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Disability in Australia - Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) have recently published a report called 'Disability in Australia - Investing in a Better Life, a Stronger Australia', Nov. 2011. The report has as its main thrust a discussion of the issues around the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which is being formulated by the Federal Government as we speak. The ADDE board believe it to be a very important document for many reasons, most importantly for the up to date information it provides on the current economic situation for people with disability in Australia.
The price of exclusion : the economic consequences of excluding people with disabilities from the world of work
ILO (International Labor Organisation) Employment Working Paper No. 43

A summary: We hear a lot about the costs of inclusion of people with disabilities - pensions, subsidies, services, access etc - but hardly anything about the costs of exclusion. The following report estimates the costs of exclusion from the world of work as between 3-5% of GDP: http://sebastian.buckup.de/4.html
While this study looks at ten low to middle income countries, the percentage is probably higher for countries like Australia.. read more

Equal opportunity or Diversity Employment. Which is better? There is a big difference between non-discrimination (equal opportunity), a minimalist approach and having a pro-active approach to a diverse work force. In order for someone with a disability or for someone from another disadvantaged group to prove discrimination there has to be blatant and obvious reasons for discrimination. This needs to be clearly the reason for a person not to get the job.. read more

Diversity@Work 2010 Employment and Inclusion Awards Recently, ADDE was involved in the judging of the Diversity@Work 2010 Employment and Inclusion Awards: People with a Disability. This award recognises excellence in initiatives or programs related to the employment and inclusion of people with a disability. Peter Rickards, ADDE president, was a judge on the panel and stated how happy he was to once again have the opportunity to judge the nominations.. read more

People with disabilities (people first, disability second). DisAbility (focus on the ability). Inclusion (stop excluding). Some people believe terminology is very important because it conveys an ideological message, creates a political norm, and contributes to a cultural shift. Others think it’s just words, holding little influence, and that it’s behaviour that effects change. I think both words and actions are important, in this context they show the relationship between policy, attitudes and behaviour. I use my personal experience to demonstrate the need to address policy makers’ attitudes to disability, and the need to reshape the public service into an equitable employer.. read more

The health and saety conundrum read more

Australia signs the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities read more

Some personal remarks about disability By Roger Beale (AO) read more

GOVERNOR-GENERAL Quentin Bryce has advocated the introduction of quotas to ensure more women are appointed as directors on the boards of Australian companies. Theage.com.au, 8/3/11 read more

Rethinking Australia’s employment services
Summary of this essay, by Lisa Fowkes (board Member, Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS)), presented at the Whitlam Institute, March 2011. Edited by Kathy Leitch read more

UN Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities.
A summary by Kathy Leitch read more

Our mission is to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities and from diverse backgrounds in Australia. For those of you who are not aware we were officially formed on September 7, 2005 at Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS).

ADDE promotes pro-active employment policies and practices for disadvantaged groups including people with disabilities, mature age workers, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as indigenous people. People who fall into more than one of these categories are recognised as being even more disadvantaged. Therefore, we see a greater need for a change of attitude and awareness.