Quiet Hour Introduced To Hawkesbury

We’ve all heard of Happy Hour, but Service NSW Hawkesbury is introducing Quiet Hour at their Richmond and Castle Hill centres.

Quiet Hour was successfully trialled at eight Service NSW centres across the State in 2022.

In fact, trials were so successful that a permanent Quiet Hour is now being rolled out across more than 110 Service centres, including the two in the Hawkesbury.

The idea came about as a means to help reduce the stress of visiting Service NSW for people in the community who may be sensitive to light or overstimulated by sound.

It’s all about inclusion - a quieter experience can also help ease anxiety.

For one hour, at a designated time, lights will be dimmed, ticket announcements and music volumes will be reduced and all customers will be asked to keep their conversation to a minimum and put their phones on silent.

Each centre has worked with local community groups to build awareness of the idea and help shape the program.

They collaborated on how to implement the program with disability organisations and other businesses that had already implemented successful programs for members of the community with low-sensory needs.

Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Jihad Dib said the government had to create a more inclusive environment and because it was important that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstance, feels welcome when visiting a Services NSW centre.

“Quiet Hour will provide a more calming and supportive environment for those have low-sensory needs,” Mr Dib said.

“For people who require limited distractions, such as autistic people, Quiet Hour will allow them to complete their driver’s knowledge test and access other services in a quiet, calmer environment.

“A Service Centre should be available to everyone who needs it, and Quiet Hour is one of many programs Service NSW has rolled our in recent times to improve the overall accessibility of government services.”

You can experience Quiet Hour at Richmond Services NSW from 10 am to 11 am and Castle Hill from 2 pm to 3 pm on Wednesdays.

Service NSW staff have undertaken disability awareness training to help provide additional support to customers living with a disability and their carers during each visit.

• Topics:

• Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Public Services