students and staff; and
  • that an organisation is enriched by and benefits from a memebership that is diverse rather than homogenous.
I hope you find the below information helpful, and please don't hesitate to contact me or Workplace Diversity if you have any feedback or ideas."

Andrew Lynch
Professor and Deputy Dean, UNSW Law
UNSW Disability Champion		         

Andrew Lynch
     

Disability resources and initiatives

           
Disability Inclusion Action Plan

UNSW's Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2018 - 2020 is being developed to provide all areas of the University with a clear path to improving access and inclusion for staff and students with disability.

The Plan will cover seven key areas: policy and planning, learning and teaching environment, digital environment, built environment, student support infrastructure, campus life and workplace environment.

Once the Plan is finalised, a link will be provided on this page.
 
Reasonable adjustments and the Disability Travel Assistance Fund

UNSW is committed to providing a workplace that allows staff with disability to contribute as full members of their teams and to enjoy the same employment rights and opportunities as staff without disability.

The University's Reasonable Adjustment Guidelines are designed to help staff navigate the reasonable adjustment process and assist managers to support current and prospective staff with disability.

UNSW also has the Disability Travel Assistance Fund, which academic staff with disability can access to request funding support for disability-related travel costs.

Please email workplace.diversity@unsw.edu.au for enquiries about either of these programs.
       
Disability Innovation Institute

Launched in late 2017, the University's Disability Innovation Institute will be a platform to combine disability studies with STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) and HASS (humanities and social sciences) research to design accessible and inclusive working, living and learning environments, generate innovative technologies and create inclusive law, policy, services, markets and communities.

Associate Professor Leanne Dowse, from UNSW Arts & Social Sciences, says the institute will look inwardly as much as outwardly: "It will allow us to build on inclusive learning initiatives within the University as well as focus on sharing UNSW's disability innovation externally through its focus on knowledge exchange."
 
Australian Network on Disability

UNSW is a member of Australian Network on Disability, a national, membership-based organisation which supports organisations to advance the inclusion of people with disability in all aspects of business.

Australian Network on Disability conduct the Access and Inclusion Index, an annual survey that provides organisations with an insight into their strengths and maturity in terms of access and inclusion for people with disability.