Community organisations invited to apply for $200 million in funding to increase participation by people with disability

The government plans to spend the Inclusive Communities Fund over three years, creating more opportunities for people with disability to participate in social, recreational, arts, sporting, cultural or other community activities.

The department said the fund would be considered successful if more people living with disability were able to join sports clubs, theatre groups, community gardens, volunteering groups, multicultural organisations or other communities. The funding would be aimed at helping such organisations to provide more inclusive activities and facilities.

A consultation process that explains the plan and calls for submissions, especially from people with disability, is open until August 31, and the fund is intended to be active by June 2027, running through to 2029.

“Building inclusive communities is a policy priority for Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031,” the consultation paper explained. “Meaningful community participation helps people to feel a sense of belonging, build confidence, strengthen skills, form meaningful relationships, and enhance their wellbeing and safety. It is about creating opportunities for people with disability to feel welcome, develop lasting friendships, and be recognised as valued members of their community.”

The fund is intended to work alongside other programs already established to support involvement for people with disability, but it will not fund infrastructure or activities that organisations are already legally required to provide, including making reasonable adjustments as required under the Disability Discrimination Act.

It will not provide funding to individuals or NDIS service providers, although funding could support community organisations that deliver some NDIS services, as well as broader community activities.

The paper seeks to distance the Inclusive Communities Fund planning from wider discussion about changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It acknowledges the concerns that people with disability, their families, carers and kin and the broader disability sector have about proposed changes while stating, “These changes are not the focus of this paper.”

Instead, it seeks to draw on meetings already held with representative and community organisations across Australia, on an independent review of the NDIS, and on the findings and recommendations about community inclusion from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, which delivered its final report in 2023.

The Department of Health said the final form of the fund would depend on submissions, but it expected the fund to support not-for-profit community organisations that provide or would like to provide opportunities for people living with disability to participate in social activities in their community.

It listed types of community organisations that could be eligible to apply for funding:

• Sports and recreation organisations
• Arts and cultural organisations
• Multicultural organisations
• First Nations community organisations
• NFPs or volunteering groups, such an environmental conservation groups
• Local councils and places they operate, such as libraries and community centres
• Other organisations looking to support people in participating in the local community.

“Organisations would need to show they are working with people with disability. We expect partnership arrangements between community organisations and disability-led organisations to be a good way to do this,” the paper said. “This could include partnerships between community organisations and disability advocacy groups, representative organisations or NDIS providers. These partnerships will help community organisations build the skills and knowledge to deliver more inclusive and accessible services.”

The funding is very much intended for not-for-profit organisations: the paper is explicit in saying that the fund will not provide funding to for-profit community organisations, mainstream service systems, like hospitals, schools, housing and transport services, or businesses such as shopping centres, restaurants or cinemas.

The fund is time-limited and intended to create lasting change by supporting staff training, building partnerships with disability organisations, funding small purchases to help people with disability to be able to access services, funding expert advice on how to make services more inclusive, and funding other projects that change how organisations operate to make them more inclusive.

Between now and August 31, the department is calling for written submissions, video submissions (including in Auslan), emails, and requests for phone calls from organisations seeking to share their views on how the funds can be most effective.

A list of questions the department would like answered is included in the consultation paper, here.