Resources for employers
Understanding disability
An overview for employers
A quick and easy guide to the social model of disability, different types of disability, how to talk about disability, and the benefits of accessible and flexible workplace practice.
Introduction to reasonable adjustments
A resource for employers
To ensure people with disability are treated equally and are included in your workplace, you might need to make reasonable adjustments. It is important to have an open and honest conversation with your employees about their access needs and how you can provide for them.
How to talk about reasonable adjustments
A guide for employers
One of the most important things for making your organisation a good one for people with disability to work at is ensuring your employees are able to speak out about their access needs, and have these needs met.
Useful links:
Make your workplace more accessible
IncludeAbility: The Australian Human Rights Commission’s initiative to support people with disability and employers who want to create meaningful employment opportunities.
Imagine More: Facilitating customised employment for people with disability.
Human Rights Commission: How-to guide for employers to create a Disability Action Plan.
VALiD: Has an Employment Project that hosts evidence-based resources and case studies about employing people with intellectual disability.
Amaze: Has a suite of resources on creating Autism friendly workplaces, for organisations and managers.
Learn about disability
YDAS Disability Pride Resources: Learn about disability terminology and accessibility in the workplace.
Disability Awareness: Offers free online Disability Awareness online training for employers, organisations and young people who want to better understand their rights.
People with Disability Australia’s language guide: Unpacks key factors which influence disability-related language, provides advice for media workers reporting on disability-related content, and identifies commonly misused terms and recommends suitable alternatives.
The Australian Government’s plain language guide: Simple tips to make your language more accessible.
Collaboration and training opportunities
The Field: An employment website connecting people with disability with organisations committed to inclusive hiring and building diverse teams.
Australian Network on Disability: Helping organisations employ people with disability, and design their products and services for customers with disability.
EEON: Helping organisations prosper by employing and engaging a diverse workforce.
Purple Orange – The Road to Employment Project: Works with employers and schools to change work expectations about people with disability.
Vision Australia: Has resources and offers Digital Access Consulting that specialises in web accessibility consultancy, training and testing.
Disability Advocacy Resource Unit: Provides free online training and lists relevant training from external providers.
Council for Intellectual Disability: Provides consulting, assessing and training in inclusion.
Social Ventures Australia Employer Innovation Labs: A free program to help diversify your workforce.
DREAM Spotlight Series
In the DREAM Spotlight Series, we talk to leaders with disability about their career highlights and thoughts on access and inclusion.
Sam Drummond
Sam Drummond talks about over-qualification and under-utilisation of disabled people in the workforce. Sam specialises in discrimination and human rights law. In his memoir, Broke, Sam talks about disability, non-traditional families and rural disadvantage.
Watch the full Q&A here 👇
Clare Gibellini
Clare Gibellini in a Q&A about career pathways and customised employment opportunities. Clare is on multiple boards and steering committees, including the Oversight Council for the National Autism Strategy and the NDIA Equity and Inclusion Reference Group.
Watch the full Q&A here 👇
Cherie Clonan
Join us for a Q&A with Cherie Clonan, founder and CEO of The Digital Picnic. Cherie Clonan is the founder and CEO of The Digital Picnic, and a proud Autistic woman. She is well known for her progressive approach to leading her team in her human-centric, neuroinclusive way.
Watch the full Q&A here 👇
Izzie's tips for an accessible workplace
Izzie takes us on a tour of an accessible work day at YDAN.
[Description: YouTube video of a young person with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a rainbow lanyard, taking us on a tour of their workplace. When the music plays, access tips pop up on the screen.]
The full written list of accessible workplace tips in the video can be found here.
What young people with disability say about employment
From CYDA's LivedX Papers
To understand the experiences and perspectives of young people with disability in employment, CYDA hosted a LivedX consultation with nine participants in September 2021.
From the 2020 National Youth Disability Summit
The National Youth Disability Summit hosted by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) was the first event of its kind in Australia and took place online for 5 days between 29 September and 3 October 2020.
Over 250 young people with disability attended. These are the key findings on Employment and Identity.
CYDA's research and reports on disability and employment
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