Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2008 Category 2: Australia
tries and non-government organisations implement the new United Nations Convention
of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Information about JobAccess has been
sent to other countries. In the United States, the Job Accommodation Network team
received it with the intention that the innovations developed from the Australian experience
can be used in their own programs.
The success of JobAccess can be attributed to the overwhelming input and support
provided by Australia’s disability employment sector; state, territory and federal government
departments and agencies; and the end users of the service: job seekers and
employees with disability, their co-workers and employers. Ongoing consultation
allowed the project team to tailor JobAccess to meet the needs of the target audience
and to respond in a very specific and practical way to the barriers identified in the
Report into Employment and Disability.
Thanks to the input from employers and industry groups, JobAccess speaks the language
of business. Employers will not find acronyms or government jargon on the
website. Instead, they will find statistics, facts and case studies that demonstrate that
the employment of people with disability makes good business sense. JobAccess provides
compelling evidence to bust the myths around employing people with disability.
Consumer organisations and job seekers and employers with disability have provided
input to ensure that the service provides all the resources people with disability need
to find and maintain a job in one place. JobAccess provides resume templates, information
about disability confident employers, disclosure of disability and step by step
guides for all stages of the employment journey. A phone call to the JobAccess Advisers
can connect job seekers and employees to the service that best meets their individual
needs.
The contribution of co-workers of people with disability has allowed the service to
encourage all Australian workers to become disability confident. JobAccess provides
practical guides on how to communicate with people with disability, disability awareness
training, mental health first aid in the workplace and advice on how to support a
colleague with disability.
The input of employment service providers has allowed JobAccess to respond to the
needs of professionals assisting people with disability and employers looking for
staff. JobAccess Advisers are professionals and understand the issues from the perspective
of the employer, the employee and the service provider. They comprise occupational
therapists, a registered psychologist, exercise physiologist and customer
service officers. JobAccess provides a range of tools, publications, checklists and
other resources to help employment service providers bring job seekers with disability
and employers together. Ongoing feedback from each of these groups will ensure
the continuing success of this Australian initiative.
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