The Albanese Labor Government is committed to an inclusive Australia where everybody has the opportunity for secure, fairly paid work - including people with disability.
The unemployment rate for people with disability has remained stubbornly high for the past three decades and Labor has been acting to implement a range of changes to help shift this.
To further assist, our Government has awarded $22.1 million to the Swinburne University of Technology and its consortium partners to realise our election commitment for a Disability Employment Centre of Excellence.
The consortium includes representatives from peak disability and capacity building organisations, including Inclusion Australia, Family Advocacy, Disability Employment Australia, National Disability Services and the University of Melbourne.
The Centre of Excellence will improve job outcomes for people with disability seeking to find and keep a job, by strengthening the capacity of employment service providers to deliver quality employment services and supports to people with disability and employers.
Service providers will have centralised access to evidence-based best-practice resources developed by the Centre of Excellence. The resources will be specialised, innovative and drive quality practice.
Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said the Centre will bring together lived experience and expertise from across the disability community and beyond, including researchers, advocates, peak bodies, employers and service providers.
"In order to deliver real change to disability employment in Australia, we need evidence of effective service approaches and what works to reduce the barriers preventing the participation of people with disability in the workforce," Minister Rishworth said.
"The Centre will collect and translate this evidence into best-practice resources to help support all employment service providers improve the services they deliver to people with disability and employers.
"The establishment of the Centre of Excellence is a cornerstone of the Government's package of reforms to disability employment, and it will help support the beginning of the new specialist disability employment program which commences this year," Minister Rishworth said.
Professor Karen Hapgood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at Swinburne University said the partnership will help shape a fairer, more inclusive future for disability employment.
"Swinburne University of Technology is excited to work with the Commonwealth Government, our partners and stakeholders across the sector to lead change and increase the employment of people with disability in Australia," Professor Hapgood said.
"Our vision for the Centre of Excellence is to provide best-practice, evidence-based information that can bring people and technology together for a better world.
"By harnessing the collective expertise, knowledge and resources of those with lived experience, their families, researchers, service providers, employers and industry bodies, we can help providers improve employment outcomes for people with disability."
The Centre of Excellence will commence in March 2025 and be funded for a period of four years to 2027-28.
