December 3 marks International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD), a day where the world stops, to not only acknowledge the efforts of the disabled community but also to spark important conversations.

At Tamworth's Aruma Disability service today will be spent promoting inclusivity with a barbeque planned to provide opportunities for mingling, chatting and getting together.

But Aruma Support Manager Robyn Childs said the day meant more than just having a good time.

"We've just got to be mindful of how important it is for inclusion of people with disabilities," she said.

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This message is being heard across the globe today. The theme for this year's IDPwD is 'Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world'.

Ms Childs said inclusion and accessibility could easily be improved in Tamworth through simple measures such as ensuring everyone can access buildings and services, to promoting more events that involve locals living with and without disabilities.

"When you support people they can achieve anything," she said.

The celebrations and conversations come just days after Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson was slammed by The Physical Disability Council of NSW for refusing to commit to changes to the National Construction Code which would require all new buildings to have basic accessibility; like a toilet on the ground floor, reinforced bathroom walls for handrails and step-free entrances.

But with access and inclusion Ms Childs said the opportunities for those living with disabilities are endless.

"Don't underestimate people with a disability, they're quite capable of doing tremendous things."

Ms Childs said at Aruma they had supported many of their customers with getting drivers licenses, dream jobs, and buying houses.

"They need you to believe in them because they find it hard to believe in themselves," she said.

"They've had a lot of knock backs so if you just show them the respect and believe in them they can achieve anything."

And this couldn't be more true for those living with disabilities right across the country.

Dr Dinesh Palipana, pilot Nathan Parker and conservationists William and Daniel Clarke have refused to let their disabilities define them.

Dr Dinesh Palipana was in medical school when a car accident on Brisbane's Gateway Motorway left him with a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia in 2010.

Dr Palipana who now works at Gold Coast University Hospital and co-founded Doctors with Disabilities Australia was the first person with a spinal cord injury to become a doctor in Australia and the second person with quadriplegia to do so when he graduated in 2016.

Understanding the importance of IDD first hand, Dr Palipana said "the single biggest thing that we need to change in society are attitudes" towards people with disabilities.

"We need to stop thinking about barriers and we need to stop thinking about the disabilities and start focusing on abilities and strengths. Normalising some of these conversations and showing what lives are like and showing that it's normal. And I think through those things, attitudes are slowly starting to change," he said.

Brothers Daniel and William Clarke are perfect examples of the importance of inclusion.

The pair have raised nearly a million dollars towards the conservation of orangutans and their habitat through their platform Tears in the Jungle.

Daniel, who has cerebral palsy, said "a lot of people didn't take us seriously" when they started their conservation efforts as children.

"When you include everyone, you get all these different ideas that you may not have thought of and those ideas maybe the ideas that solve a lot of the problems of today," he said.

In 2021 the pair were named Queensland Young Australians of the Year, which William said was partly a result of Daniel and who he is as part of his disability.

Public speaker, mentor, flight instructor, and becoming a gold medal athlete are just some of the things Nathan Parker has achieved since his left hand was amputated in 2015 when a military bus accident left him badly injured.

"When the accident happened, that basically set me back to square one. Lying in a hospital bed, wondering if I'd ever fly again. Wondering if all that work I'd put in from that young age had all gone to waste," he said.

Despite his injuries, Mr Parker became the first upper-limb amputee to graduate from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2017 and was named NSW Young Australian of the Year in 2021.

"I think it's important we celebrate IDPwD because for every person I've met that's living with a disability, there's an incredible story and so many amazing achievements as well," he said.

"Be it on the sporting field or even in their day to day lives, doing things they never thought were possible."

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