‘Return to work’ services failing Australians with acquired disabilities
Australians with acquired disabilities represent four in five people living with impairment, but new CQUniversity research shows this group is being left behind by employment opportunities and supports.
The groundbreaking study highlights experiences of jobseekers whose illness or injury led to disability and reveals the complex barriers to getting back to work.
Just two per cent of participants who had jobs prior to disability had successfully returned to a permanent role in the workforce.
Study author and CQU PhD candidate Alan Zana said decades of reform for disability and inclusion had done little to change the jobless rate for the 4.4 million Australians with acquired disabilities.
“This is a huge group, but there is no consistent strategy – or even definition – to support them,” he said.
“We know employment gaps between those with a disability and those without haven’t improved in more than three decades – and this research shows how people with acquired disabilities continue to face systemic exclusion from the workforce.”
Mr Zana said participants reported frustration with high staff turnover and one-size-fits-all approaches from Disability Employment Services, and low job retention beyond 26 weeks when employment was found.
“Services prioritise securing any job placements over employment sustainability, leading to high dropout rates and limited retention support...adding to frustration for jobseekers,” he said.
Of those actively seeking employment, half shared that they were seeking employment outside of their preferred fields.
The Brisbane-based researcher said this indicated the pessimism around potential for employment, often stemming from interactions with potential employers.
Participants reported: “Employers have told me that they just don't want to fill out paperwork,” and “The moment I mentioned my disability, he [the employer] literally frowned at me…it was like I was wasting his time.”
More than 40 people participated in the study, which included medical, social and biopsychosocial interventions to improve job-seeking experience.
An experienced disability employment consultant, Mr Zana said his findings highlighted the positive impact of a biopsychosocial model in disability employment services, and the need for employer-engaged, inclusive strategies.
"Working in this sector since 2009, I’ve observed a troubling trend that more job seekers with a disability who participate in the Disability Employment Services end up on medical exemptions than those actually securing employment," he explained.
"This phenomenon is rarely discussed in disability discourse that heavily emphasises accessibility and discrimination...and highlights a gap in understanding factors that are beyond accessibility and equal opportunity regulations, that specifically influence employment outcomes for people with acquired disabilities.
"This has become the focus of my ongoing professional and academic inquiry."
The research recommends a national framework to inform policy, eligibility and service design for people with acquired disabilities, and redesigning Disability Employment Services to focus on long-term, co-designed outcomes, not just short-term placements.
Mr Zana’s supervisors were CQUniversity School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences academics Dr Ashlyn Sahay, Dr Samantha Fien, Professor Eileen Willis and Dr Robyn Preston.
