Finding the right job
Initial research
People with a disability or mental illness have lower employment outcomes and earn less money from their work, despite research showing they often have both the capacity and the willingness to actively participate in the workplace.
You can find out about:
- employment facts
- supports and services to help you with gaining and keeping employment
- steps with looking for work
- work options.
You can also read personal stories about employment:
- artists at Monte Lupo, an Australian Disability Enterprise in Brisbane, discuss their creative work environment
- employees at a community enterprise in Brisbane share their work stories
- a mum talks about supporting her son with setting up a business
- a Queensland social worker shares her experience with supporting people with a mental illness, learning difficulty or intellectual disability with employment.
What is the issue? Some facts
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), only 53% of people with a disability in Australia participate in the labour force, compared to 81% of people without a disability.
People with a chronic illness in Australia are 60% more likely to not be employed in the labour force. The economy loses about 540,000 full-time employees each year due to chronic illness.
Of those in the workplace, many people with a disability are employed in skilled roles, including managerial, professional and administrative positions.
Employment statistics vary depending on severity of disability and the presence of more than one disability, and some groups are particularly disadvantaged. Up to 80% of people with multiple sclerosis, for example, become unemployed within the first 10 years of diagnosis.
Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows Australia ranks 13 out of 19 countries for its employment rate for people with a disability. Only 35% of people with a disability receive primary income from a wage, and the medium gross weekly personal income of people with a disability is just $255-about 50% of the average income for people without a disability.
Work options
There are different work options you can consider, including:
- supported employment. With supported employment, employers receive government support to help people with a disability who need ongoing assistance for a substantial period with finding and keeping paid employment.
- open employment, which is employment in the open labour market.
- starting your own business.
You may also like to work part-time or full-time, and there may be other factors that you need to consider with working out what type of work is right for you. You may also be interested in volunteering.
