Growing intellectual disability employment in NSW government: Final report

There is increasing focus on the role governments can play in lifting employment rates for people with disability. In particular, people with intellectual disability are underrepresented in all levels of government, including the New South Wales state government, and without explicit strategies to employ them, employment rates will not improve.

This report details the barriers people with intellectual disability face in accessing employment opportunities within the public sector. In addition to stigma and discrimination experienced by many people with disability in the workforce, people with intellectual disability face additional barriers to employment due to education gaps, a lack of appropriate support services, and inflexible recruitment practices. A culture of low expectations around what people with intellectual disability can achieve often sees them miss out on meaningful career guidance and work experience while at school, resulting in an absence of employment opportunities, or in pathways to low-paying jobs that don’t lead to better options. The report details the lack of experience of people with disability amongst public sector employees, and a lack of awareness of existing good practice in the employment of people with intellectual disability.