Byron Shire Council is inviting the community to review and provide feedback on its updated Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2025 to 2029 by 28 September 2025.

You can visit Council’s Customer Service Centre in Mullumbimby for assistance with providing your feedback, or go to Council’s website at: https://yoursay.byron.nsw.gov.au/DIAP.

Easy read versions are available online and in hard copy, or contact us on 6626 7000 to discuss your needs.

The draft Plan has been informed by over 280 community submissions received during consultation in late 2024, and outlines Council’s commitment to building a Shire where everyone belongs, is welcomed, and can thrive.

“This Plan is shaped by lived experience and informed by the hard work of our Access Consultative Working Group and local organisations supporting people in our community with disability,” said Council’s Project Officer, Malcolm Foard. 

“It’s not just words—it’s a roadmap for real change that commits us to delivering a range of actions, so that we can continue to ensure that accessibility is at the heart of everything we do at Council, and throughout the Shire,” Mr Foard said.

Key actions include:

• Improved processes to put access and inclusion front and centre of grant funded community projects.
• Improvements to accessibility in parks, playgrounds, recreational facilities, public facilities, and Council owned holiday cabins.
• Ongoing upgrades to footpaths and ramps.
• Coordinating a disability-inclusive emergency planning forum to improve our response during disasters.
• Support for local businesses to enhance inclusion.
• A public awareness campaign on visible and invisible disabilities.
• An accessibility audit of Council’s Lone Goat Gallery to support more inclusive programming.
• Ensuring that Council’s Access Consultative Working Group informs the implementation of the Byron Bay Town Centre Master Plan implementation.

“We encourage everyone to read the draft Plan and share their thoughts, so that the final Plan reflects local needs and aspirations – to ensure we’ve got it right,” Mr Foard said.

To view the DIAP and provide feedback, visit: https://yoursay.byron.nsw.gov.au/DIAP.