People with a disability working in the NSW Public Sector

State Plan Priority F2 commits the NSW Government to improving the employment and community participation of People with Disabilities. The NSW public sector has an important role to play in this regard.

The Public Sector Workforce Office is currently developing a strategy to increase the employment of people with disability, including people with mental illness in the NSW public sector.  This will form part of its wider Workforce Strategy to support the State Plan.

With an ageing workforce and a competitive labour market, agencies need to consider disability employment issues in order to recruit and retain an appropriately skilled and experienced workforce to ensure service delivery into the future.

A disability can be: physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological or learning disabilities, physical disfigurement or a long term illnesses. The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 defines the term disability (insert link) which covers a wide range of conditions which may require adjustment depending on the employment context.
Agencies may need to make work-related adjustments so that:

• job applicants with a disability can compete based on their capabilities and win positions on merit
• employees with a disability can use their skills effectively and can contribute fully to a role.

Adjustments can apply to all areas of employment including the interview stage, recruitment, training, career development, transfers or to any other employment benefit.

Adjustments are a means for an employee to achieve the outcomes required from the position and are consistent with merit principles. Making work related adjustments to a job or workplace can include:

• job redesign
• changing the workplace or work area
• purchasing or modifying equipment
• offering flexible working arrangements.

Assistance and funding support is available to help employers to provide work-related adjustments. The nature of the necessary adjustment will depend on the particular needs of the individual. This site contains links and resources to assist managers and staff with disability related employment matters.

• The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 states that employers are required to provide the necessary services and facilities to enable a person with a disability to carry out a job for which they are qualified. This is the basis of the public sector policy to provide work-related adjustments.

The following are three publications for NSW Public Sector staff on employing job seekers with a disability. They are digital versions of printed publications which have been developed to provide flexible access to this information, especially for those with vision impairment.

• The Employ Able Training Workbook recognises the skills and opportunities people with a disability bring to the Public Sector workforce. It dispels the myths about disability and demonstrates in practical ways how staff involved in the recruitment process can take up and capitalise on these opportunities.
• The purpose of the Employ Able Resource Guide is to complement the training program by providing background information on various types of disabilities and issues related to recruiting and employing people with those disabilities. This Resource Guide also provides further information on a range of services.
• The Equal to the Task - A Good Practice Guide provides case studies which demonstrate in a practical way how our agencies have been able to tap into the valuable and sometimes untapped potential presented by job seekers with a disability. The example demonstrated by these cutting edge agencies can assist other Public Sector agencies to tap into this valuable human resource and set the model of good practice for others to follow