By Salt 106.5 TeamFriday 25 Aug 2023The Long Lunch with SteveSocial JusticeReading Time: 2 minutes

With almost one in five Australians living with a disability, Spinal Life Australia and Cérge announced their groundbreaking Access Accelerator Program, “designed to transform tourism destinations across Queensland into inclusive and accessible havens for all travellers”.

Access & Advocacy of Spinal Life Australia senior advisor Dane Cross has lived experience as a person with spinal cord damage (quadriplegia) and – combined with his qualifications as an access consultant – has unique insight into what it means to provide “good access”.

He is thrilled to be part of this next step in championing accessibility within tourism and joined Salt 106.5 to share about why this program is so important.

“We are delighted to receive the Accessible Tourism Enablers Grant, as it reaffirms our commitment to making Queensland a leader in accessible tourism. This funding will enable us to roll out the Access Accelerator Program to a diverse group of 50 tourism operators, including those on the Sunshine Coast. Our aim is to create inclusive destinations that set a benchmark for accessibility in Australia,” Dane said.

The program aims to empower businesses and equip them with the knowledge, tools and confidence to create accessible tourism destinations through immersive disability awareness training, adoption of award-winning inclusive technology, guided access and inclusion planning, and real-life stories of inclusion experienced by customers.

Listen to the full conversation with Dane Cross in the player above.

Feature image: Spinal Life Australia Facebook / Front Row: Matt Stoeckel (CEO Visit Sunshine Coast), Victoria Kerrisk (Co-founder, Cérge), Chris Kerrisk (Co-founder, Cérge), Amanda Fernandes (Tourism Lead, Sunshine Coast Regional Council), Jane Goodwin (Community Development Officer, Sunshine Coast Regional Council); Back Row: Finley Coll (Access Liaison Officer, Spinal Life Australia), Dane Cross (Senior Advisor – Access & Advocacy, Spinal Life Australia), Brendan Somerville (Business Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Spinal Life Australia).