The City of Parramatta is inviting residents, businesses and community organisations to have their say on its Draft Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2026-2030, now on public exhibition.
The four-year plan outlines how Council will continue to remove barriers and build a more accessible, inclusive and welcoming Parramatta for people with disability, including those with visible and invisible disabilities.
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Martin Zaiter said the draft DIAP reinforces Council’s commitment to ensuring people of all abilities can participate fully in community life.
“Parramatta is one of Australia’s fastest-growing and most diverse cities and as we grow, we must ensure accessibility and inclusion are embedded in everything we do,” Cr Zaiter said.
“From our public spaces and infrastructure to our events, services and employment practices, this plan reflects extensive feedback from earlier community consultation.
“It also builds on the strong foundations established under our previous Disability Inclusion Action Plans.”
A key focus is embedding Universal Design principles across Council operations with a permanent Universal Design and Access Officer providing advice, training and guidance to ensure accessibility is considered from the start.
Under previous DIAPs, Council delivered:
- Increased inclusion of hidden disabilities in our services: Council facilities are registered as Sunflower Friendly sites with many staff trained under the program. Facility audits by Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) have also taken place.
- Increased inclusion in the workplace: Council adopted a Workplace Adjustment Policy and educated on its use. Our website has been redesigned to be compliant with accessibility standards.
- Riverside Theatres redevelopment design outcomes: Incorporating step-free movement, accessible seating, tactile wayfinding, lifts, adult-change facilities, assistive listening, captioning, audio description and a quiet room. Future programming will include relaxed, Auslan-interpreted, captioned and audio-described performances.
The Draft DIAP invites community feedback on a range of proposed actions to address accessibility barriers, including:
- Service dogs: identify a suitable location and plan to pilot a designated relief area for service dogs in the Parramatta CBD.
- Accessible parking: increase the availability of accessible on and off-street parking.
- Wayfinding: an updated Wayfinding Strategy incorporating Universal Design.
- Accessible playgrounds: Further implementation of the Accessible Playground Framework devised under the previous DIAP. The Framework is aligned with NSW Government’s ‘Everyone Can Play’ principles, guiding upgrades and future playground planning.
The Draft DIAP 2026-2030 is on public exhibition until 5pm on Wednesday 15 April 2026.
Residents, particularly people with disability, carers, advocacy organisations and service providers are encouraged to view the draft Plan and provide feedback via Participate Parramatta or in person at the Customer Service Centre located at PHIVE (5 Parramatta Square).
