The unemployment rate for people with disability has remained stubbornly high compared to that of people without disability for 30 years.
In response, the Federal Government has awarded $22.1 million to Swinburne University of Technology and its consortium partners to create a Disability Employment Centre of Excellence.
The consortium includes representatives from peak disability and capacity building organisations, including Inclusion Australia, Family Advocacy, Disability Employment Australia, National Disability Services and the University of Melbourne.
What will the Centre do?
The Centre of Excellence will improve job outcomes for people with disability seeking to find and keep a job. It will do this by strengthening the capacity of employment service providers to deliver employment services and supports to people with disability and employers. As well, service providers will have centralised access to evidence-based best-practice resources developed by the Centre.
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the Centre will bring together lived experience and expertise from across the disability community and beyond, including researchers, advocates, peak bodies, employers and service providers.
“In order to deliver real change to disability employment in Australia, we need evidence of effective service approaches and what works to reduce the barriers preventing the participation of people with disability in the workforce,” she said.
“The Centre will collect and translate this evidence into best-practice resources to help support all employment service providers improve the services they deliver to people with disability and employers.”
Professor Karen Hapgood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at Swinburne University said the partnership will help shape a fairer, more inclusive future for disability employment.
“Our vision for the Centre of Excellence is to provide best-practice, evidence-based information that can bring people and technology together for a better world. By harnessing the collective expertise, knowledge and resources of those with lived experience, their families, researchers, service providers, employers and industry bodies, we can help providers improve employment outcomes for people with disability.”
The Centre of Excellence will open in March 2025 and be funded to 2027-28.
More information is available at www.dss.gov.au/disability-employment-reforms/disability-employment-centre-excellence