We're creating a new Inclusive Banyule Plan, 2026–2033. This Plan is all about making sure everyone in our community feels welcome, included and can take part in daily life.

Over the past four years, the current Plan (2022–2026) has helped make Banyule a fairer and more accessible place. It has guided us to think about how different parts of a person’s identity — like culture, disability, gender, age or background — can affect the barriers they face. Using this approach, we have completed almost 200 actions to improve inclusion across the organisation and community.

Through to June 2026, we're talking with different people and groups to help shape the new Plan. These conversations will focus on fairness, access, cultural safety, lived experience and how decisions are made. The goal is to make sure that everyone feels listened to, respected and is able to share ideas that matter to them.

When we feel included, we're healthier, the economy is stronger, and we connect better with each other and the broader community.

Everyone has a role in helping to make our services, workplaces and local community fair and welcoming. We should all be able to use the same facilities, join in activities, and have our basic rights respected. The Inclusive Banyule Plan explains how we are making our services more inclusive, and how it teams up with the community and other organisations to remove barriers that stop people from getting involved and receiving the support they need.

A big part of the first Plan (2022-2026) was to build understanding and appreciation of diversity. To do this, we created useful tools and resources, trained staff, and made sure people with lived experience were part of the conversation. These actions helped to change attitudes, encouraged people to talk about inclusion, and gave staff the confidence to think about fairness in everything we do.

The Plan also aimed to make Banyule’s diverse communities more visible. We celebrated different cultures, identities, and experiences through events and partnerships. Activities like Midsumma, IDAHOBIT, Harmony Day, and International Day of People with Disability brought people together and helped build visibility and a stronger sense of belonging.

Another important focus was removing bigger, long‑term barriers that stop some people from taking part. We used tools like Gender Impact Assessments and Universal Design principles, checked if spaces were accessible, and made sure big projects—like the Public Toilet Plan, Parking Permit Policy, and the new Rosanna Library—were designed to include everyone. These changes help create spaces and services that work better for all people.

The Plan also helped people with lived experience have a stronger voice. This happened through advisory groups, co‑designed projects, and community‑led initiatives like the disability webpage, the Golden Rainbow social group, and the SALDIG youth project. These partnerships helped us make choices that better reflect what the community actually needs.

Here are some things we currently know about the Banyule community:

• 24% of people say they feel lonely
• 12% feel they don’t have enough chances to connect with others
• 10% don’t feel part of their local community
• Feeling safe matters a lot, and this varies between suburbs
  • North eastern suburbs: 7.8/10
  • Northern suburbs: 5.3/10
• Many people struggle to be physically active because of accessibility needs, safety concerns (physical, cultural or emotional), or cost.

All of this work improved how we operate, made services and places more inclusive, and created a strong starting point for the next stage of the Inclusive Banyule Plan (2026–2033).