3   WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY

The order of the day having been read for the resumption of the debate on the motion of Mrs Moylan—That this House:

(1)    appreciates that meaningful employment is essential to the financial security, physical and mental health and sense of identity of all individuals;

(2)    remains concerned with the low workforce participation rate of individuals with a disability;

(3)    recognises the challenges faced by people with a disability in successfully obtaining work, particularly in surmounting barriers;

(4)    notes that:

(a)    eighteen and a half per cent of all Australians suffer from a disability;

(b)   data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that since 1993, workplace participation for people with a disability has steadily decreased to 53.2 per cent, compared to the continual increase of participation in those without disability to 80.6 per cent; and

(c)    the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Statistical Bulletin shows employment of people with a disability in the Australian Public Service has linearly dropped from a high of 5.5 per cent in 1996, to 3.1 per cent in 2010;

(5)    acknowledges the findings of chapters 2.4 (‘The employment experience of people with disabilities’) and 2.5.2 (‘Lack of Access to Transport’) of the National Disability Strategy Consultation Report, Shut Out , that:

(a)    there are still widespread misconceptions and stereotypes influencing the attitudes and behaviour of employers, recruiters and government;

(b)   there is considerable misunderstanding in the community and overestimation about the cost of workplace adjustments for people with a disability;

(c)    there is confusion about the impact of occupational health and safety requirements on people with a disability;

(d)   inflexibility of the Disability Support Pension acts as a disincentive to employment and the loss of healthcare benefits is a particular disadvantage; and

(e)    without access to transport, participation in critical activities such as education, employment and healthcare is difficult, if not impossible; and

(6)    calls on the Government to provide leadership and improve participation rates of people with a disability ( see item No. 2, Votes and Proceedings )—

Debate resumed.

The time allotted for the debate having expired, the debate was interrupted, and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for the next sitting.