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Recruitment of people with disability
The provision of workplaces that are free from discrimination, and which recognise and utilise the diversity of the Australian community they serve, is one of the key Values underpinning the Australian Public Service (APS) employment framework.
In 2006 the Management Advisory Committee released its sixth report Employment of People with Disability in the APS that explored the reasons for the decline in the numbers of people with disability in the APS.
The report set out eight objectives for all APS agencies:
- a culture that values diversity and actively promotes the employment of people with disability
- flexible recruitment strategies that are accessible to applicants with disability
- accessible training, cadetship and mentoring opportunities for people with disability
- special employment measures to employ people with intellectual disability
- accessible premises, workplaces and supportive work environments for people with disability
- reduced complexity, cost and risk for managers employing people with disability
- consistent conceptual framework for defining disability, and
- continuous improvement in recruiting and retaining people with disability.
Implementing these objectives will assist agencies to attract and retain people with disability. Increasing the number of people with disability in the APS requires agencies to create an environment that supports people with disability in all aspects of their employment.
Further information on better practices that can be adopted is detailed in Ability at Work: Tapping the Talent of People with Disability. Ability at Work also explains how and why selection processes can be adjusted to allow people with disability to compete fairly for employment, including an explanation of the concept of ‘reasonable adjustment’ in this context.
Reasonable adjustment
Reasonable adjustment is a concept that reflects the understanding that people with disability can often perform the tasks of a position where adjustments are made to accommodate the effects of their disability.
In a selection context, its purpose is to allow adjustments to the process (and, within reason, to the duties) which might be made to allow people with disability to compete fairly for employment. Consideration needs to be given to the specific disability of the applicant, rather than making assumptions about people with that category of disability. Merit has to be observed, and is still the basis of any assessment, but the selection panel and the delegate are able to consider reasonable adjustment factors in the assessment process.
There is no exhaustive list of what kinds of changes can be made to a selection process or the way in which duties are performed. There are many different types of disability, and they affect people in highly individual ways. Technologies available to assist people with disability are constantly changing. Each case will need to be considered on its own merits and it is usually helpful to consult with the employee about the types of adjustment they have found to be most helpful.
Employers are also free to seek advice about reasonable adjustment from other expert sources. A starting list of sources of information is included in the Ability at Work toolkit. Notwithstanding the advice provided by such expert sources, or by the employee, the final decision on what type of adjustment should be provided rests with the employer: employers are not bound to accept one form of advice over another and should exercise their own judgement. The first question is whether it works, that is, whether it allows that employee to perform the inherent requirements of the position.
Agencies who want to provide opportunities for people with disability may also wish to consider using non-ongoing employment, traineeships, work experience and traineeships to provide people with disability with experience that will assist them in competing for jobs in the APS.
Further information on making such adjustments can be found in Ability at Work.
Publications and web links
Ability at work: Tapping the talent of people with disability
APS jobs (external website)
Better, Faster: streamlining recruitment in the APS
Cracking the Code: How to apply for jobs in the Australian Public Service
Get It Right: a recruitment tool for managers
Getting a Job in the Australian Public Service
Recruitment and selection in the APS
Circulars and advice
Circular no. 2010/2: Engagement of people with disability through disability employment service providers
Circular No 2006/1: Use of identified criteria and special measures to fill employment opportunities
Circular no 2006/6: Use of special employment measures to fill employment opportunities for people with intellectual disability
Public Service Act 1999 Advice No 3: Special employment measures
Public Service Act 1999 Advice No 22: Discrimination in Australian Public Service employment
Legislation
Public Service Act 1999, sections 10 and 18
Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 1999, chapters 2, 3 and 4
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986
Related pages
Special measures for employing people with intellectual disability
