The future of supported employment – Have your say

[Banjo]

The future of supported employment – Have your say
7 December 2017
Joint Media Release with:

The Hon Jane Prentice MP

The Turnbull Government is asking people with disability, their families and carers, and anyone in the disability and employment sectors, to have their say on supported employment with the release of a discussion paper titled Ensuring a strong future for supported employment.

The discussion paper poses questions to encourage discussion around three core policy areas:

Strategies to support employment participation for people with disability

Strategies to provide effective employment opportunities by employers and providers

Strategies to strengthen the role of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to enable employees to reach their employment goals.

“Supported employment plays a vital role in improving the social and economic participation of many people with disability in Australia,” Minister Porter said.

“The Turnbull Government is committed to ensuring Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) are strong and viable businesses, so they can continue to provide effective employment outcomes for Australia’s 20,000 workers currently in supported employment, as well as those who wish to join the workforce in the future.

“This commitment includes more than $220 million in annual funding for supported employees accessing employment supports and $180 million in additional funding for the ADEs to adjust to new wage arrangements for supported employees and transition to the NDIS,” Minister Porter said.

“The rollout of the NDIS to full scheme presents opportunities to expand, diversify and strengthen the supported employment sector”.

Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services, Jane Prentice, said the Government wants to hear from people with disability and the sector more broadly to inform a future supported employment policy.

“It is critical we hear from those working in and running ADEs. We also want to hear from employees’ families and carers, and the disability sector to inform the policy development for supported employment. We want to ensure more people with disability achieve their employment goals.

“The Government has extended Disability Employment Assistance for eligible ADEs for up to two years to support ongoing service provision to ensure ADE businesses can thrive in the new environment with the NDIS,” Mrs Prentice said.

“A greater quality of life is enjoyed by people who have their own discretionary income from participating in supported employment. People have greater choice and control over the support options they access under the NDIS. The Government expects the number of NDIS participants with employment supports included in their NDIS plan will grow in the future. We look forward to consulting people with disability, their families and carers and employers and the broader sector to strengthen the future of supported employment,” Minister Porter said.

The consultation to be undertaken by the Department of Social Services includes holding workshops and interviews with stakeholders. To have your say on the discussion paper: Ensuring a strong future for supported employment, visit engage.dss.gov.au between 7 December 2017 and 9 March 2018.

The discussion paper is available here: engage.dss.gov.au/the-future-of-supported-employment/

christianporter.dss.gov.au/media-releases/the-future-of-supported-employment-have-your-say

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probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2017/12/australians-encouraged-say-future-supported-employment/

Australians Encouraged To Have Their Say on Future of Supported Employment

The discussion paper, Ensuring A Strong Future For Supported Employment, poses questions to facilitate discussion around three core policy areas:

strategies to support employment participation for people with disability;
strategies to provide effective employment opportunities by employers and providers; and
strategies to strengthen the role of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to enable employees to reach their employment goals.
Minister for Social Services Christian Porter said he wanted to ensure future government policy allowed for supported employment, and met Australia’s commitment to promote the rights and ability for persons with disabilities to work.

“Supported employment plays a vital role in improving the social and economic participation of many people with disability in Australia,” Porter said.

“The Turnbull government is committed to ensuring Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) are strong and viable businesses, so they can continue to provide effective employment outcomes for Australia’s 20,000 workers currently in supported employment, as well as those who wish to join the workforce in the future.

“This commitment includes more than $220 million in annual funding for supported employees accessing employment supports and $180 million in additional funding for the ADEs to adjust to new wage arrangements for supported employees and transition to the NDIS. The rollout of the NDIS to full scheme presents opportunities to expand, diversify and strengthen the supported employment sector.”

Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services Jane Prentice said this discussion paper allowed stakeholders a chance to engage with the government and inform a future supported employment policy.

“It is critical we hear from those working in and running ADEs. We also want to hear from employees’ families and carers, and the disability sector to inform the policy development for supported employment. We want to ensure more people with disability achieve their employment goals,” Prentice said.

“The government has extended Disability Employment Assistance for eligible ADEs for up to two years to support ongoing service provision to ensure ADE businesses can thrive in the new environment with the NDIS.”

Porter added: “A greater quality of life is enjoyed by people who have their own discretionary income from participating in supported employment. People have greater choice and control over the support options they access under the NDIS. The government expects the number of NDIS participants with employment supports included in their NDIS plan will grow in the future.

“We look forward to consulting people with disability, their families and carers and employers and the broader sector to strengthen the future of supported employment.”

In 2016-17, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) reported that only 16 per cent of NDIS participants aged 15 to 24 years and 26 per cent of NDIS participants aged over 25 were in paid employment.

The discussion paper noted that there was scope for these figures to rise in the future.

“According to the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), in 2015 there were over 2.1 million Australians with disability of working age. Of this group, only 53.4 per cent were in the workforce or actively seeking work, compared to 83.2 per cent for people with no disability,” the paper said.

“Furthermore, only 25 per cent of people with a profound or severe core activity limitation were active participants in the labour market. This means that over a million Australians of working age with disability were outside the workforce and there is significant scope to support more people with disability into employment.”

The discussion paper also noted that labour force participation rates for those with disability had remained largely unchanged over the past 20 years, and it encouraged people to have their say on these issues.

“DSS (Department of Social Services) estimates around 237,000 Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients of working age may be eligible for employment assistance, and are not participating in employment, education or an employment assistance program,” the paper said.

“Your input will help inform policy development. Workshops and interviews will allow for exchange of information, experiences and insights to ensure a better understanding of the needs of around 20,000 supported employees and future NDIS participants seeking employment across Australia.”

People are able to provide written submissions for this discussion paper until 9 March 2018.

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“DSS (Department of Social Services) estimates around 237,000 Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients of working age may be eligible for employment assistance, and are not participating in employment, education or an employment assistance program,” the paper said.


I smell a rat. This has Mclure report written all over it.

[Deleted]

The government wants 237,000 dsp's on a 'working age payment' similar to newstart.
Their mates at the job networks will happily oblige to the new income stream.
Meanwhile the unemployment rate will remain unchanged, as the 237,000 will be considered 'disabled', but the LNP will brag about reducing the number of people on DSP.

[isleboy]

Dec 11, 2017 3:03:08 GMT 7 @bagholder said:

I smell a rat. This has Mclure report written all over it.

Defiantly.

The evil bastards are indeed doing all they can, to get that crap through... 
They try to make it appear to most, that they are trying to make life better & easier for us, but in reality the opposite is true.

Not to mention the so-called (useless) job networks!

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2017 3:03:08 GMT 7 @bagholder said:

“DSS (Department of Social Services) estimates around 237,000 Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients of working age may be eligible for employment assistance, and are not participating in employment, education or an employment assistance program,” the paper said.


I smell a rat. This has Mclure report written all over it.

It might but I doubt it. It could also mean targetting over 35s for the participation requirements. McClure report on DSP mentions nothing about jobs and at the moment only under 35s are required/eligible for those services. I'd say they could be readying to extend that participation interview measure to 35 plus. Plus that'd tie in with the reassessments still happening of anyone over 35. 

www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/minister-kevin-andrews-ready-to-extend-age-limit-in-dsp-crackdown/news-story/32f3c107e45d115672a3a71d3e8ff504

I remember Andrews wanting to do this very thing in 2014. 

[Deleted]

What is the participation interview measure peacesells?

Sorry the link is broken or it's a pay wall.

[Deleted]

Dec 11, 2017 8:29:57 GMT 7 @bagholder said:

What is the participation interview measure peacesells?

Sorry the link is broken or it's a pay wall.

www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/enablers/participation-requirements-dsp