Graham Edwards (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary (Defence and Veterans' Affairs)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a long interest in disability issues and was recently approached by Sam Morton from Competitive Foods, an Australia-wide company, because he is having a few problems with the processes of employing people with disabilities. I listened to him intently, because his company received the 2005 Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year Award, which recognises excellence in the employment of people with a disability. The company won this award under the large business category in the Northern Territory. It is a good award and it shows the credentials that Mr Morton’s company have in employing people with disabilities. Mr Morton recently wrote to the Hon. Kevin Andrews, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, setting out a few problems. In his letter to the minister, he said:

There are two basic issues:

1. Changes in the training instructions Assessors are given when assessing the abilities of disabled people on the job.

2. The need for a “gateway” organisation to assist employers in employing persons with a disability.

Under the heading ‘Assessments’, he said:

In previous years the assessors used by the 16 different agencies in the Perth area were instructed to assess the person with a disability, against the job description of an able bodied peer. The persons ability compared to that required by the job description was then expressed as a percentage, which was then used to calculate the person with a disability’s pay. (A percentage of the full time salary of the award covering the job description).

In recent years the assessors have received different training instructions. The person with a disability is only assessed on the duties they perform.

For example, if the job description was to drive a bus for eight hours and then clean the windows, with the current situation if the person with a disability could not drive a bus and only clean windows, if they cleaned the windows perfectly they would be paid 100% of the award rate.

Obviously this bizarre situation is very discouraging to an employer considering taking on a person with a disability.

Under the heading ‘Structure of the various agencies assisting people with a disability’, he states:

Prior to 1986, there was no coordinated support to assist people with a disability gain jobs in open employment. Nationally today, 220 specialist Disability Employment Services support 46,000 people with a disability in the workplace, with this figure set to increase significantly from July 2006 as new “Welfare to Work” measures are introduced for jobseekers with a disability.

Edge was the first Disability Open Employment Service in Perth opening in 1984 and Bizlink came on to the scene in 1992.

I know both of these organisations. Mr Morton goes on:

Back then they were funded by the Department of Family and Community Services and the focus at the time was about giving clients choice of service, hence the large number of services for a comparatively small group of clients ie some 2500 people with 16 services in Perth.

All are funded by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, some run programs other than employment and these may be state funded. Some of the Perth services are stand-alone specialist employment services like eg Bizlink, Edge, Interwork—others are a part of much larger organisations, eg Autism Association, Cerebral Palsy Association, Deaf Society … and may specialise with certain types of disabilities.

Because of the organic rather than structured development of these agencies, and their often parochial attitude towards each, trying to locate a suitable employee is a daunting and time consuming task. If the full potential for employment of people with a disability is to be realised, some of the agencies must be amalgamated, and a “gateway” agency created to coordinate employment opportunities.

I do not present this letter in any political way, but I do want to encourage the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Minister for Workforce Participation, Dr Stone, to look at this issue. When someone like Mr Morton raises an issue like this, I think it is important that a government listens. Mr Morton strikes me as a decent bloke. Certainly he is genuinely motivated to provide better opportunities for people with disabilities to find employment. We all know that it is hard enough for people with disabilities to find employment, let alone to hold on to it, in a competitive workplace. When these sorts of people who work in big companies such as the one that Mr Morton belongs to and which have a long history, going back more than two decades, of employing people with disabilities come forward with criticisms, we should listen to them.

I had a number of conversations with some of the agencies. One of them, in listening to what Mr Morton had to say, wrote to him and said:

It is great that an employer is taking such an interest and time to look into fixing the system to make it easier for employers who want to create opportunities for people with disabilities in their community.

Disability Open Employment Services … are funded by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations … Dr Sharman Stone is the Minister for Workforce Participation and … Kevin Andrews is the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

This person went on:

… I have done a bit of web surfing and I can see why employers find it so difficult, the jobable web site has the list of agencies but does not detail the area they service nor the types of clients they assist …

DOES market their clients individually as the key to success is job matching. They tend to be in regions because of historical reasons and how the industry has evolved over 20 years. I can understand that the single point of contact would make the process simpler, and the Dpt is funding Disability Works Australia on the basis of this approach …

However, this agency goes on to say, ‘The success of this to date is arguable.’ It also says:

... as you too have noticed, much of our work is through relationship building. Gaining the trust and respect of employers who provide quality employment who will then come back to us for repeat business—as you have noticed, individual agencies cannot always supply the client with the skills that match the job—so even when you have established relationships you have not been able to meet your employment needs ... it is a frustration ... we would not send a client who did not have the skills or who did not have a desire to work at KFC—we do not want to set people up to fail ... as an employer then the single point of contact makes sense and / or your suggestion of more collaboration amongst the agencies to refer on opportunities if they could not fill a vacancy. Unfortunately the system is developing into one of even greater competition through a Star Rating approach—so it is doubtful collaboration will be fostered in this environment where your star rating will determine if your service will win a tender ... again perhaps the system is working against people with disabilities in some respects.

This agency goes on to conclude:

My sincere thanks to you for bringing these concerns to the table. I hope we can be of assistance. At the end of the day we just want to see people with disabilities getting a fair go, with a fair days pay for a fair days work—the system really does seem to be working against that objective in a number of respects.

As I say, I bring this issue forward in a perfectly non-political way. I think there is a fair and legitimate criticism here. I ask both ministers mentioned in the letter to please have a look at this issue and work through it—work through it with the agencies; work through it with the employers—and see if, in the best interests of people with disabilities, they can adjust this process and the procedures to make sure that the winners at the end of the day are indeed people with disabilities looking to get into the workforce.