The underrepresentation of people with disabilities in employment represents a critical opportunity for Australia’s economy.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the labour force participation rate for working-age people with disability is just 53 per cent, compared with 84 per cent among people without disability.
The Business Council of Australia estimates that, if Australia moved into the top eight OECD countries for employing people with disability, we could see an additional $50 billion added to the country’s GDP by 2050.
Given that small and medium enterprises make up a third of Australia’s GDP, SMEs have both much to contribute and much to gain in breaking down barriers to disability employment.
By guiding SME clients through financial support, resources and best practices for hiring people with disabilities, accountants play a central role in harnessing the opportunities presented by the disability employment gap.
Three myths about disability employment
One of the main barriers to disability employment for SMEs is the misconceptions employers often have about how employees with disabilities will impact their operations and their bottom line, says Graeme Innes AM, lawyer, board director and former Disability Discrimination Commissioner.
“There are three myths about disability that small businesses in particular [tend to] assume,” he says. “The first is that people with disabilities will take more sick leave. But all the research shows that we take less.
“The second is that we’ll make more workers compensation claims, but, [in reality], we are demonstrably safer workers. And that makes sense when you think about it, because we’re used to developing ways to make sure [safety incidents] don’t happen in our lives.”
The third myth, he says, is that employees with disabilities will not “fit in” culturally or possess good interpersonal skills.
“Actually, we make better managers. And that’s because we’re just used to problem solving in our own lives and managing [difficult] situations.
“Those are the key assumptions that are made about people with disabilities, which don’t have any validity – in fact, the opposite is true.”
This is echoed in research conducted by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), which shows that, for SMEs who have hired employees with disabilities, the outcomes have been overwhelmingly positive.
Among the 50 per cent of SMEs who employed people with disabilities at any stage, a large majority (69 per cent) said that employing someone with a disability delivered a positive employment outcome for their business, and more than half described their experience as ‘very positive’.
Research by Job Access has also demonstrated that hiring people with disabilities results in improved retention and reduced turnover. This is a huge benefit for SMEs in particular, given that it reduces the cost and time associated with recruiting and training new staff.
As a result, says Innes, debunking these myths and advocating for the real and compelling case for disability employment is the only way to reap the benefits of a more inclusive workforce.
The role of SME accountants in disability employment
For small businesses hoping to make their workplaces more accessible and inclusive for employees with disabilities, there are a number of pathways for government support. Innes refers SMEs to the Australian Disability Network to learn more about the resources available and other important aspects of disability employment.
With that said, COSBOA’s research shows many SMEs are much less likely to make use of these resources than their larger counterparts. In fact, close to half of all SMEs surveyed reported that they were not aware there was support available. This lack of awareness is a significant barrier to improving disability employment rates.
SME accountants play an important role in helping employers understand the financial support available to businesses hiring people with disabilities, and helping them use these resources to their best advantage. Available financial support includes:
- Funding under the Employment Assistance fund for up to $62,000 in workplace and building modifications, as well as for Auslan interpretation
- Subsidised wages for people with disability
- Support to take on apprentices with disability
- The Supported Wage System, which allows employers to match an appropriate wage with the productivity of person with disability
This support is particularly crucial given that SMEs often lack dedicated HR services to assist in navigating these frameworks and processes.
COSBOA’s research found that SMEs highly valued ‘trusted sources’ for this information, such as through organisations and stakeholders they are already dealing with on a daily basis. Establishing new relationships with unfamiliar agencies was considered an additional burden on time-poor businesses.
By helping businesses engage with these networks, offering strategic advice and assisting in long- and short-term financial planning, accountants can become these trusted sources, supporting SMEs and the broader economy to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
