National Disability Employment Strategy

This consultation is now closed.

The Department of Social Services acknowledges artist Robin Warren for the use of his artwork in the National Disability Employment Strategy public consultation process.

Developing a National Disability Employment Strategy

One in five Australians, around 4.4 million people, live with disability.

The Australian Government recognises that people with disability can face many, and sometimes overlapping, barriers to employment, which prevent their full social and economic participation in Australian society.

There has been significant Government investment directed at addressing these barriers, and while supports are working for some, more needs to be done.

To help achieve change, the Australian Government through the Department of Social Services (the department) is developing a National Disability Employment Strategy to address the disadvantage experienced by people with disability looking for work.

What is the National Disability Employment Strategy?

The National Disability Employment Strategy will be a ten-year commitment to improve the employment outcomes for people with disability, supporting more jobseekers with disability into long term, meaningful employment.

The National Disability Employment Strategy will be a key element of the Government addressing the National Disability Strategy commitment to increase employment and economic inclusion for people with disability.

The National disability Employment Strategy will seek to introduce new initiatives and improve existing programs to increase employment outcomes and break down barriers that people with disability may face in finding and keeping a job.

The Employment Strategy will focus on four priority areas:

1. Lifting employer engagement, capability and demand: providing employers with the tools and abilities to confidently hire, support and develop more people with disability.
2. Building employment skills, experience and confidence of young people with disability: ensuring young people with disability are supported to obtain meaningful work and careers of their choice.
3. Improving systems and services for jobseekers and employers: making it simpler for job seekers with disability and employers to navigate and utilise government services, and driving better performance from service providers.
4. Changing community attitudes: changing people’s perception and expectation about the capability of people with disability in the workplace.

Through the National Disability Employment Strategy the Government is looking to make meaningful changes to the way supports to jobseekers with disability are delivered, and empower employers to confidently recruit people with disability.

Public Consultation

To inform the development of the National Disability Employment Strategy, the Department of Social Services undertook a public consultation process. The National Disability Employment Strategy Consultation Report sets out what we heard from stakeholders.

Questions and requests for further information can be emailed to DEP@dss.gov.au