A future full of employment opportunity

A future with equal employment opportunities for all is inching closer, after the inaugural Jobs and Skills Summit was held this month in Canberra.  

The Summit, which aims to remove barriers to employment, was hosted by the Federal Government on 1-2 September 2022 to address challenges and opportunities facing the Australian labour market.  

Following the Summit, the government immediately laid out next steps and priorities for future action. 

Employment outcomes for people living with disabilities 

Immediate actions 

The government will work to improve employment outcomes for people with a disability through: 

• A Visitor Economy Disability Employment pilot to deliver place-based employment outcomes by connecting small businesses, employment service providers and jobseekers with disability. 
• Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Business Council of Australia to develop an Economic Initiative Pilot aimed at increasing employment and improving career pathways of people with a disability. 
• Better embedding employment in National Disability Insurance Scheme plans, to ensure participants who want to work are supported to do so. 

Areas for further work 

The government will: 

• Continue to work with stakeholders to expedite the development of new remote and disability employment service models. 
• Review recruitment and retention strategies for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) programs and careers, to ensure a more diverse range of candidates are considered, including people with a disability.

To inform the government on existing barriers to employment faced by people with a disability a roundtable was held ahead of the Summit, comprising professionals within the business sector, disability employment sector and people with lived experience. 

You can read more about the outcomes from the Summit here.