Also, alternatives for Jenny if she can not hear, in the means of hearing loops or interpreter services. And information available to Jenny in forms to be understood if she has an intellectual or a learning disability. Finally, disability awareness training for staff dealing with people in the community, is critical to allow their participation in decision making. Because lots of the time it is people's attitudes that block us as people with disabilities, from making decisions - big decisions and little decisions. Myriad of times when I am travelling by myself, I am blocked from making a decision because someone decides for me, makes that decision for me, and then determines the direction in which they think I want to go.
Access is the next principle and access to information is critical.
Already some excellent initiatives have taken place and the Office of Government On-Line, implementing the Cabinet policy that websites should be accessible, that is, compliant with the W3C guidelines is a critical move in terms of access. But a lot of Commonwealth departments have a long way to go in that area. There are many, many Commonwealth websites which have the vast majority of their documents stored in PDF formats, and they will need to address that if all people, including people with disabilities who use screen readers on computers, are going to be able to access all of that material. Hearing loops and interpreters are again a critical issue for access. Fourthly, accountability - establishing and reporting goals and outcomes in mainstream reporting mechanisms.