Employment and disability
Access to the workplace is not a reality for all Australians and remains one of the key barriers in our community to full participation of people with a disability.
Evidence shows that unemployment rates for people with a disability are still twice the rate of unemployment for the population as a whole. This is despite the fact that many employers around Australia have removed barriers to employment, both physical and attitudinal, in order to benefit from a more diverse workforce.
Widening the workforce
Employing people with a disability provides significant benefits for employers and enables them to recruit from a wider pool of qualified and talented people and more accurately reflect Queensland's population in their workforce.
Disability Works Australia, an organisation promoting employment opportunities for people with a disability, has found that many employers are beginning to reap the benefits of seeing beyond the disability when it comes to hiring staff.
A study of more than 600 Australian employers who had employed a person with a disability shows that employees with a disability are often just as if not more loyal, dependable and productive than their colleagues.
The study also found that more than 80 per cent of staff with a disability rate average or better on attendance, and well over 90 per cent of staff with a disability rate average or better in work safety than their colleagues.
Last updated November 2007