Co-design workshops for the development of Aviation Disability Standards

The Social Deck supported the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (the Department) in the co-design of new aviation-specific disability standards, a key commitment of the Australian Government’s Aviation White Paper. The new standards, which fall under the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport, aim to address barriers people with disability experience across the different stages of accessing and using air travel.

Co-design workshops

We worked closely with the Department and the project steering committee, led by People with Disability Australia (PWDA), the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) and the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC), to design and facilitate a series of co-design workshops. Our role included developing the co-design framework, designing workshops and materials, facilitating sessions, and ensuring accessibility was embedded at every stage of engagement.

We delivered three full-day co-design workshops, involving a group of about 30 people with disability from a wide range of perspectives. This included 2 online workshops, and 1 hybrid event at Sydney Airport. The group also included representatives from Disability Representative Organisations and advocacy groups.

Experienced facilitators and co-facilitators with lived experience of disability delivered the workshops. Each one focused on a key stage of the aviation journey.

• Workshop 1: Journey planning
• Workshop 2: Accessibility onboard the aircraft
• Workshop 3: Accessibility through the airport (held at Sydney Airport)

We carefully coordinated workshop participation to include diverse perspectives covering different disability experiences and needs, and other intersectional interests. It included First Nations people with disability, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people with disability, and people with disability living in regional, rural and remote areas who can often have a different experience of air travel. Following the workshops we delivered an online focus group with young people with disability, to ensure their unique experiences and needs were also reflected in the co-design process.

Insights from the co-design workshops and focus group informed the development of 4 guiding principles to shape more inclusive practices across the aviation industry and guide the drafting of the new standards:

• Include people with disability
• Staff training is critical
• Be consistent
• Be transparent

Summaries from the workshops and a statement from the co-design partners are available on the Department’s website.

Public consultation information sessions

The Department released a public consultation paper in August 2026, calling for submissions on proposed options for the new Aviation Disability Standards. To support this public consultation process, The Social Deck worked with the Department to deliver a set of online information sessions.

Hosted by The Social Deck’s lived experience facilitators, the 3 sessions (for the general public, disability sector and aviation industry) outlined the co-design process and outcomes, key options proposed for the standards, and the submission process, as well as in-depth Q&As. As well as producing and facilitating the webinars, we provided advice on accessible and inclusive delivery to ensure the information was fully available for its audience.

This consultation closed in October 2026, and we’re looking forward to sharing more with you as new aviation standards come into place.