Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
2008 Category 2 Winner
JobAccess, Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations
Description
Providing people with disabilities improved access to the job market by creating a
special online portal and telephone services.
Summary
JobAccess has provided people with disability and/or mental illness with greater access
to the job market through a one-stop information shop, including online application
forms, a unique database of workplace adjustments and solutions and free expert
telephone services.
The Problem
Recruitment in Australia is changing. Labour shortages of around 195,000 people
are forecast to hit all major industries in Australia over the next five years. Despite
this trend, people with disability, who represent 16.6% of Australia’s working age
population, still find it difficult to find and maintain employment. In 2005, the Australian
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission conducted a National
Inquiry into Employment and Disability. The objective of the Inquiry was to identify
the reasons for low participation and employment rates among people with
disability and to work toward practical, achievable solutions. The results of the
Inquiry indicated that people with disability face higher barriers to participation
and employment than many other groups in Australian society. Three sets of obstacles
affecting the employment of people with disability in the open labour market
were identified:
• Information: the absence of easily accessible and comprehensive information to
assist in decision making and to support ongoing needs, including information
about the full range of supports and services offered by the Australian Government;
• Cost: concern about the cost of participation for people with disability and the
possible cost to their employers; and
• Risk: concern about possible financial and personal impacts of disability on
employment.
The lack of clear information appears to have added impetus to several myths about
the cost and risk of employing people with disability including that they cost more
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