Disability Inclusion
We are committed to ensuring people with disabilities are full and equal participants in all activities of the Synod and the wider community. Striving for this goal means engagement and advocacy with individuals, congregations and presbyteries, and a range of organisations beyond the Synod.
Since 2010, our Disability Inclusion Advocates have been involved in developing:
- The Disability Action Plan 2023-2026 in response to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. (Easy English Disability Action Plan summary). These two versions complement each other and need to be read and considered as a whole: it is recommended you initially read the Easy English version. An additional resource of How to put this plan into action is also provided.
- ‘Guidelines for Disability Access’ was produced in partnership with Assembly and designed to assist and support the church in planning and including people with a range of lived experience of disability.
- A series of Bible studies from Synod 2021, produced in conjunction with Rev Dr Kylie Crabbe, which can be used in a range of forums: including, congregations and presbyteries seminars.
- ‘Reflective Being, Being Reflective: 25 years of multi-faith perspectives on disability and spirituality in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’. This book is based on 6 conferences held between 1996 and 2021: Purchases via Reflective Being, Being Reflective. Proceedings and materials from these conferences are now in the Archives of The University of Melbourne Click link here Instructions for ordering / accessing archives holdings is here.
- ‘To Belong, I need to be Missed’ is a video and report of the same title. This project was a collaboration with multi-faith leaders and participants focussing on participation of people with disabilities in Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. View the video and read the report.
- A mental health kit for congregations.
- A University of Divinity subject to availability (Pastoral Care with People with Disabilities).
- Time for Remembering is an annual event for road trauma supported by the Uniting Church since 2001 Amber Community, Time for Rememberinghttps://pilgrim.edu.au/
For more information, contact Nigel Hanscamp on (03) 9340 8816.
Disability Action Plan 2023-2026
The Synod’s Disability Action Plan 2023-2026, in response to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, has been produced in Plain Language and Easy English formats. It was launched on 4 March 2023, at Rowallan Park, Kingston Uniting Church, Presbytery of Tasmania.
These two versions complement each other and need to be read and considered as a whole.
You can find the Disability Action Plan along with the additional resources below:
- Disability Action Plan 2023 -2026
- Disability Action Plan 2023 -2026 word version
- Easy English Disability Action Plan Summary
- How to put this plan into action
For more information, contact Nigel Hanscamp on (03) 9340 8816.
Autism and Congregational Life
Produced as part of Synod’s 2019-2022 Disability Action Plan, and coinciding with International Day of People with Disability, a three-part video series is now available. It features perspectives of:
- Three autistic people
- Two parents of autistic children, plus
- Two Uniting Church ministers talking about disability and theology.
Additional resources and suggested discussion starters also accompany each video.
The downloadable resources, links to the videos and conversation starters can be found here.
To download the videos for offline viewing, please visit the online video hosted on Vimeo: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
For more information, contact Nigel Hanscamp on (03) 9340 8816.
Road trauma memorial
Solace is Victoria’s first state-wide road trauma memorial aimed at giving people a space to reflect on the impact of road trauma and remember those who have lost their lives on Victoria’s roads.
Located in Geelong, Victoria, the north-facing waterfront location gives uninterrupted views of Corio Bay from its site on Hearne Pde, Eastern Beach. It has been a partnership between the UCA Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Amber Community, and City of Greater Geelong.
The artwork
The memorial is also a piece of public art created by Ocean Grove artist Don Walters.
Using the cyclical moon phases to represent the experience of grief, Solace takes the lunar phase as a metaphor for the constantly changing range of emotions those experiencing loss through road trauma. The semi-circular shape and space within the structure also encourages visitors to experience and ‘move through’ the space.
The sculptural aspect of Solace is in seven parts made of a combination of stainless steel and stone. A stainless steel rim encloses and holds the stone that is shaped into segments that represent phases of the moon’s cycle.
University Of Sydney research project
NDIS: Rhetoric versus Reality? explores the realities of living with intellectual disability in Australia, and the impact the National Disability Insurance Scheme has had on individualised funding. The Synod continues to be a Partner Investigator in this study conducted by Sydney University’s Centre for Disability Studies. People with intellectual disability are co-researchers. It examines, within this era of disability reform, how people with intellectual disability are having their needs met and the extent to which they are involved in decision-making about their lives.
Disability Royal Commission
In 2020 Moderator Rev Denise Liersch released a pastoral letter highlighting the Church’s response to the federal Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC)
The Assembly established a national Task Group, with each Synod required to coordinate a response. The Synod of Victoria and Tasmania’s Task Group included representatives from congregations, Uniting VicTas, schools liaison and relevant Synod staff.
The National Task Group responded to the DRC by producing and submitting a range of Issues Papers. It also created an OverArching Principles Working Group which developed a comprehensive framework of principles to guide the national church and all its entities, in responding to the needs and support of people with disability. The 3 overarching principles for a disability inclusive church are:
- Governance and decision-making: We should actively include everyone within our institutions.
- Access to adequate complaints resolution process and institutional safety. Good complaint processes are essential.
- Awareness and use of supported decision-making and choice and control.
Prior to the 17th Assembly meeting in July 2024, this framework was approved by the Assembly Standing Committee. The meeting received it and will become each Synod’s responsibility to implement the Principles.
The Synod Task Group produced resources and information about how the Church needs to respond to the Commission, and these were circulated across the Synod. The Synod Task Group produced a DRC Response to the Criminal Justice System Issues Paper and a draft Compliments, Concerns and Complaints framework (3Cs) for implementation across congregations in Victoria and Tasmania. This is to be completed during 2024/2025 in a collaboration with the Culture and Safety Unit and equipping Leadership for Mission (eLM). Find the final report here.
For more information, contact Nigel Hanscamp on (03) 9340 8816.
Mental Health
Mental Health Forum
“Mental Health: does religion/spirituality help or hinder?” was the topic of a forum hosted in June 2021 by Rev (Deacon) Dr Andy Calder, previously of the Synod’s equipping Leadership for Mission Unit (eLM). The keynote presenter was Prof John Swinton, Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care, and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. The keynote presentation is available for viewing.
Mental Health Kit
A Mental Health Kit for Congregations is available for download here. The kit contains personal perspectives, worship resources, sermon starters, a list of community-based resources and checklists to help congregations better respond to people with mental health issues.
Wesley Mission Queensland has assembled two Q&A video series focusing on COVID-19 and mental health. One is designed specifically for people living with a disability and the other is for the deaf community.
Click here to find the 12 videos for people living with a disability and click here to find the 12 videos for the deaf community.
Called to be a Church for All
Assembly’s Transforming Worship Circle has created a new liturgy that acknowledges both the experiences of exclusion and embrace for people with disabilities. To download the liturgy, click here.
Related Documents
| Title | Date modified | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Final Report | 01-08-2024 | DownloadPreview |
| To belong, I need to be missed - Report | 08-07-2024 | DownloadPreview |
| SYNOD 2021 BIBLE STUDIES | 31-05-2022 | DownloadPreview |
| Mental Health Kit (ZIP version) | 13-07-2023 | Download |
| DRC - Response to the Criminal Justice System Issues Paper | 24-11-2020 | DownloadPreview |
| EE - HOW WE WELCOME | 05-06-2020 | DownloadPreview |
| People with Disability in the Community | 05-06-2020 | DownloadPreview |
| Moderator's pastoral letter on Disability Royal Commission | 21-05-2020 | DownloadPreview |
| Guidelines For Disability Access | 24-04-2020 | DownloadPreview |
| Mental Health Kit | 13-07-2023 | DownloadPreview |