According to Suzanne Colbert, chief executive of the Australian Network on Disability, there is no reason why a sales role where deep product knowledge is required, whether that be selling phones or tools, couldn’t be filled by someone in a wheelchair.
Australia’s rates of employing people with a disability are among the lowest in the developed world. They’ve been stagnant for 20 years, and in some areas, are getting worse. Advocates and experts are now calling for radical change. Some want quotas introduced, to encourage businesses to hire more people with disability, or risk a fine.
Ten thousand disabled workers who were underpaid at government-funded workshops across the country will be able to claim compensation from the Commonwealth, following a Federal Court ruling.
Closing date: December 8, 2016
The Human Rights Oration was held on 7 December 2016, with a keynote address presented by former federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner and human rights advocate Graeme Innes AO followed by a panel discussion. Maryanne Diamond, the General Manager of Media, Communications and Engagement at the National Disability Insurance Agency; musician Neill Duncan; and Juliet Bourke, … Continued
Many people with disabilities are still working for less than $3 an hour almost four years after Australia’s High Court ruled they were being underpaid at Government-supported workshops.
People with autism are highly under-represented in Australia’s workforce. But some IT companies are hoping to turn that around, running new prorgams to recruit and train people with high-functioning Austism Spectrum Disorder. For the workers, this can mean a potential career in a lucrative industry. For the employers, this can mean a highly skilled workforce, … Continued
A big central Victorian disability support agency has immediately cut about 40 jobs after going into voluntary administration.
But advocates for diversity in the workplace have expressed concern over the negative publicity, arguing that setting targets for more open-minded hiring policies is necessary to achieve cultural change.
Closing date: October 13, 2016
Almost one quarter of Victorian public servants with a disability have experienced discrimination at work, according to workplace survey data released by the Victorian Public Sector Commission.
A cafe in Melbourne run by deaf staff is helping to break down communication barriers and ready students for the hearing world.
A new research project will look at how people with disability are taking control and creating their own jobs by becoming entrepreneurs, despite facing considerable economic and social exclusion in Australia. The study, involving researchers from UTS Business School and a number of partners in the disability services sector, has secured a $235,000 Linkage Grant … Continued
A deaf man who has two degrees claims he is unable to get a job, despite ‘thousands’ of job applications. He also has a mild case of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and profound hearing loss, and attributes his misfortune to employers thinking that communication would be a ‘problem’ for him.
The Federal Government’s welfare-to-work reforms are pushing thousands of people off the disability pension and into financial hardship. Welfare rights organisations say their work is increasingly taken up with these cases.
Entrepreneurship might seem an unlikely pursuit for Australians with disability. But greater focus on self-employment can transform disability into ability, boost income security and social inclusion, and increase labour market participation.
That’s when work becomes not just about deriving a pay cheque but about deriving meaning and purpose. Likewise, work is not just about teamwork but about social integration and it’s not just about working independently but about attaining actual independence.