The benefits of holding the Olympic and Paralympic Games must be long lasting and this aspect is key to being the winning bid to be the host city.

So what kind of legacy can we expect from Brisbane 2032 Games?

The official legacy strategy, Elevate 2042, is the product of collective effort of the Games delivery partners. It is promoted as a guide to maintain a collective focus on society, economy, connectivity and environment.

To this end, the vision is to move to a more inclusive, sustainable and connected society with more opportunities for everyone. And this is to be achieved “together through sport”.

Another aspect of a winning bid for the Games is that it fits into the host city and not the other way around. That means there will be very little new infrastructure save for what is currently planned or likely to be planned without the Games.

To be clear, the Games Legacy Strategy is not about benefits for a few, or ideas that have nothing to do with the Games. It is about making bigger things happen sooner for the benefit of as many communities as possible.

The Paralympic Games draws attention a significant group of elite athletes with a physical or sensory disability. They are but a small proportion of the disability population and as such are regarded as heroes. No doubt sporting facilities will be designed and organised to ensure competitors are catered for appropriately. But how can we be sure the Legacy Strategy will widen its focus to include people with a diverse range of disabilities, gender equity, and people from diverse backgrounds?

The Legacy Strategy, Elevate 2042 is the overarching document. The implementation plan is where the detailed actions are decided, and this is where inclusive and sustainable intentions need to underpin all decisions going forward.

With this in mind, the Centre for Universal Design Australia (CUDA) held a symposium in Brisbane at the end of May to discuss the Legacy Strategy. The aim was to provide recommendations for the implementation plan to embed an inclusive universal design approach to all projects. Key discussion points were housing, transport, tourism and local government.

A panel of four speakers set the scene on the four topics which fed into the workshop discussion session with delegates. Two key themes emerged from the discussions:

• Embed universal design principles in all procurement processes including pre-procurement to develop appropriate scopes of works.
• Embed co-design at the beginning of all decision-making processes at all levels and make the process mandatory.

Queensland is not new to the concept of universal design. It was the first state to adopt the Livable Housing Design Standard which is based on universal design criteria. The Department of Transport and Main Roads has taken a universal design approach to policy development and regularly uses co-design methods for infrastructure and service design.

Queensland also made 2023-2024 the Year of Accessible Tourism, and City of Gold Coast City produced the landmark Accessible Visitor Guide. However, the Legacy Strategy only mentions universal design once in passing and an attempt at an explanation on the very last page.

Universal design is three things: an ethical principle for inclusion of diversity; a vision of an inclusive society; and a unifying approach to policy and perspectives. It’s this last point that is of greatest value to the implementation of the Games Legacy Strategy .

With so many government departments and stakeholders involved, an abstract concept such as inclusion can fall between the cracks. Taking universal design approach across the development of all activities keeps inclusion at the forefront in transport, housing, planning, employment, communications, services, and tourism to name a few.

Key to this is the first theme from the CUDA symposium about procurement processes. The Whole of Victorian Government Universal Design Policy and their Universal Design Charter underpins their procurement processes. The Charter has 7 keywords: equity, respect, participation, sustainability, responsibility, awareness and collaboration.

As the host city, Brisbane would do well follow suit and embed universal design policy as a code of practice as opposed to a set of considerations. To this end, the second theme comes into play, and that is committing to co-design and co-creation methods with community members, not just perfunctory consultations once decisions have been made.

The initial excitement of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games has passed and the real work begins. Brisbane and Queensland now face the hard work of meeting its commitment to its vision of living in an inclusive, sustainable and connected society. Universal design has potential to be common denominator for all stakeholders and for all implementation activities. Begin with procurement processes and carry through with co-design methods. No-one wants to fall between the cracks.

The draft report and recommendations from the CUDA symposium are open for feedback. (will post on the website when ready to publish).

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