The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly:
1. Many Canberra residents experience sensory sensitivity to noise including people with autism, ADHD, post-concussion syndrome, sensory processing disorders, PTSD, hearing impairments, misophonia and dementia among others;
2. Sensory sensitivity is often very simple to accommodate. Accommodations can include, but are not limited to turning off background music, having dedicated quiet hours and having a dedicated quiet room or area;
3. While relatively simple to do, accommodating for sensory sensitivity can make a massive difference for many people engaging in their community, whether that's shopping, dining, going to the movies or theatre or accessing government services;
4. For people with sensory sensitivity to noise, participating in public life and engaging with community can often involve constant self-advocacy and constant uncertainty engaging with venues to ensure their sensory needs will be met. At worst, engaging with their community can entail considerable distress when exposed to loud, unpredictable and overwhelming sounds;
5. There are many excellent public, private and community venues and spaces that provide sensory-friendly services, but there is currently no central point of information for those with sensory sensitivity to noise to reliably find out about these services.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to:
1. Develop and maintain a user-friendly database of sensory-friendly venues in the ACT across public, community and private sectors;
2. Ensure the database is in a format accessible to the ACT disability community;
3. Ensure the database gathers and displays information including:
a. Presence/absence of background music;
b. Willingness to turn off background music when asked;
c. Dedicated quiet hours;
d. Dedicated quiet room or area;
e. Other measures undertaken by venues to accommodate sensory sensitivity to noise.
4. Record relevant information about each venue, including but not limited to venue name, address, contact information, accessibility and specific sensory accommodations offered;
5. Ensure that the database can be organised by type of venue (e.g. restaurants, grocery stores, private practices, community venues and government services);
6. Ensure that the ACT Government liaises with local businesses and community groups to promote the database and list their accommodations;
7. Ensure the database is up-to-date and well-advertised to the community.