Zero Barriers

Hawkesbury City Council is a proud partner in the Zero Barriers project and are committed to promoting and supporting the inclusion of all residents, and visitors within the Hawkesbury region. Zero Barriers is an access and inclusion focused project that aims to reduce barriers for people with disability.

Zero Barriers provides information, training and resources to businesses and services operating in member council areas such as:

• Delivery of customised training e.g. Inclusive Customer Service, Inclusive Marketing Part 1 and 2, Inclusive Communications, and Physical Access
• Access and inclusion information and resources via the website Home - Zero Barriers
• Access and inclusion information including tips and strategies via e-news
• Self-assessment form in English and in several community languages (find out how inclusive and accessible your business/service is and subscribe to the e-news)- available in the website
• Zero Barriers presentations at business information sessions organised by councils and/or local business chambers

Benefits to businesses and services 

By learning about access and inclusion for people with disability and being involved with Zero Barriers, businesses and services may be able to attract more customers such as carers, parents with prams, people with frailty or limited mobility, migrants, and delivery drivers. With a wider customer base, they can potentially increase their profit margins.

Additionally, by making an effort to improve access and inclusion, community perception of their business/service may be improved.

Examples of access and inclusion considerations may be:

• use of plain English and more visuals or universal icons in your communication materials
• 2 or more options for payment or ways a customer can engage your business/service
• physically accessible premises and ways to get there
• Inclusive, respectful and friendly customer service
• and many more

Check out the self-assessment forms in English and in community languages to see how your business measures in terms of accessibility and inclusivity.

See here for the Zero Barriers service directory showing businesses and services in the Hawkesbury area that showed improvement in access and/or inclusion.

For more information, please feel free to send an email to zerobarriers@tmn.net.au or call through on (02) 9796 2235. Alternatively, you may contact Zero Barriers directly through their website.