WORKability 2: SOLUTIONS |
Foreword
Disabled persons.have the right, according to their capabilities, to secure and retain employment or to engage in a useful, productive and remunerative occupation.
Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, Article 7
It is clear that Australia's labour environment does not always provide equality of opportunity for the significant number of people with disability living in Australia. People with disability represent 16.6 percent of Australia's working age population, yet in 2003 the participation rate was 53.2 percent and the unemployment rate was 8.6 percent. This compares to a participation rate of 80.6 percent and an unemployment rate of 5 percent for people without disability.
The purpose of this report - WORKability II: Solutions - is to identify practical ways of ensuring greater participation and more employment opportunities for people with disability in Australia.
Most people with disability want to work if they have the capacity to do so. However, we cannot expect high participation rates if people with disability have work-related expenses that are higher than their potential wages or they cannot access the supports they need. And we cannot expect high employment rates if employers continue to be concerned about the costs and risks involved - albeit that the source of those concerns is unsubstantiated.
The Inquiry's interim report - WORKability I: Barriers - identified a range of hurdles faced by people with disability in the open workplace. It seems a simple thing to say, but the bottom line is that government has the responsibility to remove those barriers so that people with disability can compete on an equal footing to those without disability.
This means that government must offset any additional costs and remove any additional risks faced by people with disability and their employers. It also means that government must provide easily accessible information, advice and support in order to halt the perpetuation of unfounded perceptions.
Real change also requires leadership from all levels of government, employers, employment services and groups representing people with disability.
The Commonwealth government must start this process by becoming a 'best practice' employer itself. The Australian Public Service Commission and the Departmental heads of Commonwealth agencies must take responsibility for increasing the number of employees with disability and for providing a model for the private sector to follow.
This report contains a pool of practical ideas that have been developed over the past nine months through intense interaction with the Commonwealth government, industry, employment services and the disability sector. Some of the ideas are not fully formed due to the Inquiry's short timeframe, but all of the thirty recommendations provide realistic responses to the concerns expressed by people with disability and employers.
As this is my last report as Human Rights Commissioner and Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner I will not be in a position to monitor the implementation of its recommendations.
However, I would like to thank the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for its cooperation and assistance throughout the Inquiry. The Department's input has been invaluable and its agreement to launch a one-stop-information-shop by July 2006 is an encouraging sign of the Commonwealth's commitment to improving the work environment for people with disability.
I would also like to thank the many people in the disability community, the employment service industry, the private sector and government who participated in this Inquiry. I thank you both for your involvement in this project and your support throughout my term as Commissioner.
Finally, I would like to thank the Commission staff who worked with me during this Inquiry, including Vanessa Lesnie, David Mason, Cristina Ricci and Kate Temby.
This report is a reflection of the work of many people representing numerous views. I hope that it does justice to those efforts and helps to make a real difference to the many people with disability who are looking for 'a fair go' in Australia's open workforce.
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM
Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Human Rights Commissioner
7 December 2005