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PO BOX 298
BRUNSWICK 3056
P: (03) 9940 1502
F: (03) 9940 1474
Disability WORKS Australia Ltd. (DWA) service (formerly the
Disability Recruitment Coordination Service) was introduced in
January 1997, funded by the Department of Family and Community
Services (FaCS) to provide employers with one single contact point
for the recruitment of people with disabilities. In November 2003
FaCS released a contract for a national Disability Recruitment
Service model and Disability WORKS Australia was awarded the
contract.
The role of DWA is to facilitate the provision of employment for
people with disabilities by providing employers with access to a
single, effective contact point for recruiting people with
disabilities. DWA will work across a number of employers, linking
them with disability employment services and facilitating the
initial development of working relationships between the two.
DWA will broadcast vacancies to all disability employment services
in the catchment area, pool and quality check applications, and
then refer the applications to the employer (or their nominated
recruitment provider) to complete the selection process. This
assists employers who may not have established networks with
specialist disability employment services, and provides an
efficient and cost effective recruitment mechanism for large
employers.
In addition, DWA seeks commitments from employers to use their
services. This has resulted in agreements with a large number of
high profile employers such as Telstra, Westpac Bank, Coles and
National Bank. DWA will also work with mainstream recruitment
providers to raise their awareness of job seekers with a disability
and to modify their recruitment process appropriately.
For more information or if you would like to advertise an upcoming
vacancy please contact:
Peter Beaumont
Operational Manager
Phone: 03 9940 1502
Fax: 03 9940 1474
Email: p.beaumont@dwa.org.au
Website: www.dwa.org.au
Advantage for employers:
Many organisations are increasingly realising that diversity in the
workforce makes good business sense. Research shows that workers
with a disability benefit employers by improving their operations
and strengthening business links with the communities. The benefits
for employers include:
•Workers with disabilities often have better attendance and safety
records. It has been proven that people with a disability are more
loyal, dependable and productive than their non-disabled
colleagues.
•Workers with disabilities often have a higher staff retention
rate, which saves recruitment and training costs.
•The employment of workers with disabilities is often viewed
positively by co-workers and can have a positive effect on
workplace morale.
•Improved access to a growing and largely untapped market.
•Minimised opportunity for litigation. Since the introduction of
the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) penalties of up to $35
million have been issued to Australian Companies in disability
discrimination cases. Employing people with a disability is proof
that you are taking steps towards implementing an equal Opportunity
policy.
•Gain a better understanding of your customers. Customers come from
every walk of life, so it makes sense that your staff does too. 19%
of your customers are likely to be people with a disability and
they could increase your trade through accessing this significant
segment of the market.
DWA will assist employers interested in employing people with
disabilities by:
•Providing access to a large number of disability employment
services, saving employers from the need to establish networks with
individual disability employment services.
•Providing a ‘central point of contact’ which reduces the time and
costs involved in recruiting a number of employees with
disabilities through a variety of employment services.
•Enabling employers with centralised recruitment processes to
effectively link with disability employment services that operate
on a localised basis.
•Assisting employers to gain a better understanding of the role of
disability employment services, which adds value to the process of
matching potential employees to jobs with a particular employer,
improving both the quality and tenure of the resulting
placements.
The DWA service particularly provides large employers with an
efficient mechanism for recruiting large numbers of people with
disabilities. Most large and/or multi-site employers recruit in
bulk. Feedback from these employers indicates that they are
unwilling to deal with a multitude of disability employment
services in order to obtain sufficient job seekers with a
disability to meet their bulk recruitment requirements.
Work is a very important part of Australian society. Working, and
the income it provides, builds confidence and independence, and
enables participation in the broader community.
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