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Engaging people with a disability

Levels and guiding principles of effective engagement

The Queensland Government has adopted the engagement model of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This model recognises a continuum of community engagement:

Each engagement level is appropriate in particular circumstances to achieve particular outcomes. At times it is necessary to engage at two or more levels to achieve the desired outcomes.

The Queensland Government has also identified six guiding principles which provide the basis for effective engagement in all circumstances. These principles are shown in Table 1 below, along with some examples of the applications of each principle when engaging with the disability sector.

Table 1
Guiding principle Examples of applications when engaging with people with a disability
Inclusiveness — connecting with those who are hardest to reach
  • ensure people with a disability and the broader disability sector are able to participate in community-wide engagement processes
  • take steps to address the specific needs of people with a disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 3
Reaching out — changing the ways government and community work together for the better
  • look for ways to involve people who do not usually participate in engagement processes, e.g. family members who provide primary care to a person with a significant disability or people with a disability who do not feel comfortable in group settings
Mutual respect — listening, understanding and acting on experiences different from our own
  • ensure engagement processes encourage and recognise the unique abilities and opinions of people with a disability
  • seek advice from members of the disability sector when planning to engage people with a disability
Integrity — promoting integrity in the democratic processes of government engagement
  • take time to check information provided by people with a disability is represented accurately and appropriately
  • let participants know how information they provided will be considered in decision-making processes
Affirming diversity — changing the processes of government to incorporate diverse values and beliefs
  • encourage the participation of all members of a community, regardless of ability or disability in policy development, planning and decision making
  • recognise the diverse abilities, experiences, needs and aspirations of people within the disability sector when planning an engagement process
Adding value — working productively together to add value in policy development, and program and service planning
  • review engagement plans to check whether they will contribute to building more inclusive communities
  • seek to ensure all participants feel that they have benefited from their participation in the engagement process.

Planning an engagement strategy

All successful community engagement processes require careful planning to balance the complex requirements of government agencies, key stakeholder groups and the broader community. Broad community engagement events or processes can often be made accessible to people with a disability by considering the factors below.

Planning considerations

To plan and implement an effective engagement strategy it is important to:

  • ascertain organisational and political support for the engagement
  • understand what the agency hopes to achieve by engaging with the disability sector (content and process outcomes)
  • understand the range and location of people who are likely to be interested in the issue
  • decide which level or levels of engagement are appropriate
  • decide whether you would prefer participants to represent their personal opinion or the opinion of particular groups of people - if the latter applies, it will be important to understand who participants represent and how others can contact them
  • understand agency and sector timelines
  • develop strategies for ensuring that information generated through engagement is considered in decision-making processes
  • understand the community’s level of influence and who will have responsibility for making final decisions on topics explored through an engagement process. (Avoid seeking community input on matters already finalised.)
  • understand the extent, nature and outcomes of any previous engagement with interested parties
  • liaise with people across the disability sector to understand which engagement processes are most likely to meet stakeholders’ needs and deliver effective outcomes to government and the community
  • be able to articulate the benefits of participating in the engagement process to people with a disability, their families and carers and the broader disability sector
  • be able to articulate the roles public servants will play in the engagement process, and the roles members of the community will be invited to play
  • commit sufficient resources to enable flexible approaches which reach out to a range of people with different disabilities
  • be able to articulate how the information generated through engagement will be used and how feedback will be provided.

A Ministerial Regional Community Forum was held in Townsville which had a focus on disability issues. To ensure maximum accessibility for people with a disability, a detailed planning tool was developed which focussed on the specific needs of a range of people with a disability, e.g. people with a hearing impairment, people who have difficulty reaching with their arms and people who rely on walking aids and wheel chairs. Attention was paid to the accessibility of:

  • invitations and promotional materials
  • the building and its surrounds
  • internal building features and
  • the running of the forum itself.

The planning tool enabled a systematic assessment of the accessibility requirements of a range of people and the identification and monitoring of actions to promote access and participation.

Reference group

To ensure the broadest, most appropriate and contemporary range of issues is considered when planning a significant community engagement process, it is useful to establish a reference group.

Reference groups can provide information to help make key decisions such as:

  • whether key people with a disability are likely to prefer to participate in community-wide engagement processes or strategies targeted to people with a disability, or both
  • which engagement methods are most likely to be supported
  • where people with a disability are likely to feel comfortable or uncomfortable
  • whether formal and informal networks exist within a community and can be accessed to support the engagement process
  • whether particular cultural protocols should be observed
  • whether previous engagement processes are likely to have encouraged or discouraged people from participating in the planned process
  • whether opportunities exist to link the planned engagement process to other activities, local events, etc., to minimise effects on participants
  • how to ensure people who may have an interest in the engagement strategy are aware of it in time to participate
  • whether a number of community engagement events should be held in the one community to enable a range of people to participate.

When working with a reference group on processes to engage people with a disability, their families and carers and the broader disability sector it is important to:

  • ensure members have a diverse range of knowledge and experience which is relevant to the engagement process and/or topic
  • ensure that roles, responsibilities, resources and timelines are clear and understood by all members
  • ensure processes enable all members to participate equally in discussions and decision making
  • allow time for members to circulate materials to their networks and to receive and collate feedback on key reference group agenda items
  • provide information in formats which can be easily circulated by members to their networks (e.g. summaries and dot points)
  • ensure the knowledge and recommendations of the reference group are valued and considered.

For significant statewide community engagement strategies, the work of a statewide reference group might be supported by local or regional groups.

It may be appropriate to liaise with Disability Services Queensland’s community support officer (disability) in your region about opportunities for regional disability council members to advise government agencies planning an engagement strategy. Council members may also have an interest in participating in the engagement process. Council members have a diverse range of knowledge and experience of disability issues as well as a range of community and organisational networks across a region.

As a general rule, it is often best to involve people as early in any engagement process as is possible (e.g. at the planning and scoping stage). Many community members resent being asked to participate in an engagement process if it appears that key decisions have already been made without community input.

  • 3 Refer to Engaging Queenslanders: An introduction to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Engaging Queenslanders: Introduction to working with culturlly and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
Last reviewed
25 May 2011
Last updated
31 May 2011