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• IDPwD Panel Discussion: Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress

  

  

  Join us to mark the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday, 3 December 2025 (12:00–1:00pm AEST) in our online forum hosted by Griffith Business School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Inclusive Futures Reimagining Disability, and The Hopkins Centre.

  This year’s theme Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress, offers an important opportunity to explore how we can create more inclusive communities as we head towards the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

  In Australia, one in five people experience disability and related barriers to meaningful employment. In this discussion, our panel will consider both the opportunities and challenges of fostering disability inclusion in Southeast Queensland—particularly in the areas of education, employment, volunteering, and business. We’ll also explore how mega-sporting events like Brisbane 2032 can be leveraged as tools for long-term social and economic progress, rather than producing only short-term, event-based opportunities.

  You will hear from:

  Lisa Cox OAM is an author, university researcher, TEDx speaker and internationally awarded thought leader. Her work is focused on epistemic disruption, leveraging the power and influence of industries like media and advertising to change social attitudes about disability while positively impacting social outcomes, like employment.
  
  Dr. Maria Golubovskaya, Lecturer, Griffith Business School – researching youth and disability employment, hospitality work, and service worker wellbeing.
  
  Brad Kinsela GAICD brings an extensive background as disability and social inclusion champion, qualified access consultant and board member/company director, Adjunct Industry Fellow at Griffith University, as well as an extensive career as a 'former' senior executive in the Government for over 26 years, including the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority. Coming from a background of disability and human rights advocacy, lobbying, and community-based human services and practice, it is not surprising that Brad has maintained his connections, profile, and commitment to living in a society that values, services and embraces all members of community

  Separate from his public policy life, his love for family and friends and embracing the outdoor wonders of the world has seen Brad take his passion to have accessibility and inclusion as the 'norm' rather than the exception has taken him to many places, most notably Barcelona and Paris in 2025 during the Paralympic Games.

  Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou is a lecturer and researcher with the Griffith Business School and a distinguished international expert in managing high-performance sport and sports education. Her work focuses particularly on advancing women in sport, accessibility, and inclusive practices that ensure equitable participation and representation. Popi is the founder of Vision for Motion, an innovative app that promotes physical activity, wellbeing, and community connection for people with visual impairments.

  The discussion will be moderated by Dr Kelsey Chapman, Research Fellow with Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability, whose work explores effective service delivery for people with disability, particularly in transport and health.

  Accessibility will be a priority, with live captions available throughout the session. This event will also be recorded and shared post-event, along with a full transcript for those who could not attend via YouTube and our website.

  👉 Register now to be part of this important conversation: https://shorturl.at/Nx5Qk

  More information

  Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability
  inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au

  Dr Millicent Kennelly – Griffith Business School
  m.kennelly@griffith.edu.au

  
  

  

  
  

• Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability joins the World Health Organisation Disability Health Equity Network

  

  

  We’re proud to announce that Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability, Griffith University, led by Professor Elizabeth Kendall OAM GAICD (Director) has officially become a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Disability Health Equity Network — a landmark global initiative driving action to achieve health equity for the 1.3 billion people worldwide with disability.

  Representing Inclusive Futures at the Network’s Inauguration this week (12–13 November) at WHO Headquarters, Geneva, are Dr Kelsey Chapman (Research Fellow, The Dignity Project) and Dr Kelly Clanchy (Program Director, Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology).

  This global collaboration recognises that people with disability continue to face significant and avoidable health inequities—including shorter life expectancy and higher risk of disease—due to systemic barriers in and beyond health systems.

  Investing in disability-inclusive health is not only a human rights obligation—it’s smart policy, with research showing a tenfold return on investment in inclusive health care.

  We’re honoured to contribute to this international movement working to ensure Health for All truly means all.

  
  

  Dr Kelly Clanchy together with Dr Kelsey Chapman at the WHO Conference in Geneva.

  Dr Kelsey Chapman

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Voice of Queenslanders with Disability 2025

  

  Help Amplify the Voices of Queenslanders with Disability

  We are excited to announce that the Voice of Queenslanders with Disability Survey 2025 is now live! This vital research, led by The Dignity Project at Griffith University, provides an opportunity for Queenslanders with disability, their families, carers, and organisations to share their experiences, helping to shape a more inclusive and accessible future.

  We are proud to collaborate with Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) and the Queensland Government’s Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services, and Child Safety to ensure that lived experiences are heard and inform future policies and programs.

  We would greatly appreciate your support in promoting this survey through your networks. You can help by:

  • Taking the survey: https://inclusivefutures.griffith.edu.au/hub-page/vqd
  • Sharing the survey via email, newsletters, or your social media channels
  • Sharing our social media: https://shorturl.at/0oFD6
  • Forwarding this information to any citizen researchers, colleagues, or community members who may be interested
  • Encouraging participation in alternate formats or through phone/virtual interviews

  Survey closes: Wednesday, 30 April 2025

  Accessible and alternate formats are available to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate.

  We appreciate your help in spreading the word so we can reach as many voices as possible. Together, we can work towards a more inclusive Queensland.

  For more information, please contact us at inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au.

  Thank you for your support!

  Dr Kelsey Chapman
  Research Fellow
  The Dignity Project
  Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability

• Empowering Health Communication: Co-Designing with People with Disability

  

  

  📚 Authors: Dr Kelsey Chapman, Dr Connie Allen, Prof. Elizabeth Kendall AM GAICD
  📅 Published: 9 February 2025
  📖 Journal: Journal of Health Communication
  🔗 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2025.2462679

  How can we make health communication truly inclusive? A recent scoping review by Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability researchers explores the power of co-designing health initiatives with people with disability—not just for them.

  Key Insights:

  Inclusive Participation: Engaging people with disabilities from the outset ensures their voices shape accessible, effective health communications.

  Diverse Methods: From workshops and focus groups to participatory action research, different co-design approaches foster genuine collaboration.

  Enhanced Outcomes: Inclusive approaches improve the quality of health information, empower participants, and build trust in health initiatives.

  This research reinforces that co-design isn’t just best practice—it’s essential. When health communication is built with the community, it becomes more impactful, equitable, and transformative.

  More Information:
  
  Dr Kelsey Chapman
  Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability
  Griffith University
  k.chapman@griffith.edu.au

  Prof. Elizabeth Kendall AM GAICD
  e.kendall@griffith.edu.au

  

  
  

  
  

• Disability Reform Summit: Moving from recommendations to evidence-based solutions

  

  

  The Disability Reform Summit was hosted by the Dignity Project and funded by an Engaging Science Grant from the Department of Environment and Science.

  The Summit brought together a diverse group of citizen scientists, Queensland disability researchers and academics, and key disability persons and advocacy organisations for a collaborative agenda-setting workshop.

  The workshop sought to co-create priorities for research based on the NDIS Review recommendations, Disability Royal Commission recommendations, and the Voice of Queenslanders with Disability report recommendations, while moving towards evidence-based solutions that will directly contribute to government and service responses.

  Twenty-one attendees worked collaboratively over a 4-hour workshop and identified key priorities, much of which was focused on improving disability data collection, better implementation of consistent disability flags across mainstream services, and increasing sustainable long-term partnerships and funding.

  Workshop attendees wanted to prioritise projects that focus on building evidence for knowledge and evidence gaps, although 50% of participants also wanted to examine existing interventions to evaluate and improve them.

  L-R: Dr Kelsey Chapman; Dr Talitha Kingsmill and Sharon White; and Nerine Williams.

  TOPICS AND INSIGHTS

  Health and Wellbeing:

  • Promoting health consumerism principles and access for all.
  • Shifting from reactive to pre-emptive health strategies.
  • Addressing disparities in health equity and access.
  • Campaigns like 'Hear Me, See Me, Understand Me' and involving lived experiences in decisions.
  • Potential research includes integrating health awareness into education and enhancing professional understanding of diverse needs.

  Employment and Financial Security:

  • Psychological safety and accommodations in the workplace.
  • Inclusive recruitment, onboarding, and raising employment expectations.
  • Examining current inclusive policies and staff training in unconscious bias.
  • Potential research includes building inclusive research teams and understanding confidence in disability-related conversations.

  Top: Panelists Prof. Elizabeth Kendall AM, Dr Talitha Kingsmill, Sharon White and Prof. David Trembath. Bottom: Dr Kelsey Chapman leads the summit workshop activities. Inclusive Education and Learning:

  • Need for inclusive school rules and evolving educational practices.
  • Redesigning assessment methods and promoting reasonable adjustments.
  • Potential research focuses on leadership attitudes and diverse perspectives in education, reassessing student success metrics.

  Inclusive and Accessible Communities:

  • Evaluating compliance vs. actual accessibility and inclusion.
  • Measuring community inclusion and the impact of co-design.
  • Opportunities like Brisbane 2032 for updating infrastructure and promoting universal accessibility.

  Disability Data:

  • Enhancing researcher capability and implementing consistent disability data flags.
  • Prioritising projects to build evidence and evaluate existing interventions.
  • Balancing academic interest with immediate social needs through co-design and sustainable partnerships.

  Top L-R: Sharon White and Prof. David Trembath; Julia Robertson.
  Bottom L-R: Dr Eloise Hummell and Nerine Williams; Geoff Trappett; Dr Maretta Mann. We extend our gratitude to the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science for their support of this research. Our deepest thanks also go to Dr. Kelsey Chapman, Lead Researcher, and the Griffith University's Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability team, including Rebekah Barker, Joe-Anne Kek-Pamenter, Dr. Maretta Mann, and Professor Elizabeth Kendall AM, for their invaluable assistance in organising this event. Additionally, we appreciate the continuous dedication and support of our Summit participants and the wider Dignity Project team.

  Special thanks to Eric Tram, our videographer, illustrators Holly Bryant & Cate Withers and the team at Griffith University Live Worm (Libbi Reed, Jacqui Hancox and Sharon Searle) for their engaging Sketch Notes that beautifully captured the topics and insights of the Summit.

  Top L-R: Prof David Trembath; Dr Kelsey Chapman; Dr Eloise Hummell.
  Bottom L-R: Summit Participants; Prof. Elizabeth Kendall AM.

  Top L-R: Dr Talitha Kingsmill and Karin Swift.
  Bottom: Dr Maretta Mann and Dr Kelsey Chapman lead discussion amongst their group.

  
  

  Acknowledgement

  The Disability Reform Summit was funded by an Engaging Science Grant from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the Office of the Chief Scientist.

  
  

  Watch the Disability Reform Summit highlights on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Wz2UJ08xOP0?si=xIu1T75BSAVJTm58 (Videographer: Eric Tram).

  
  

  Join us in moving from recommendations to real change!
  
  More information: Dr Kelsey Chapman, Research Fellow and Citizen Science Manager k.chapman@griffith.edu.au

  

  SKETCH NOTES

  For an accessible / alternate format of our sketch notes, please email inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au
  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

• Voice of Queenslanders with Disability Survey - Queenslanders with Disability Network

  

  Author: Monique Mita

  Queenslanders with disability are encouraged to have their say on what it’s like to live in the sunshine state with the release of the 2024 Voice of Queenslanders with Disability survey.
  
  “The 2023 survey had great impact on policy and planning in Queensland,” said Chief Investigator and Research Fellow with Inclusive Futures and the Hopkins Centre, Kelsey Chapman.
  
  “The 2024 Voice of Queenslanders survey will give us keen insight into how the lives of Queenslanders with disability, their families and the people who support them have changed since last year.”
  
  Griffith University Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability have been working with Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) to collect the information and deliver the annual survey results.
  
  “We’re looking forward to generating and collecting more stories and partnering with the Queensland Government and QDN to build a more inclusive state for people with disability,” she said.
  
  "The 2023 was a landmark in Australian disability policy and reform, and we are looking forward to understanding how this impacted the lives of Queenslanders with disability, their family and the people who support them.
  
  “We will be paying special attention to comparing this year’s data with last year to identify key trends."
  
  Visit the Voice of Queenslanders with Disability Survey on the link below:
  https://qdn.org.au/voice-of-queenslanders-with-disability-survey/
  
  

  You can take the survey that is right for you!
  https://inclusivefutures.griffith.edu.au/hub-page/vqd

• The Conversation: Travellers with disability often face discrimination. What should change and how to complain?

  

  New Publication Alert:
  
  The Conversation: Travellers with disability often face discrimination. What should change and how to complain?

  Authors: Kelsey Chapman, Professor Elizabeth Kendall and Lisa Stafford
  
  Published: 24 January 2024
  
  Former Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes AM settled a dispute with Adelaide Airport over denied access to a body scanner with his assistance dog. His experience reflects challenges faced by Australia's 4.4 million people with disability in air travel.

  The Australian Human Rights Commission received over 100 disability discrimination complaints against airlines from 2016-2022, revealing systemic ableism. Freedom of movement, a UN right, is denied through discriminatory practices, damaged mobility equipment, and offensive situations. Urgent reform is needed, with recommendations for specific air travel standards and independent oversight.
  
  Collaboration between governments and the aviation industry can ensure inclusive air travel, aligning with equity principles and promoting diversity. Complaints and legal support are available avenues, but proactive measures like the Disability Rights Act are crucial for lasting change. Everyone deserves dignified and autonomous travel experiences.

  Read ‘The Conversation’ article in full on the link below:

  https://theconversation.com/travellers-with-disability-often-face-discrimination-what-should-change-and-how-to-complain-221740

  Visit our Inclusive Futures Hub:
  https://inclusivefutures.griffith.edu.au
  
  Contact:
  Kelsey Chapman

  k.chapman@griffith.edu.au

  
  

  

• Change 2023 Conference: Nothing About Us Without Us

  

  

  
  

  CHANGE 2023 CONFERENCE

  Empower, Enable, Enact

  The Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability (IFRD) team had the pleasure to lead a session at Change 2023 last Friday, 20 October at Griffith University, Southbank Campus.

  Change 2023 is an annual 2-day conference in Brisbane, Queensland hosted by Social Marketing @ Griffith, especially for practitioners, professionals, researchers and experts with an interest in making change happen.

  In our session - Nothing About Us Without Us – Kelsey Chapman (IFRD Engagement Manager and PhD Candidate) lead a Q&A panel discussion with Professor Elizabeth Kendall (Director), Kevin Cocks, Brad Kinsela and Jim Hogan.

  In this impactful discussion, they candidly shared their experiences as disability advocates and outlined challenges they have experienced in their decades of fighting for inclusion.

  To find out more about Inclusive Futures and the research we do, visit our website:

  https://www.griffith.edu.au/research/inclusive-futures-reimagining-disability