Boosting Disability Employment Could Drive Billions into Australian Economy
Author: Curtin University
Published: 2024/03/12
Publication Type: Reports and Proceedings
Contents: Summary – Main – Related Publications
Synopsis: A recently released report highlights stagnant employment rates among individuals with disabilities in Australia for the past twenty years. In the realm of public sector employment, governments at federal and state levels needed to demonstrate leadership by committing to specific targets and reporting requirements for disability employment outcomes. Education-to-work transitions are highlighted as critical junctures where interventions can significantly impact employment outcomes for individuals with disability.
Main Digest
There is a widening employment gap between people with and without disability:
- People with disability are 25-30 percentage points less likely to be employed.
- Over a quarter of people with disability cite transport as a barrier to finding work.
- In 2022, only 53.1 per cent of people with work-limiting disability were employed, compared to 81.8 per cent of people without disability.
A new report by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre at Curtin University reveals that there has been no improvement in employment rates for people with disability in Australia over the last two decades, despite extensive policy reforms and greatly increased funding for supports and service delivery.
This failure of policy to address [...]