Hoping to address low employment among people with disabilities, the Australian government signed a new deal with the Business Council of Australia to create and implement a disability employment pilot program.

The Australian government hopes the collaboration will improve employment outcomes through a AUD 3.3 million (USD 2.2 million) investment in the pilot.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said 53.4% of the 2.1 million Australians with disabilities of working age are in the labour workforce.

Meanwhile, 93% of working-age people with disabilities face difficulties finding work due to the lack of suitable jobs and perceived limitation of their disability, she added.

“This new employment pilot seeks to address this and provide significant benefits to people with disability, employers and businesses, the economy and the broader community,” Rishworth said.

Rishworth said the government and the Council recently convened a workshop to identify opportunities and discuss challenges people with disabilities face when finding work and discussed ways to remove barriers to employment.

The employment pilot is part of Australia’s Disability Strategy, according to Rishworth, who noted that it’s a direct outcome of the national Jobs and Skills Summit held last September.

Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.4% in November 2022, down by 1.1% when compared to the same period the year prior.