People with disabilities

Maitland Council is an inclusive organisation which welcomes community input to facilitate accessibility in all areas of community life.

People with disability play a fundamental role in the Maitland community, contributing in countless ways to its social and economic prosperity.Yet people with disability are also one of the most discriminated and disadvantaged groups in Australian society.

According to the 2016 Census, within Maitland about 5.8% of the population or around 4,400 people have a need for assistance with core activities. This is just below the wider population percentage of 6.4% of the Hunter Region.

In 2017, Council adopted the Disability Inclusion Action Plan which outlines Council's commitment to improving opportunities for people of all ages with any disability to participate fully in community life.

For further information please contact Community Planner - Ageing and Disability on 02 4934 9700.

Accessible playgrounds

Maitland has two accessible playgrounds.

  • Maitland Park has a Liberty Swing that is operated by a MLAK, which can be accessed at the Maitland Council Administration Building, High Street Maitland.
  • Morpeth Common is a fenced accessible playground with a hammock swing and accessible rocking equipment.
Including You Tent

Maitland City Council are now seeking expressions of interest to facilitate the Including You Event Tent at our flagship events from January 2023 until June 2023.   

The Including You Event Tent can be a sanctuary for people who become overwhelmed by noise, smells, crowds, and other types of sensory input. The main inclusions will be, resources that create inclusive events such as wheelchairs as well as sensory spaces and tools such as fidget toys, earplugs, communication cards and weighted blankets. 

There are around four million people living with disability in Australia. About one million three hundred thousand people living with disability, plus around eight hundred and fifty thousand carers, reside in New South Wales.

Everyone benefits when access is better, including people with disabilities, people making deliveries, people with heavy baggage, young children, those with prams and many older people. 

Our primary aim of the Including You Tent is to promote social inclusion by supporting more people to attend and participate in community events.  

We encourage partnering organisations to read more about the project and submit an expression of interest now, before they close on Wednesday 7 December.

For more on the Including You Tents, contact the Community team at [email protected].