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Disability Sports Australia has launched a groundbreaking online program designed to revolutionise how sporting clubs across the nation approach inclusion for people with disability.

The free course, "Building Inclusive Sport Clubs," promises to "change minds and attitudes" toward disability participation in community sport and offers sporting organisations across Australia the opportunity to become leaders in disability inclusion.

Chief Executive Officer of Disability Sports Australia, Ayden Shaw, says the program's unique approach pairs people with disabilities directly with sporting clubs, creating authentic partnerships that drive meaningful change.

"We were really clear from the outset, there's a lot of great training, but not a lot comes from a lived experience perspective," Shaw emphasises. He says this initiative is specifically designed to challenge harmful stereotypes and create lasting cultural shifts within the sporting community.

"There's a perception that sport is delivered by Anglo-Saxon men who don't have an inclusive background," Shaw notes. "Courses like this contribute to changing that narrative. This is being driven by women with a disability."

Developed in partnership with Victoria University and the Australian Sports Commission, the program draws from extensive research involving over 400 community sport clubs. Through workshops, mentoring sessions, and community practice groups, the initiative has focused on embedding sustainable, inclusive practices while building leadership capacity.

Shaw stresses the importance of maintaining momentum for disability sport participation beyond the Paralympic cycle. "The social impact of the Paralympics is huge, but it's once every four years," Shaw explains. "We see ourselves fitting into how to contribute to a cultural shift outside the Paralympics cycle."

Like little boys running across the Parliamentary forecourt yesterday, Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan, and a couple of other renegade Nationals charged out to proclaim - despite all the evidence of the weather around them - they don’t believe in climate change.

It’s the second week of Parliament since the coalition met with disaster at the election. Most would expect the opposition rump to focus on real issues such as the dramatic cuts to disability services in the bush.

But the children simply ignored the needs of their constituents. They were too busy having fun.

Nic Stuart, editor