Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2024 - 29

Below is the web text version of the Western Australian Museum's 2024 - 2029 DAIP.

Disability Access & Inclusion Plan 2024 - 2029

The information in this document will be available in alternative formats, including large print, electronic format by email, html format, on the Museum’s website, or in Braille, on individual request.

A young person with a beanie uses a white cane while touching a textured exhibit, with others nearby.

 

FOREWORD

I am pleased to present the Western Australian Museum’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP) for 2024–29. The DAIP has been developed on the basis that people with disability, their families, and carers have the same rights to access our services as any member of the community.

It has been prepared following a thorough review of the WA Museum Disability Action and Inclusion Plan 2018–22, and extensive consultation with both internal and external stakeholders.

The DAIP aligns with the A Western Australia for Everyone: State Disability Strategy 2020–30, and the key values and strategic pillars of the Western Australian Museum Strategic Plan 2022–26.

The Museum seeks, continuously, to improve access to its services, content, buildings, facilities, employment opportunities and information. The transformative power of digital and other new technologies provides key opportunities to increase access and widen inclusion.

The Museum acknowledges that while its DAIP focusses on meeting the needs of people with disability, their families and carers, the improved access and inclusion is for the benefit of everyone.

Public museums represent a significant social investment. For the Western Australian Museum, the DAIP 2024–29 is central to delivering a leading museum service that is accessible to, and enjoyed by, all members of the community.

Alec Coles
Chief Executive Officer

1. About the Western Australian Museum

1.1 Museum and Cultural Sites

WA Museum Boola Bardip, Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Perth
WA Shipwrecks Museum, Cliff Street, Fremantle.
WA Maritime Museum, Victoria Quay, Fremantle.
Museum of the Great Southern, Residency Road, Albany.
Museum of Geraldton, Museum Place, Batavia Coast Marina, Geraldton.
Museum of the Goldfields, Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie.
WA Museum Collections and Research Centre, 49 Kew Street, Welshpool.
Gwoonwardu Mia, Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre, 146 Robinson Street, Carnarvon.

1.2 Summary of Museum Services

The principle ways in which people engage with the Museum are:

  • Permanent and temporary exhibitions.
  • Guided tours.
  • Schools and Public Programs, on-site, off-site and on-line.
  • Online resources.
  • Media.
  • Partnerships.
  • Community events.
  • Outreach activities to the wider WA community.

2. DAIP Policy Statement

The Museum is committed to ensuring that all aspects of the Museum and its operations are fully accessible to all sectors of the community by removing or reducing physical, sensory or intellectual barriers to access.

The Museum interprets fully accessible to mean that all Museum activities, facilities and services (both in-house and contracted) are open and available to, and usable by people with disabilities, thereby providing them with the same opportunities, rights and responsibilities enjoyed by other people in the community.

The Museum will consult with people with disabilities, their families and carers, and with disability service providers, to ensure that barriers to access and inclusion are addressed appropriately.

The Museum will ensure that its agents and contractors work towards the desired access and inclusion outcomes in this DAIP.

3. Museum DAIP Achievements 2018–22

The Museum’s DAIP was last reviewed in 2022. Some examples of progress during the previous DAIP (2018–22) to deliver an accessible and inclusive museum service for WA were as follows:

Outcome 1: People with disability have the same opportunities to access services and events organised by a public authority.

  • The purchase of a 3D scanner has enabled the Museum to create new resources and introduce new tactile experiences for visitors.
  • Partnerships with NDIS providers: as an example, the WA Maritime Museum hosted touch-and-explore sensory events in association with the temporary exhibition Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators. This initiative was made possible in partnership with VisAbility to create an outreach event for people with no or low vision.
  • The Sensitive Santa annual sensory event hosted at the Museum of the Goldfields, Kalgoorlie.
  • The WA Maritime Museum launched a 360° virtual reality tour of the HMAS Ovens submarine, HMAS Ovens: Take a virtual tour. Developed in partnership with EventSpace3D.
  • The Museum of the Goldfields, Museum of Geraldton, and the WA Museum Boola Bardip introduced sensory backpacks, which include a number of resources such as visual stories, sensory maps, fidget toys, and ear defenders, for self-regulation, tactile input, attention focusing and body awareness support.
  • Footsteps facilitated pilot program at the WA Museum Boola Bardip aimed to increase and enrich the museum experience for older visitors and those with early stages of dementia, Alzheimer's, or physical frailty.
  • WA Museum Boola Bardip offers Colour Accessibility Kits, which contain glasses and support material to provide an optimum experience of galleries for those with colour blindness.
  • The WA Museum Boola Bardip launched Kaya Wandjoo Club program for adults living with intellectual disability.

  • The Museum of the Great Southern introduced an Art–Ability weekly group, hosting guided creative workshops for local people with a disability.

    Three people observing a rock display in a museum.

 

Outcome 2: People with disability have the same opportunities to access the buildings and other facilities of a public authority.

  • Site pathway upgrades, tactile indicators, and handrail installations introduced at the Museum of the Great Southern.
  • The Museum of Geraldton modified parking bays to provide two ACROD parking bays, renovated toilets for wheelchair accessibility, and modified workspace to accommodate the needs of volunteers, including one with restricted mobility and another who has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal.
  • The WA Maritime Museum replaced front entrance tiles leading to the main entry doors to improve ease of access to the building.

Outcome 3: People with disability receive information from a public authority in a format enabling them to access the information as readily as others.

  • A set of online and on-site support resources, Everyone is Included, was developed in consultation with the Autism Association of Western Australia. The pack includes visual supports and stories, sensory maps, accessible routes for entry to the Museum, and details of quiet times and spaces.
  • Accessible information has been prioritised across the main areas of the Museum website. The ‘Plan a visit’ and exhibition webpages are a key focus with updated layout and imagery, with an emphasis in the last six months to roll out key event information, plus site access information across every public program and event page.
  • The Museum of the Goldfields developed an online Social Story in collaboration with Full Circle Therapies for the Dinosaur Explore: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous exhibition. The Social Story outlined the exhibition journey, to help families with children who find heightened sensory environments challenging prepare for their visit.

Outcome 4: People with disability receive the same level and quality of service from the staff of a public authority as other people.

  • The WA Museum Boola Bardip continues to offer complimentary companion access to all ticketed programming as part of the WA Companion Card program.
  • The Museum’s marketing and media team undertook refresher training on Access and Inclusion to ensure the most up-to-date guidelines and insights are incorporated in all Museum marketing and communications.
  • The Museum continues to deliver Access and Inclusion training sessions in person and online to staff and volunteers.
  • Multiple Museum sites have joined the Hidden Disability Sunflower program, supporting people with invisible disabilities.

Outcome 5: People with disability have the same opportunities to make complaints to a public authority.

  • Feedback, including complaints, is welcomed and can be provided in numerous formats, including in person, on behalf of another person, over the phone, via email, or by written correspondence.
  • The Museum continues to review and improve the Customer Feedback Policy and Procedure.

Outcome 6: People with disability have the same opportunities to participate in any public consultation by a public authority.

  • As part of the development of the new DAIP, the Museum offered three consultation sessions which included two in-person and one online session. An Auslan interpreter was present at all the sessions. The surveys were made available online and in hard copy-formats.
  • An Access and Inclusion Panel – The Museum actively consulted with a panel of representatives comprised of people with disabilities, advocates, and carers, to ensure universal access requirements were central to the development of the WA Museum Boola Bardip.
  • The Museum continues to conduct audience research with community members, including people with disabilities, for input into visitor experiences, graphic design, and programs are ongoing.

Outcome 7: People with disability have the same opportunities as other people to obtain and maintain employment with a public authority.

  • The Museum partnered with Visibility, a partner of CoAct and an accredited Disability Employment Services provider, to place candidates with a disability.
  • The Museum continues to collaborate with Pioneering Pathways, a not-for-profit Disability Employment Services provider. For instance, a volunteer with cerebral palsy joined the Museum’s Fremantle sites volunteer cohort. The Museum made reasonable adjustments to the volunteer program and provided additional support as necessary.
  • Improved accessibility in Telecoms and clarified job advertisements with additional wording. Job advertisements now include Word documents for use with print reading technologies.

  • Andrew, a young man with autism spectrum disorder, has volunteered at the Museum of the Goldfields since 2019. He assists the Museum with projects such as preparing material for events and school holiday programs. The Museum sought feedback on Andrew's volunteer experience in consultation with Andrew's mum.

    How does volunteering at the Museum benefit Andrew?

    “It has increased Andrew’s self-esteem and given him some more ‘outside world’ experience. His social anxiety used to make it almost impossible to try new things due to thinking he can’t do it. He is also more confident in completing new tasks as, for example, this is something he has done at the Museum. He is very proud of himself for being there for so long and talks about it a lot.”

Group of people with a guide dog in a museum exhibit with a large fossil skull in the background.

 

4. Consultation

In August 2023, the WA Museum partnered with two Cultural Statutory Agencies (CSA), the State Library of Western Australia and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, to undertake joint stakeholder consultation for the Perth metropolitan area in preparation for each organisation’s new DAIPs.

Independent consultant Ricky Arnold, from Ricky Arnold and Associates, was engaged in August 2023 to review the CSA’s existing DAIPS and facilitate consultation on behalf of the CSAs, including:

  • Desktop research – review of the CSA’s current Strategic Plans, Disability Access and Inclusion Plans and reporting.
  • Advertisement in the West Australian newspaper on Saturday 23 September 2023.
  • Public Consultation – online surveys and three public forums.
    • Forum 1 – In person (Metropolitan) – WA Museum Boola Bardip on Saturday 7 October 2023, 10.00am – 12noon. Auslan Interpreter present.
    • Forum 2 – (Online) – Tuesday 10 October 2023, 5.30pm – 7.30pm. Auslan Interpreter present. This session was facilitated at a DADAA Pty Ltd studio.
    • Forum 3 – In person (Regional) – Museum of the Great Southern – Saturday 14 October 2023, 10.00am – 12noon. Auslan Interpreter present.
    • Online Public Consultation Survey – Saturday 23 September 2023 to Monday 16 October 2023. All directors and managers were encouraged to spread the word with key external stakeholders to invite feedback.
  • Internal staff consultation – In-person and telephone interviews and two online surveys through Google Forms were live from Tuesday 3 October to Saturday 16 October 2023.
    • Staff Consultation Survey for all staff, volunteers and research associates.
    • Managers and Directors Consultation Survey.
    • In-person partner and stakeholder interviews.
  • Alternative formats of the survey were available at each visiting Museum sites.

Separate from the above, the Museum also engaged David Doyle, from DADAA Ltd, an organisation specialising in the arts and disability, on two separate occasions:

  • To facilitate workshop for Managers as part of the Managers’ Forum to explore the Museum’s new DAIP planning beyond across all business areas.
  • To visit the Museum’s regional sites in Albany, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, and Geraldton and engage with Local Government Authorities to provide a comprehensive snapshot of access and inclusion across the regional sites. This ensured the inclusion of regional outcomes in new DAIP planning.

5. Key findings of the Consultation

A total of 128 responses were received during the consultation, and the comments covered a broad range of topics. The following statements are samples from Museum visitors, stakeholders, volunteers, and staff that relate to recommendations for improvements:

  • Accessibility information for events more readily available, including promoting non-peak periods.
  • Gallery and exhibition spaces – lighting too dark, display heights, flashing lights and text sizing of text panels.
  • Bulkier and heavier wheelchair and power chair users do not fit under basin cabinets.
  • More audio guides, hearing loops, subtitles or transcripts for vision impaired.
  • More seating in exhibition spaces, with consideration to elderly visitors, not too low.
  • A Museum-wide approach to access and inclusion offers, across all sites.
  • An embedded approach to access and inclusion in everything we do.
  • Continuous offer of access and inclusion training in-person and e-learning for front of house staff, all staff, managers, recruitment panels.
  • Chair lift and lift frequently unavailable – Museum of Great Southern.
  • Create an environment for open conversations with managers to encourage disclosures of disabilities and requests for reasonable adjustments.
  • Staff awareness of the Museum’s DAIP, and the provision of accessible information.
  • There are accessibility constraints imposed by older-style, or heritage buildings, in the regions.
  • Work placement opportunities.
  • More accessible toilets, and the inclusion of Changing Places.

6. Promotion of the new DAIP

The Museum’s DAIP 2024-29 will be promoted to the community by:

  • making the DAIP available on the Museum’s website.
  • promoting the DAIP on social media channels and the staff intranet.
  • providing a copy of the DAIP to the community members and other stakeholders who participated in the consultation process.

The information in this document will be available in alternative formats, including large print, electronic format by email, html format, on the Museum’s website, or in Braille, on individual request.

7. Accountability

The Museum will prepare an annual DAIP Implementation Plan, endorsed by the Executive Management Team at the commencement of each financial year. The Implementation Plan shall outline steps to implement the DAIP at an operation level and be used as the benchmark against which reporting is undertaken at the end of the year.

Staff members responsible for actions will be asked to provide a progress update every six months. This information will contribute to the annual progress report submitted to the Minister for Disability Services. Additionally, the Museum will report the key achievements to improve access and inclusion in the Annual Report.

Where contractors and agents are engaged to deliver a service on behalf of the Museum in the context of access and inclusion, they will be provided with a copy of this DAIP and asked to report on relevant measures taken to implement it, as appropriate depending on the type of service delivered.

8. DAIP Strategies 2024–29

Click here to access the Museum's Strategic Plan.

Museum Values:

  • Respectful – We will respect the views, and opinions of others, consider their needs and sensibilities, and work collaboratively to build trust and understanding.
  • Inclusive – We welcome and engage with people of all abilities, backgrounds and experiences. We will make sure that our workplace, facilities, programs and resources are accessible to all.
  • Accountable – We exist for the benefit of all the people of Western Australia, including those in the regions. We hold ourselves accountable to them and are custodians of their collections.
  • Enterprising – We will be creative, resourceful, imaginative, innovative, agile and entrepreneurial. We will be commercially astute, embrace change and aspire to excellence in all we do.
  • Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia – We acknowledge the primary rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in their cultural heritage and will work collaboratively to advance understanding between all peoples.

The Museum will implement an internal Access and Inclusion committee to consider a State-wide approach to access and inclusion investment across all Museum sites and services, and to include feedback considerations from this consultation. Progress will be reported through the preparation and submission of an annual DAIP Implementation Plan, with the input from all business areas.

The Museum’s initiatives are presented according to the seven outcomes to which the WA Museum commits, and reports on, as follows:

Services and Events

  • Extend the Museum’s investment in digital and physical tools to maximise access and inclusion for people with disability.
  • Ensure a Museum-wide approach and investment to access and inclusion, including visual stories, visual supports, sensory maps, way-finding tools, sensory backpacks, audio visual and improved services for those with hidden disabilities, across all Museum sites.

Buildings and Facilities

  • Undertake access audits across all Museum sites to identify areas of accessibility improvement, prioritising regional sites where there are accessibility constraints due to the older-style or heritage buildings.
  • Explore the feasibility of installation of Changing Places, where possible.

Service Quality

  • Carry out an access and inclusion training needs analysis, based on survey feedback, to map out a program of in-person and e-learning for organisational, operational, and individual training needs.
  • Promote awareness of the Museum’s DAIP, responsibilities, and an understanding of different format options.
  • Ensure universal access is fundamental to the planning, design and installation of Museum exhibitions.

Information

  • Continue to provide information in alternative formats upon request by a person with disability and ensure staff know where to find that information.
  • Provide interpreter services for key services whenever requested, noting that, for some people, Auslan is their first language.
  • Develop Everyone is Included resources for Museum of Geraldton, and Museum of the Great Southern.

Complaints

  • Review the Museum’s Customer Feedback policy and procedures, in consultation with relevant accredited disability services organisations.

Consultation

  • Continue to consult and collaborate with disability advocacy groups and service providers to develop and enhance access and inclusion programs, resources and experiences, based on local area needs.
  • Explore strategic partnership and collaboration opportunities with the City of Albany, to extend programming and local activation.

Employment

  • Embed disability access and inclusion in employment practice and workplace design.
  • Investigate work placement opportunities.
  • Develop guidelines for Managers and staff on ‘reasonable adjustments’.

9. Relevant legislation and Standards

10. Feedback

The Museum is committed to improve access and inclusion and welcomes your feedback.

If you require any further information or if you require the plan in an alternative format, you can contact us at:

Contact us:

Email: daip@museum.wa.gov.au
Phone 1300 134 081
Write to: Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA 6986

11. TTY National Relay Services

You can contact the Museum through the National Relay Services, as follows:

  • TTY users phone 133 677.
  • Speak and Listen users phone 1300 555 727.
  • Alternatively, use the National Relay Service website.