Call for More Disability Work Opportunities
1 March 2013 at 3:10 pm
The peak body representing executives of large Australian corporations, the Business Council of Australia, has called on the Federal Government to provide disabled people with more opportunities for work.
In its submission to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations review on how to improve the participation of people with a disability, the BCA said that the complexities of Australia’s welfare and taxation system, where it discourages some people with disability from seeking work because of the fear of losing benefits, should be reduced.
The BCA also said it “strongly supports the aim of increasing the employment of Australians with disability” but “does not support requiring employers to report on disability employment, because it would fail to increase the employment of people with disability while imposing unnecessary costs”.
The BCA says it is working with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to “improve employment opportunities for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market, including people with disability, and giving employers access to workers who meet their skill needs”.
In its submission, the BCA said it considers the best way of increasing the employment of people with disability is by:
- Improving incentives in Australia’s employment services so pre-and post-employment support and training for jobseekers with disability are more tailored and coordinated to long-term jobs that match their capabilities.
- Reviewing contractual arrangements in the current DEEWR review of employment services to strengthen incentives to match long-term jobs with people with disability.
- Informing employers of the benefits and best practice arrangements for employing people with disability.
- Reducing complexities in Australia’s welfare and taxation system where it discourages some people with disability from seeking work because of the fear of losing benefits.
The Federal Government called for submissions to its review on how to improve the participation of people with a disability in November last year.
