If you’re a job seeker in Australia and you’re currently living with a disability, there will be some hurdles to overcome and added challenges you will have to face in your efforts to find and keep a job. The positive news is that you don’t have to do everything solo. There is help and assistance out there for disabled job seekers.

This article is going to be focusing on some of the assistance that’s available to you, so you have an idea of what’s on offer.

The Job Access Initiative

Job Access is a Federal Government initiative aimed at providing a portal for employment seekers who have a disability. If you visit the Job Access website, you’ll find pertinent information on support services and handy links to other sites and programs designed to help people with disabilities find work.

On the website, you can learn more about ways to search for work, the rights of both employers and employees when it comes to hiring someone with a disability, and lots more. There is even a free phone service, where you can call and be given professional advice without any cost to you.

When you apply for jobs, if an employer is uncertain regarding anything about hiring someone with a disability, you can refer them to the Job Access website for further information and speak with a professional who can provide the answers. 

The Disability Employment Services Program

Yet another government initiative, this is one of the most popular programs available to assist unemployed individuals with a disability prepare for and find gainful employment.

DES is an all-encompassing assistance program, where you will receive an assessment on your abilities to work, what kind of work you will best be suited to, helping you with personal and skills development to give you a great shot of finding a job, as well as arranging job interviews, finding you a job and even supporting you while you are working; just to be certain there are no issues that need to be resolved.

With the assistance of your DES provider, you’ll be working on your resume, cover letters, learning new skills, working on your interview technique and so much more.

You can locate a DES provider near you by searching online for your location. Some examples would be:

• Disability Employment Services Sydney
• Disability Employment Services Brisbane
• DES programs near me
• Where to find Disability Employment Services Perth
• And so forth... 

Australian Disability Enterprises

This is an interesting program, as it’s actually a pool of businesses that focus on hiring people with disabilities, ranging from moderate disabilities through to severe disabilities. These employers have made it their focus to give disabled job seekers a chance to make a mark for themselves in the workforce.

Just some of the industries encompassed under the Australian Disability Enterprises umbrella include production work, manufacturing, screen printing, food service industry, landscaping, laundry services, and many more.

Many people living with a disability can do a job just as well as anybody else. What many are craving is just being given a chance and an opportunity to prove it. This is where ADE is so effective. 

The Supported Wage Assistance Scheme

Under this scheme, usually recommended for workers who are severely hampered by their disability, the employer pays the employee for the work they actually get done each day. This takes financial pressure off the employer and work-related pressure away from the employee with a disability. Ultimately, it’s a fair scheme that seems to work well for everyone involved. A fair arrangement will be determined by an independent assessor. 

The Employment Assistance Fund

Another government scheme is the Employment Assistance Fund, where funds are made available to subsidise wages paid to disabled workers, modifications that need to be made to the workplace and other employment-related support required.

Schemes like these can often be the difference between getting hired or not, so it’s well worth looking more deeply into them and see if you’re eligible to avail of the advantages that schemes like this provide both potential employers and employees. 

In Conclusion

This article has only covered some of the assistance that’s available out there for job seekers with a disability, but it’s enough to get you started and give you the confidence that you’re not alone in your job-seeking efforts.