Media release – 12 December 2023

The Centre for Inclusive Design has today launched our call for Australia’s first-ever inclusive design labs. The call follows Disability Minister Bill Shorten’s Thursday address at National Press Club where he spoke about the need to design the NDIS ‘with’ not ‘for’ people with disability. This is a sentiment shared by Centre for Inclusive Design, whose mission is to help organisations and government make a more inclusive and accessible society.  

“Now is time for Australia’s first-ever inclusive design labs. Last week’s press club address shows we now have a government that understands inclusive design, and the importance of designing with not for communities impacted by policy and industry-based designs and decisions,” explained Dr Manisha Amin, CEO for Centre for Inclusive Design. 

In his press address, Minister Shorten explained, “There are only about 600,000 people who are participants in the NDIS so none of us are absolved in making Australia more inclusive and accessible for the other 3.9 million Australians with disability.”   

Centre for Inclusive Design believes the labs are integral in ensuring we all do our part to make Australia more inclusive and accessible for people with disability and others across Australia who are also excluded from traditional design. 

“The Inclusive design labs will be a physical space where government, industry and other stakeholders can design with not for people traditionally excluded from mainstream design practices. That includes but is not limited to people with disability. It will also include culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people who are neurodivergent – to name a few,” continued Amin. 

“We have seen the inclusive design labs work extremely effectively elsewhere in the world. Now is time for Australia to launch its own,” Amin said. 

“The coming months will be critical in engaging with government to highlight the benefits of the labs. To succeed, government will need to support and invest in the labs which will encourage the private sector to follow suit. We feel optimistic the time is right for this conversation and will be advocating for the labs in 2024. We believe government and industry want to design inclusively but it is about having the physical space to do it,” explained Amin. 

ENDS 

For all media enquiries, please contact Anne Rutherford on 0481 948 858. 

Dr Manisha Amin is the chief strategist and visionary in the inclusion sector and a thought leader in the power of thinking from the edge. Last year, she was invited to give evidence at the Disability Royal Commission on how to improve services and support within the Disability sector.