WORKability 2: SOLUTIONS |
1. Background to the Inquiry
1.2 What does the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission do?
1.3 What are the terms of reference for this Inquiry?
1.5 What is the structure of this report?
1.1 Introduction
People with disability represent 16.6% of Australia's working age population (15-64 years of age).1 However, they are much less likely to be employed than people without disability. People with disability have a comparatively lower labour force participation rate (53.2% compared to 80.1%) and a higher unemployment rate (8.6% compared to 5%) than those without a disability.2The National Inquiry into Employment and Disability (the Inquiry) was launched by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on 4 March 2005 in order to address this well known inequity. The main goal of the Inquiry has been to identify the primary reasons for low participation and employment rates for people with disability, and to work towards practical, achievable solutions.
1.2 What does the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission do?
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission) is an independent statutory authority established under the Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. One of the main purposes of the Commission is to monitor Australia's compliance with human rights norms, including the International Labour Organisation's Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (ILO No. 111), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons. These three international instruments highlight the importance of ensuring equality of opportunity in employment for people with disability.
The Commission also administers the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (the DDA). The purpose of the DDA is to ensure equality of opportunity and to protect against unlawful discrimination of people with disability in the workplace, amongst other things. Some of the functions of the Commission include:
- examining laws regarding equality of opportunity in employment
- inquiring into acts and practices related to equal opportunity in employment
- promoting understanding and public discussion of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment situations
- making recommendations to the Commonwealth Parliament regarding how to improve Australia's performance in these areas.
1.3 What are the terms of reference for this Inquiry?
The following terms of reference were issued on 4 March 2005:
Dr Sev Ozdowski, Human Rights Commissioner and Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner, will conduct on behalf of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and pursuant to sections 31(a)(b)(c) and (e) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), an inquiry into equal opportunity in employment and occupation for people with a disability in Australia.
The purpose of the inquiry is to:
- identify existing systemic barriers to equal employment opportunity for people with disabilities;
- examine data on employment outcomes for people with disabilities including workforce participation, unemployment and income levels; and
- examine policies, practices, services and special measures implemented to advance equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
The scope of the inquiry includes:
- Commonwealth government as an employer and service provider; and
- private sector employers.
1.4 Why an Inquiry now?
Before this Inquiry was launched, the Commission sought public comment on whether a public inquiry might advance employment opportunities for people with disability. The Commission received 22 submissions on the topic, all of which commented on the usefulness of such a process.4 One of the common themes in those submissions was that, despite the talk, there was very little action in the area. The statistics show that people with disability participate in the workforce at lower rates, are less likely to be employed when they do participate, and will earn less if they do get a job. This has been the case for a long time and the problem is not just ongoing, it seems to be getting worse. The detailed statistics can be found in Issues Paper 1, which is published on the Commission's website.5There have been several investigations into the issue of employment and disability over the past few years, as discussed in Issues Paper 4.6
However, many of those reports focus on the barriers to employment as opposed to the solutions to the problems. In any event, it appears that little action has been taken with respect to the recommendations in those reports. Further, earlier investigations into employment of people with disability tend to examine either the employee perspective or the government perspective or, less frequently, the employer perspective. This Inquiry sought to take a more holistic approach to the employment of people with disability. It also sought to refocus the debate onto practical solutions that can be implemented in the short- to medium-term, and which will have long-lasting impact. Current discussions about welfare and industrial relations reform make this Inquiry particularly well-timed. Law and policy in these areas is in a state of flux. In such circumstances it is important that policy makers take the time to listen to what people with disability, and their actual or potential employers, say is needed to bring about increased participation, recruitment and retention rates. For example, the Inquiry has repeatedly been told about the importance of a coordinated approach to employment and people with disability. People with disability explain that there is little point in implementing a policy designed to encourage entry into the workplace if employers are unwilling to hire them. Submissions also note that it is pointless to encourage people with disability to move from welfare into the workplace if there is inadequate vocational education and training assistance, or insufficient transition-to-work assistance, or inadequate ongoing supports to ensure successful recruitment and long-lasting employment relationships, or if it is uneconomic - from either the employee or employer perspective. The Inquiry's interaction with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) suggest that the government is open to new ideas. The Inquiry has focussed on providing those ideas based on the views of all parties involved in the employment equation - people with disability as employees, private employers, public employers, recruitment and employment support services and the Federal Government as a welfare and service provider.7
1.5 What is the structure of this report?
In August 2005 the Inquiry published an interim report which identified the primary barriers to employment for people with disability and made 28 Interim Recommendations on the basis of the 133 submissions it had received by that date. This final report does not republish the extensive material in the interim report. Rather, it seeks to develop solutions to the barriers identified in that report. In order to clarify the distinction between the text of the interim report and this final report, the Inquiry has changed the title of the interim report from the more general 'WORKability' to 'WORKability I: Barriers'. A copy of WORKability I: Barriers can be downloaded from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's website.8 The content of this report - WORKability II: Solutions - can be summarised as follows:
- summaries of the comments received since publication of WORKability I: Barriers
- discussion of the process and outcomes of the four working groups convened by the Inquiry since publication of the interim report, which address:
- work trials
- occupational health and safety, disability discrimination and industrial relations laws
- flexibility in the workplace
- ongoing supports for employees with disability and their employers
- preliminary research about international approaches to:
- providing supports to people with disability and their employers
- government accessible procurement policies
- summary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations intentions regarding:
- the development of a one-stop-information-shop
- improvements to the Workplace Modifications Scheme
- 30 final recommendations
- next steps for the Commission.
Thus the Chapters of this final report - WORKability II: Solutions - are as follows:
Chapter 1: Background to the Inquiry
Chapter 2: Inquiry methodology
Chapter 3: Responses to WORKability I: Barriers
Chapter 4: Developing government-supported work trial schemes
Chapter 6: Strategies to encourage the adoption of flexible workplaces
Chapter 7: Improving delivery of ongoing supports in the open workplace
Chapter 8: International approaches to providing supports in the open workplace
Chapter 9: International approaches to government accessible procurement policies
Chapter 10 Developing a one-stop-information-shop and improving the Workplace Modifications Scheme
Chapter 1: Endnotes
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Disability, Ageing and Carers Australia, Catalogue Number 4430.0, 2003. See further WORKability I: Barriers, Chapter 2, section 2.2.
2. Issues Paper 1: Employment and disability: The statistics. Available at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment_inquiry/papers/issues1.htm
3. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), s 31.
4. For a list of preliminary submissions see: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment/responses_rfc.htm
5. Issues Paper 1: Employment and Disability: The statistics. Available at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment_inquiry/papers/issues1.htm
6. Issues Paper 4: Employment and Disability: Commonwealth Government Assistance. Available at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment_inquiry/papers/issues4.htm. See also: House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations and Workforce Participation, Working for Australia's future: Increasing participation in the workforce, March 2005.
7. While recognising the role of State and Territory governments, it was not within the scope of the Inquiry to directly engage those governments.
8. http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment_inquiry/index.htm.
