The Women’s is reaffirming our commitment to increasing access and inclusion for and with people with disability, with the launch of our 2026 Disability Action Plan (DAP).
The Women’s is reaffirming our commitment to increasing access and inclusion for and with people with disability, with the launch of our 2026 Disability Action Plan (DAP).
The aim of this plan is to continue to drive progress towards our vision to be a disability-confident organisation. That means providing inclusive, equitable and respectful healthcare and employment.
The focus is on four key areas:
- Service access: partnering with people with disability to provide accessible, high-quality, evidence-based healthcare
- Changing attitudes and behaviours: changing attitudes and practices that disadvantage people with disability by tackling discrimination and stereotyping
- Employment and volunteer opportunities and experiences: increasing employment opportunities, career development and the retention of staff with disability
- Inclusion and participation: promoting the inclusion and participation of people with disability through celebration, recognition, awareness and visibility.
Shaping change through lived experience
Current and former staff and patients of the Women’s who are living with disability were involved in creating the plan.
One of these patients was Chrissy Thompson, a former patient of the Women with Individual Needs (WIN) Clinic. Chrissy is now a member of the Women’s Disability Action Plan Advisory Committee.
She says working with people with living experience is the only way we can make real, lasting change and reduce the barriers people with disability face in healthcare and employment.
“The Women’s has not only given me a seat at the table, but a voice that is actively sought out and listened to,” she says.
Actions in this plan build on the work that was started in 2019 with the launch of the Women’s first Disability Action Plan, and continued with the second DAP in 2022. Chrissy has been involved from early on.
“I’ve seen real progress over the past five years that I have been involved. Inclusion and accessibility have become things that happen in the everyday workings of the hospital – and it is these micro changes that are often the hardest to achieve. “
A commitment to celebrating diversity
The Women’s Chief Experience Officer Sherri Huckstep says the Disability Action Plan is part of a broader commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging at the Women’s.
“As a hospital, we’re committed to removing structural barriers and discriminatory practices that impact health and employment outcomes,” she says.
“When a patient feels safe to disclose a disability and ask for support, when a staff member feels confident to ask for adjustments, when we celebrate diversity instead of hiding it – that’s when we know real progress is being made.”
Read the full 2026 Disability Action Plan on the Women’s website.