Accessible meetings

Running meetings that everyone can contribute to

About this course

This two hour course will show you how to plan and run meetings and events that are accessible for people with disabilities.

You will learn about:

What is 'disability'?
Language
Who are we talking about?
Inclusion
Neurodiversity
Processing information
Making it happen

Who this course is for

This course will benefit people who:

Organise meetings and events
Present at meetings and events
Run or facilitate meetings and events
Attend meetings and events

For public servants

This course was designed with the needs of the Australian public service in mind. It is informed by the the APSC Public Service Disability Employment Strategy 2020-25, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 the DTA Digital Service Standard, the APS learning design standards for digital, and the SFIA digital skills and competency framework.

How this course is taught

This course can be taught either online or in person. Both options are designed for accessibility.

This course uses a combination of lecture content, small group discussions, real-world examples, video, and collaboration tools such as collaboration boards and polls.

Ask about this course

What you'll learn

Learning outcomes

Describe the medical model of disability
Describe the social model of disability
Define ‘impairments’ and ‘barriers’
Name the 4 barriers set out by People With Disability Australia
Describe which barriers have the most impact on meetings
Describe which barriers that can impact on meetings
they can influence most
Describe the impact of culture and attitude on accessibility
Define person-first language
Define identity-first language
Understand why language preferences differ among people
Understand the legal concept of 'reasonable accommodation'
Describe the level of disability in Australia
Explain why reported levels of disability differ from actual levels of disability
Describe what inclusion is
Understand that good intentions are not sufficient in running accessible meetings
Understand the reputational damage that disabled people can experience as the result of inaccessibility
Understand that there are risks associated with attempting design for disability without consulting people with disabilities
Describe the fundamentals of intersectionality
Describe the legal implications of discrimination on the basis of disability
Name some conditions that make up neurodiversity
Describe the non-linear nature of the autistic spectrum
Name aspects of executive function
Describe the 4 key activities of meetings (information and decision making)
Describe the 3 processes of memory
Describe how to support working memory and long term memory
Describe how accessible meetings make things better for everyone
Describe ways of championing accessibility with stakeholders

Learning outcomes – APSC Learning Design Standards: Digital

‘Acessible meetings’ aligns to the following APSC Learning Design Standards:

Accessibility and inclusion

1. Accessible and inclusive Australian Government services

1.1. Defining accessibility and inclusion
Explain the importance of making Australian Government services inclusive and accessible.

2. Accessibility compliance requirements and guidelines

2.1 Mandatory requirements for accessibility
Comply with accessibility legal and policy framework

2.3 Assistive technology
Design for common types of assistive technologies and adaptive strategies

4. Championing accessibility within your organisation

4.1 Accessibility performance
Assess, monitor, and report on the accessibility performance and capability of your organisation