Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate a recent success and international recognition. On 22 February, the Australian government's JobAccess service received an award at the annual Zero Project Conference held at the United Nations in Vienna in the category of Innovative Policies and advancing Employment of Persons with Disabilities.

The Australian government is committed to improving employment outcomes for people with disability. Only 53.4 per cent of people with disability participate in the workforce compared to 83 per cent of those without disability. Unemployment for people with disabilities is 10 per cent, almost twice the rate of those without disability. We must do more to address this issue.

JobAccess was established in 2006, and in the 2015 budget the coalition government provided additional funding to develop a new streamlined JobAccess service. Following a rigorous co-design with people with disability and representatives of employers and employment service providers, the new JobAccess service commenced on 1 July 2016. JobAccess now provides a central entry point to employment services for people with disability, employers, employment service providers, the disability service sector and the broader community. JobAccess combines four previous stand-alone services to improve usability and accessibility of services, particularly for people with disability and employers. This service delivers free, accessible, tailored and confidential expert advice on disability employment through a telephone inquiry service and a redeveloped website, including support from trained health professionals. JobAccess engages with employers to educate them on the benefits of employing people with disability and to inform them of the supports available to them.

One of my goals as the Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services is to give employers the tools to become confident about employing people with disability, to help remove barriers and misconceptions and to promote employment opportunities for people with disability. Since 2006, the consolidated JobAccess service has responded to 245,000 inquiries, dealt with 33,000 funding applications and identified 2,500 job opportunities for people with disability. I thank WorkFocus Australia for nominating JobAccess for the Zero Project award. The Zero Project received 48 nominations of innovative policies from almost 30 different countries from across the world, with 20 nominations shortlisted. The Zero Project team will now promote the award winners to decision makers and opinion leaders worldwide. I encourage each of you to visit the JobAccess website—www.jobaccess.gov.au. Congratulations to the JobAccess service for making a real and meaningful improvement to the lives of Australians with disability and helping to break down the negative stereotypes that are too often held about people with disability in the workforce.