Our Disability Action Plan sets out what we will do to make our workplace, services, and programs more accessible, welcoming and inclusive.
People with disability remain one of the most disadvantaged groups of Australians, facing barriers in aspects of life that many take for granted.
Often it is not just disability itself but also the barriers that society imposes because of disability that makes life difficult.
Our Disability Action Plans sets out how we're removing those barriers, both for our staff and the patients and consumers we care for.
Have your say on the next Disability Action plan (2027-2030)
We would like to invite patients, consumers, carers and the wider community to help shape the future of accessibility and inclusion at the RMH.
Share your ideas, experiences and feedback in a short survey to inform actions in the next Disability Action Plan.
The survey is open until Sunday 13 September 2026.
Watch a video about the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Disability Action Plan 2023-26 in Auslan or read the transcript below. This video has no audio.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital Disability Action Plan 2023 to 2026
[On screen: Person communicating using Auslan (Australian sign language).]
About the plan
We have a new Disability Action Plan (DAP).
The new Disability Action Plan says how we will make things better for people with disability who - use our services - work with us.
This plan goes from 2023 to 2026.
This video is a summary of the plan.
Why we made the plan
We had a Disability Action Plan from 2019 to 2022.
We want to keep doing good work for people with disability with our new plan.
What we have done
We have already done good work for people with disability.
For example:
- we now have Disability Liaison Officers who work Monday to Friday
- we offer Telehealth appointments.
Disability Liaison Officers help people with disability when they are in hospital and when they use other hospital services.
Telehealth means you can talk to a health worker about your health care on the phone or online.
How we made the plan
We asked people for their ideas.
For example
- people with disability
- our staff
- people in the community.
A group called Accessible Action helped us make the plan.
Accessible Action is an independent consultant.
Independent means they are not part of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Consultant means they ask people for their ideas and help us make a good plan.
What the plan says
There are 5 parts in the plan. The first part of the plan is about knowledge, attitudes and practices.
We will help people who work with us to better understand
- disability
- how to be inclusive.
Inclusive means we make sure everyone can be part of something.
We want everyone to feel
- safe at work
- safe and respected when they use our health services.
We will work with people with disability to
- get ideas and make good changes
- help our staff and volunteers understand disability and mental health.
We will
- welcome people with disability
- listen to people with disability
- treat people in a fair way.
We will talk about disability and inclusion in our staff training.
We will help our staff and volunteers better understand the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The second part of the plan is about inclusive employment.
We want our staff and volunteers to
- do good work and have good opportunities
- feel safe and happy to be themselves at work.
We will support our staff and volunteers to share their experiences of disability.
The third part of the plan is about buildings and physical spaces.
We want our buildings and physical spaces to be accessible for everyone. Accessible means places and things are easy for everyone to use.
We will ask people with disability to help us design new work spaces.
The fourth part of the plan is about access to information.
We will give people information that is easy to understand.
For example
- Auslan services
- plain language information
- an accessible website.
We will make it easy for you to tell us what you think.
For example, to give feedback or make a complaint.
The fifth part of the plan is about services and programs. We will make it easier for people with disability to use our services and programs.
We want people with disability to tell us what they need so they are happy with our services and programs.
We will work to make things better for people with
- physical disability (for example, cerebral palsy or vision impairment)
- disability you cannot see (for example, autism or learning difficulties)
- mental health conditions (for example, bipolar disorder or anxiety).
How we will check the plan
Our Disability Working Group will
- share their ideas about the plan
- support staff to make the plan happen.
Every 6 months we will write a report about how the plan is working. We will also write about the work we are doing in our annual report. An annual report has information about what an organisation does each year.
For more information contact the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
If you call, ask for a Disability Liaison Officer.
[Text on screen:
For more information: contact the Royal Melbourne Hospital
Call: (03) 9342 7000, ask for a Disability Liaison Officer
Website: thermh.org.au
Visit us: 300 Grattan Street Parkville Victoria
If it is an emergency or you do not feel safe, call 000]
If you need help to speak or listen, the National Relay Service can help you make a call.
Translating and Interpreting Service
If you need help with other languages contact the Translating and Interpreting Service.
Acknowledgements
The Royal Melbourne Hospital acknowledges the Kulin nations as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our services are located.
We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We thank First Nations Peoples for their valuable time and contributions in sharing their lived experience to support the development of this plan.
We thank people with disability for sharing their ideas and helping us make a good plan.
[End screen: The Royal Melbourne Hospital]
Key achivements
The current Disability Action Plan included 41 deliverables, all of which have either been completed or are on track for completion.
Through collaboration with consumers, staff, volunteers and community members, the plan has delivered a range of meaningful improvements to accessibility, inclusion and the experience of people with disability at the RMH, including:
- co-design of the Disability Action Plan with people with lived experience of disability to ensure priorities and actions reflect community needs and perspectives;
- introduction of the Disability Identifier to better understand the needs of people with disability and support more tailored, accessible care and services;
- increased flexibility through telehealth and face-to-face appointment options to improve access to healthcare and provide greater choice for people with disability;
- implementation of the Sunflower Program to support people with hidden disabilities and help staff recognise when additional assistance may be required;
- introduction of Disability Awareness Training to build staff knowledge, confidence and understanding of disability inclusion and accessible care;
- development of low sensory spaces, including the ED Hub, to create more welcoming and supportive environments for people who may experience sensory sensitivities;
- improvements to hospital entrances, pathways and accessible parking to enhance physical accessibility and navigation across RMH sites; and
- collaboration with Travellers Aid and the Parkville Precinct to support accessibility initiatives associated with the new Parkville Station and improve access to healthcare services for patients, carers and visitors.
Priority action areas
The Disability Action Plan (2023-2026) focuses on five priority action areas to guide our efforts in improving accessibility, inclusion and participation for people with disability across the RMH.
- Knowledge, attitudes and practices – build staff understanding of disability and inclusion, and work with people with disability to improve our practices
- Inclusive employment – support staff and volunteers to do good work, feel safe and be themselves
- Built environment and physical spaces – create accessible buildings and spaces, co-designed with people with disability
- Access to information – create information that is easy to understand and navigate
- Services and programs – improve our services, and make it easier for people with physical, invisible and mental health-related disability to give us feedback
How to give us feedback
We have developed a guide to help more people tell us what they think about the RMH.