Disability employment assistance services

Disability employment assistance services provide specialised employment help for people with a disability, injury or illness.

A person does not have to be receiving, or be eligible to receive, a payment from Centrelink to use disability employment assistance services. In most cases a person must be assessed by a Job Capacity Assessment Provider before they can access these services.

The assessment must indicate:

• that the person has a disability, illness or injury
• the level of support a person requires
• the types of assistance required to help them get a job or to stay in a job.

If you are seeking a referral to disability employment assistance services and you do not have a current eligibility assessment, a new one may be arranged for you by Centrelink, or in some cases by the Disability Employment Service provider.

If you have been assessed as eligible for referral to disability employment assistance services, Centrelink can provide you with information about suitable service providers in your area, and can make a referral for you. If you need more help, contact Centrelink.

Types of help

Disability employment assistance services fall broadly into 2 main categories:

• Disability Employment Services
• Australian Disability Enterprises

Disability Employment Services

This network of specialist employment services provides assistance to people with disability, injury or ill health. These services may be available to you if you are 14-65 years of age and an Australian resident.

If you do not already have a current assessment of your work capacity you will generally need to be assessed by a Job Capacity Assessment Provider before you can access these services. The Job Capacity Assessment Provider can then refer you to the service that best suits your needs.

Disability Management Service - for job seekers with a disability, injury or health condition who require the assistance of a disability employment service but who are not expected to need long-term support in the workplace.

Employment Support Service - for job seekers with a permanent disability and with an assessed need for more long-term, regular ongoing support needs in the workplace.

Australian Disability Enterprises

Australian Disability Enterprises provide supported employment services through a network of organisations contracted by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Australian Disability Enterprises employ and support people with disabilities, often in specialist working environments.

This type of service approach is aimed at people with disabilities who want to work but choose to do so in a supported employment environment or who, because they have higher support needs, normally find it hard to find and keep a job.

Wherever possible, employees in supported employment will be provided with the additional skills and support needed to make the transition into open employment.

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Other employment assistance

Centrelink provides other services for people with disabilities looking for work:

• Centrelink Senior Customer Service Advisers - specially trained staff to provide employment help to people with disabilities.
• Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support Program - payments made to employers who employ apprentices with disabilities.
• Job Capacity Assessment - assess the impact of a disability upon a person's ability to work.
• Jobs in Jeopardy - assist customers whose jobs are in jeopardy because of work problems related to a disability to keep their job.
• Job Services Australia - job services provided nationally by a group of organisations.
• Job Seeker Classification Instrument (JSCI) - used to identify the appropriate level of employment assistance for customers.
• Supported Wage System - a system of productivity based wage assessment for those with a disability.
• Wage Subsidies - money is paid by a Disability Employment Service to subsidise wages for people with disabilities entering work.
• Workplace Modifications - reimbursement to employers for the costs of workplace modifications when employing people with disabilities.

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