The government wants feedback from the disability sector to develop a National Disability Employment Framework. People with disability, their families, carers and employers are being encouraged to contribute to the new discussion paper. A taskforce is currently reviewing the entire disability employment system and developing the new Framework. One round of successful consultation has already been held to find out what is not working with the current system and what other methods could work. The discussion paper outlines a case for changing disability employment services and describes how a disability employment policy could work in the future.
The Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter said the Framework will contribute to better job opportunities for people with disability. He said disability employment rates have remained stagnant for the past 20 years. “Only one-in-three job seekers in our Disability Employment Services program find and keep a job for 26 weeks or more.”
Information sessions are being held in all capital cities during November to present ideas proposed in the discussion paper with more detailed feedback coming from an online survey.
The consultation process closes on December 7, 2015.
For more information and for a copy of the discussion paper visit: www.engage.dss.gov.au