Improving Employment Outcomes for Australians with Disability

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that the labour force participation rate for people with disability in 2009 was only 54%, compared with 83% for people without disability. Compared with people without disability, people with disability who do participate in the labour force are also more likely to be overeducated for their jobs, have lower earnings and poorer job satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to research the barriers for people with disability in obtaining and maintaining employment. 

Compared with other OECD countries, Australia ranks 21 out of 29 in employment participation rates for people with disability. This economic inactivity has significant economic and social costs due to reliance on welfare and services, including health services. Furthermore, recent senate estimates suggest that Australia invests around $750 million in Disability Employment Services (DES) annually. This funding covers support for people with disabilities to find a job, and support to assist employers to hire people with disability. However, only 3% of employers turn to DES when recruiting.  Given the large amount of funds invested in DES providers and the small percentage of employers using DES, it is important to gain a better understanding of the views held by ECs about approaching employers and the current employment environment for people with disability seeking employment.  

In addition to this, it is important to look at attitudes held by ECs towards people with disability. The biggest barrier to most people with disability finding mainstream jobs and staying in them is the widespread prejudice in the community that people with disability are not as good at their jobs as everyone else – even when they have the qualifications and expertise. Attitudes towards people with disability have also been shown to be influenced by demographic variables such as age, gender, nationality, marital status, education level, socioeconomic status, place of residence (rural versus urban), and experience with disability. ECs are at the forefront of ESP service delivery and vital to the provision of employment outcomes for persons with disability. However, little is known about attitudes held by ECs and what impact this has on employment outcomes for people with disability. 

Previous research on attitudes towards people with disability has predominately focused on attitudes held by healthcare staff or medical professionals. This is the first time in Australia that data will be collected from DES ECs regarding their attitudes towards job seekers with disability and their perceptions of the current employment space for people with disability. These findings will support DES providers to determine how best to address the perceptions held by ECs about jobseekers with disability to improve their approach with employers and improve jobseekers’ employment outcomes.