Diversity and inclusion

Access and inclusion

DEECA brings together Victoria’s climate change response, biodiversity protection, resource recovery, water energy, land management, planning and emergency management functions into a single department. This enables an integrated approach to create thriving environments and communities and supporting Victoria’s economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

In our commitment to delivering the best outcomes for Victorians, DEECA understands and recognises that this is best achieved by fostering and valuing the diversity of our workforce and the communities in which we operate. DEECA aims to offer supportive, accessible and inclusive workplaces for our employees with disability, as well as accessible services for people with disability in our broader community.

Access and Inclusion Plan 2021-24 (PDF, 2.1 MB)

Access and Inclusion Plan 2021-24 accessible (DOCX, 106.6 KB)

Our vision and principles

Our vision for diversity, inclusion and belonging is a workplace culture that embraces individual differences in all forms and fosters innovation.

We live our diversity and inclusion values when our people:

• connect effectively with our diverse customers and communities to understand their needs
• embrace different viewpoints
• have equal opportunity in the workplace
• feel they belong and know their unique contribution is valued
• leverage the experience and ideas of others.

What is our access and inclusion plan?

Our Access and inclusion plan 2021–2024 (AIP) sets out our continued commitment under the obligations of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and aligns with Commonwealth and State government inclusion initiatives. The AIP has been developed with an emphasis on striving to remove barriers to participation for people with disability and improving our current practices across all areas of the department.

We have developed this plan by completing a formal evaluation of the 2018–2020 AIP, reviewing our current practices and by holding a series of focus groups with employees from across the organisation, including people with disability.

The AIP’s priorities and actions outline clear and measurable outcomes for people with disability and provide the opportunity for continuous improvement. A mid-term review will be undertaken in 2022 to ensure the AIP stays consistent with national and State disability frameworks.

The AIP is based on 4 priorities:

Priority 1: Inclusive workplace culture and capability

An inclusive workplace culture increases our capability to provide meaningful employment opportunities for people with disability at all levels of the organisation. It allows us to harness the knowledge and lived experience of our disability employee networks.

Priority 2: Inclusive places and spaces

An accessible work environment is one that provides equal access to our places and spaces to support access and inclusion for people with disability.

Priority 3: Inclusive information and communication

Accessible information and communications provided in alternative formats and preferred communication methods enable increased participation for people with disability.

Priority 4: Inclusive communities

An accessible and inclusive community ensures all Victorians can access our services and programs equally, including people with disability.

In building on our success in access and inclusion, we are working towards supporting and developing our employees to increase their disability confidence. This will help us deliver more meaningful outcomes for people with disability.

Our aim is to embed access and inclusion in everything we do and to offer accessible and inclusive workplaces and services for our employees, customers and community.

How can you contribute?

Our access and inclusion plan provides the opportunity for us to work with our community to increase engagement and promote continuous improvement and innovations in access and inclusion. We welcome your feedback.

If you have feedback or suggestions about this plan, you can diversity.inclusion@delwp.vic.gov.au.