Easyread.tech

Congratulations to the City Of Charles Sturt on the release of their new accessible Disability Access and Inclusion Plan (DAIP)! ♿ 🙌

We collaborated with the Council to create an Easy Read version, including customised illustrations of the Mayor, CEO, and key buildings, and an Auslan video summary of their DAIP for 2026 to 2030, reaffirming their commitments to:

• Lead by example: To build a positive culture of disability access and inclusion in their organisation and community. ✅

• Communicate accessibly: To make sure everyone can access information in ways they understand. ✅

This project conveyed to the approximately 400 community members who engaged in consultation that they are welcome, heard, and have equal access to the things that make the City of Charles Sturt a great place to live. 🤝

Thank you to the City of Charles Sturt and Bill Skinner, Coordinator Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, for this opportunity and we look forward to seeing the positive outcomes of their plan to help people with disability to belong over the next 4 years!

You can check out the Easy Read and Auslan versions here
➡️ https://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/services/accessibility-and-ageing-well/disability-access-and-inclusion-plan

We’re proud to share that the 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 (𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗣) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲–𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬 has now been formally endorsed by Council.

Developed with strong community input, the DAIP is our roadmap for creating a community where everyone can access services, participate in local life and feel welcome.

Thank you to the hundreds of community members and staff who shared their experiences and ideas during consultation.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗣 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
An Auslan video
An Easy Read document
Visit: https://brnw.ch/21x0N8B

Late last year, Easyread.tech worked with the Department for Environment and Water to produce an accessible Easy Read version of the Algal Bloom Summer Plan for South Australia. ☀️ 🌊 🐠

The Plan explains in simple words, using customised illustrations:

• How to stay safe at the beach. 🏖️
• How to help businesses near the sea. 💰
• What seafood you can eat. 🦐

Please share this resource so people with intellectual and/or cognitive disability and their families and carers can better plan their visits to the beach and coastal communities to enjoy their summer. 📝 🙌

You can check out the Easy Read Plan here
👉 https://www.algalbloom.sa.gov.au/assets/documents/EasyRead-AlgalBloomSummerPlan-digital.pdf?v=1767052731

Environment SA News
SA Government

[Image description:

A white social media tile with blue round shapes and squiggles in the corners.

Big blue text across the top reads 'Project Shoutout'.

In the centre, is a photo of the white cover page of the Easy Read Algal Bloom Summer Plan document with the title in big black text.

Underneath, is an illustration of a beach with people swimming and fishing and a fish and chip shop.

The blue Easy Read symbol of an open book is in the top right corner with the S A Government logo in the top left corner.

The S A Government logo is centred underneath the photo of the Easy Read cover.

In the bottom corners, there are illustrations of 2 groups of people, of different ages, genders, abilities, and cultural backgrounds, smiling and looking up at the document.]

🌏 ♿️ It’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December)! The theme for 2025 is ‘Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress’.

🤝 At Easyread.tech, we empower the 1 in 5 Australians with disability to participate in society by making information accessible to all–from Easy Read and Plain English resources, to Auslan videos and tagged PDFs for screen readers.

✅ In recognition of the theme, here are our tips for accessible and inclusive communications that you can undertake every day ⬇️

Image descriptions are in the comments.

⚖️ 💰 Easyread.tech is proud to share the results of our collaboration with 2M Language Services, an Easy Read version of Victim Assist Queensland (VAQ)’s overview brochure, which explains how victims of crime in Queensland can access financial support if they have been hurt by someone.

✅ 🤝 For this project, we focused on representing a broad cross-section of Australians across age, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality. We’re grateful for the opportunity to produce a representative, trauma-informed resource that’s accessible not only for people with cognitive disability and CALD audiences, but also for people who are blind or have low vision.

♿ 🙌 People with disability were integral to the quality of this resource. A special thank you to our Community Testing Group, Zia Westerman and Narelle Wright from Digital Access Solutions and Assistive Technology (DASAT), for ensuring the content is easy to read for people with intellectual disability and that the tagged PDF works seamlessly with screen readers.

💙 By improving access to information, we hope victim-survivors of crime in Queensland feel more supported and empowered to seek help.

👉 Check out the accessible resource here: https://tinyurl.com/4ukkb3um

[Image Description: A white social media tile with blue round shapes and squiggles in the corners.

In the centre, there is a photo of the white cover page of the Easy Read V A Q document with a bold aqua blue heading that reads 'How to get help if someone has hurt you.' There is an illustration of a diverse group of 5 victims underneath. The blue Easy Read symbol of an open book is beneath, next to the black Queensland Government logo. Above the photo, is big blue text that reads 'Project Highlight. Victim Assist Queensland.'

In the bottom corners, there are illustrations of groups of people, of different ages, genders, abilities, and cultural backgrounds, looking up at the document. ]

🙌 🦠 Easyread.tech is pleased to see our diverse collection of illustrations featured in an animated video for Cancer Council SA, created in collaboration with Hepatitis SA and the African Women's Federation of South Australia - Awfosa, to educate African communities about the risk of Hepatitis B and how vital it is to access screening and immunisation services.

📺 You can check out the video here
👉 https://youtu.be/CkQS0CLegrU

🤝 🦠 Cornerstone Alliance was very happy to work with Cancer Council SA, in conjunction with Hepatitis SA and the African Women's Federation of South Australia - Awfosa, to produce an animated video for African communities to be aware of the importance of screening, testing, and immunisation for Hepatitis B.

✅ We undertook community consultation and testing on illustrations, storyboard concepts, and key messages. Once the animated video was created, these were further tested with the community to confirm message resonance.

💬 Cornerstone Alliance then partnered with 2M Language Services to produce multilingual voiceovers and subtitles into Swahili, Tigrinya, French, Somali, Kirundi, Amharic, and Arabic. We’re happy to report that the feedback received from communities has been very positive.

📺 Check out the video here 👉 https://youtu.be/CkQS0CLegrU

[Image Description: A white tile graphic with coloured circular Cornerstone branding elements in the bottom left and right corners. The big black text on the top left reads 'Project Highlight.' On the right, is an image of a laptop showing a screenshot of the Hepatitis B video for Cancer Council SA, with a grey play button over the image. The white screen shows an illustration of a woman with dark skin, wearing a white apron over dark pink and yellow clothing, including a head scarf with a bow, holding a white saucepan over a hot stove. There are 3 pink and blue virus symbols around her, and a dark blue horizontal strip across the bottom of the screen with white text that reads 'If you have hepatitis B, you might not feel sick at first.' Positioned underneath the text and laptop, are the logos for Cancer Council SA, the African Women's Federation of South Australia, and Hepatitis SA. The Cornerstone Alliance logo is in the bottom centre of the tile.]

Easyread.tech is back with another blog article! 🙌

Our new content writer, Malana Treulieb-Berk, has outlined the Australian Government’s review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)—the first major review of the legislation in 15 years—and the role of inclusive and accessible communications in upholding the Act to protect people with disability from direct and indirect discrimination. ✍️ ♿

Find out more here👇

https://easyread.tech/blogs/blog/the-disability-discrimination-act-review-modernising-protections-and-access

[Image description: A white tile graphic with 2 light blue text boxes on the left. The light blue text inside the first one reads 'The Disability Discrimination Act Review colon.' The second text box with black text inside continues 'Modernising protections and access.' The easy read dot tech logo is in the bottom left corner. There is a blue blob shape on the right behind an illustration of 2 women, with light skin and wearing red t-shirts, sitting at a desk with a computer screen. The woman on the left with blonde hair and who wears a hearing aid is looking at the screen, while the woman on the right, with dark hair in a ponytail, is holding up and reading a white document.]

easyread.tech Better access to information and inclusion for all. easyread.tech supports organisations to deliver inclusive and accessible content for people with cognitive disabilities, ageing related cognitive decline and low literacy.

Real talk. 🗣️ Real strategy. 📝 Real solutions. 🤝

Easyread.tech was proud to be a Gold Partner with NDIS Strategist and Changemaker Cassie Day Consulting at the recent NDIS State of the Nation Summit SA! 🙌 💜 💚

We thoroughly enjoyed catching-up with familiar faces and connecting with new ones over a delicious breakfast and morning tea at the Adelaide Convention Centre! 😊 ☕

At a time of significant reform and tension in the South Australian NDIS sector, this powerful half-day summit offered a space for NDIS business owners, CEOs, leaders, and sector changemakers to gather, learn, and collaborate. 💼 💬

The highlight for us was, without a doubt, the ‘My Life, My Way’ presentation from guest speaker Matthew Dickinson, an NDIS participant and student who lives with chronic illness and disability. We wholeheartedly agree with his message that people with disability must be listened to, respected, and in control of their own lives. ✅

We can all do our part to facilitate this by ensuring that participants have access to service agreements, consent forms, resources, and websites in simple language and formats that work best for them in this confusing space. 📖

The ‘one thing’ we’ll be doing after having attended the Summit is ramping up our marketing to ensure long-term growth and sustainability of our services, so both ourselves and our friends in the sector don’t get left behind. 🎯 📈

Thank you to all of the speakers and our fellow sponsors for dedicating your time to this enlightening event and sharing your insights! 🎤 🌟

Nat Cook MP, Minister for Human Services and Seniors and Ageing Well

Sharon Floyd, Owner/Director, Engels Floyd Quality Consulting

Alison Nikula, General Manager Innovation & CEO/Founder CareApp Group

Nicole Makin-Doherty, CEO/MD Empowered Livability (SDA) & Wyngate Care

Sam Boag, CEO/MD I Can Jump Puddles

Sasha Dragovelic, Team Leader Polaris Business Development Centre & Futurepreneurs Academy

Brendon Grail, Founder DSX (Disability Services Exchange) & Disability Market Analyst

Emily Melgar, TeMD Enable College (RTO), Chairperson SA Skills Alliance

Justine Hall, State Relationship Manager - Plan Tracker

Peter Wilson, Managing Director - Determined2 Immersion Therapy

Narelle Akers, Operations Manager - Communication Extra (Independent Specialised Support Coordination).

Engels Floyd Quality Consulting
Tech Turn
Enable College
Allied Health Admin and Consulting
ShiftCare
Juxtaposed Wines
Bohemian Ekko Creative

💬 🌏 “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

📅 On Wednesday, 9 July, Easyread.tech and Cornerstone Alliance proudly hosted the event ‘Access and Inclusion in Communications’ as part of the 2025 program at the Australian Migrant Resource Centre.

🙌 💼 Despite the cold and rainy weather, we were thrilled to welcome a fantastic turnout of passionate, like-minded individuals from the human services sector to discuss the importance of diverse multicultural and accessible marketing and communications strategies.

🧡 💜 A big thank you to everyone who joined us for an insightful afternoon and to AMRC for your wonderful hospitality!

🗣️ ❓ It was extremely heartening to see the high-level of genuine engagement and collaborative problem-solving on topics including:

🎨 Accessible Communications: Visual & Design Development
✍️ The Art of Simplification: Tips for Writing in Plain English
🧠 Trauma-Informed Communication
🤖 We’ve All Heard AI Is Good — But Is AI Good Enough?
🤝 🏥 Community Engagement and Co-Design: Creating Equitable Access to Health Information
📖 Intercultural Workshops: Facilitating Place-Based Solutions

🎤 👏 A special thank you to Tamara Shipley from Cancer Council SA and Abdulsalam Hamid Juma from the City Of Charles Sturt for joining us as guest speakers to highlight the necessity of inclusive communications!

📣 As our Creative Producer, Denny Krvavac powerfully put it: “How might our designs change if we viewed accessibility as a creative and accessible improvement rather than an afterthought?”

📸: Alexis Treulieb-Berk

📅 🪃 It’s NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week (6-13 July)!

❤️ 💛 🖤 💙 💚 🤍 2025 marks 50 years of celebration and recognition of the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — the oldest, continuous living cultures on Earth.

✊ This year’s theme is ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision, & Legacy’, celebrating both a past and future sustained by the strength of young leaders, a shared vision between communities, and the legacy of their ancestors.

🖌️ 📖 Easyread.tech is committed to honouring the Kaurna people who take care of the Adelaide region, the lands where our work is based, and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities throughout Australia, by promoting better access to information and inclusion for the next generation of First Nations leaders.

🤝 Our accessible communications are designed to enable the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, while ensuring we authentically represent those whom we aim to serve.

🗣️ ✅ Community-led feedback is important to us, as we know that First Nations voices are foundational to a bright future of justice and equality. Their voices should not only be heard, but uplifted to create lasting cultural change.

🙌 We look forward to seeing how far accessibility and inclusion will advance in the next 50 years!



[Image description: A white graphic tile with blue semi-circle shapes joined together along the top. The white text in the shapes read 'NAIDOC Week. 6 to 13 July. Acknowledgement of Country.'

The navy blue text in the white space on the right below reads 'We want to say that the land we are on today belongs to the Kaurna people. We respect their special connection to this land.

The Kaurna people take care of the Adelaide region, and their traditions are still really important to them today.

We also show respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from other parts of South Australia or Australia who are here with us.'

Next to the Acknowledgement on the left, is an illustration of a diverse group of five First Nations people, of different ages, genders, abilities, and skin tones, in a sunny park with tall Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal flags planted on the hill behind them. The people are wearing small versions of the flags as badges.

The easy read dot tech logo is in the bottom left corner of the white tile.]

📅 🌏 Join Easyread.tech and Cornerstone Alliance for on 9 July, convened by the Australian Migrant Resource Centre (AMRC), to increase your understanding about diverse multicultural and accessible communications!

✅ 📈 Discover how you can improve your marketing and communications strategies to ensure they are accessible to and inclusive of people of all cultural backgrounds, abilities, and levels of English proficiency.

You will have the opportunity to:

📖 Learn about tools and best practices for diverse/accessible communications.
✍️ Participate in an accessible communications workshop.
🎤 Hear success stories from Community Members and Sector Leaders.
❓ Take part in an insightful Q&A session.
🗣️ Network with like-minded individuals, while enjoying light refreshments.

We welcome the following attendees:

💬 Anyone interested in diverse/accessible communications.
🧑‍🎓 Students exploring careers in media, marketing, communication, community outreach etc.
💼 People working in social services (multicultural, aged care, disability sectors) across public, private, local government, and not-for-profit.
🤝 People from CALD backgrounds seeking accessible tools, better representation, and community networks.
📣 Advocates, educators, and community members committed to creating more inclusive spaces.

🎟️ Register for the free event here
👉 https://events.humanitix.com/access-and-inclusion-in-communications

[Image Description: A white tile graphic with yellow, grey, and orange shapes in the bottom corners. At the top, there are 2 centred speech bubbles, one pink and one grey, with white text inside that reads 'Access and Inclusion in Communications.' Behind them, are grey silhouettes of social media share and react icons and boxes that read 'Hello' in different languages.

Below, there is a blue text box with a calendar, clock, and location icons inside. The blue text reads 'Increase your understanding about diverse multicultural communications and accessible communications. Wednesday 9th July 2025. 2 pm to 4:30pm. A M R C Multicultural Centre, 23 Coglin Street, Adelaide, S A, 5000.' Below are the easy read dot tech and Cornerstone Alliance logos.]

Your organisation's Disability Access and Inclusion Plan is there to inform your community on how it will commit to creating an accessible, inclusive and equitable environment for people living with disability. ♿🏞️

So why not ensure that the resource is accessible for people with disability? 🤷‍♀️

Now that it's time for many authorities to develop their new DAIP for the next four years, it's the perfect opportunity to release an Easy Read version — a format designed to support people with intellectual disability or cognitive decline to understand important information. 📄📖

Accessibility and inclusion shouldn't just stop at the written plan — it should be embodied by the written plan. 💪

Get in touch with the dedicated team at easyread.tech to find out how your organisation can take the first step towards real and meaningful inclusion! 🤝



[Image Description:

Slide #1: A white tile graphic with light and dark blue bobs and squiggles in the background. On the left, a girl with black hair, wearing a turquoise t-shirt is holding a clipboard that reads 'Things to Do: 2025-2029 DAIP'. In blue text on the right, it reads 'Find out what's on your organisation's DAIP to-do list'. Underneath the text, there is an arrow pointing to the right.

Slide #2: A zoomed in view of the same girl holding the clipboard. The heading of the clipboard reads 'Things to Do: 2025-2029 DAIP.' Below the heading are three checklist items. The first one reads 'Write draft DAIP'. The second one reads 'Release for community consultation'. The third one reads "Contact easy read dot tech for an Easy Read version of the DAIP'. The word 'easy read dot tech' is circled in light blue. The first two check-list items are ticked in green. The last checklist item is not ticked. In the bottom right corner, there is the easy read dot tech logo.]