Have Your Say on Ararat Rural City Council’s Disability Action Plan
Ararat Rural City Council is inviting residents to help shape the municipality’s new Disability Action Plan, with community consultation now open across Ararat Rural City.
The Disability Action Plan will guide how Council improves accessibility and inclusion across its services, facilities, programs, and workplaces, while helping remove barriers for people with disability in everyday community life.
Council is encouraging people with lived experience of disability, along with carers, families, support networks, and community members, to share their feedback and help inform practical actions for the future.
The plan has been developed as part of Council’s commitment to inclusion and its responsibilities under the Disability Act 2006, with input already provided by a dedicated Disability Action Plan Working Group made up of Council representatives, community members with lived experience, and organisations with expertise in inclusive practice. The broader consultation process is now an opportunity for the wider community to help shape a plan that reflects local needs, priorities, and experiences.
Ararat Rural City Council Mayor Cr Bob Sanders said the consultation was about listening carefully to the people who best understand where barriers exist and what needs to change. “Getting this plan right has started with listening to people who live with disability every day, and to the people around them who help navigate those experiences,” Mayor Sanders said.
“We have already had some very valuable input from community members with lived experience, and that has helped give this work a strong foundation. This next stage is about broadening that conversation, hearing from more people across the municipality, and making sure the final plan is practical, honest, and useful.”
“We want this to be a plan that leads to real improvements in how people access Council services, move through our public spaces, take part in community life, and consider Council as a workplace. If we do that well, it will be a plan the community can have confidence in for the long term.”
A series of community listening workshops will be held from 24 August to 14 September 2026 in Ararat, Elmhurst, Willaura, Moyston, Pomonal, Streatham, Lake Bolac, and Wickliffe, with additional phone and online appointments also available across the consultation period.
Some sessions will be tailored to particular groups, including children and carers, young people, people with physical disability, people with non-physical disability, carers, CALD communities, older residents, support sector workers, women and girls, men and boys, and friends and family members who are not carers.
Council has advised that anyone is welcome to attend a session, and registrations are encouraged so appropriate accessibility supports can be arranged and each session can be prepared as a safe and welcoming space for participants.
Consultation opportunities also include an online survey and a Word document version of the survey for anyone who prefers to provide written feedback.
Submissions close on Friday 18 September 2026 at 5.00 pm, with feedback able to be provided through Engage Ararat at https://engage.ararat.vic.gov.au/disability-action-plan , by email, by post, or in person using the available survey options and consultation sessions.
All session dates and times are also available at https://engage.ararat.vic.gov.au/disability-action-plan
