Supported employment
About supported employment
Supported employment is for people who need substantial ongoing support to obtain and/or keep paid employment.
If an individual is eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), supports for employment could be funded through their NDIS Plan.
Visit the NDIS website for further information about supported employment under the NDIS(Opens in a new tab/window) and information on the pricing framework.
Participants can use their supported employment funding in any workplace they choose. This includes:
- mainstream employment
- social enterprises
- micro-businesses
- supported employment services (including those traditionally known as Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs).
Finding a supported employment service
You can find a supported employment service through:
- BuyAbility website(Opens in a new tab/window): This site allows purchasers to find and engage services of supported employment services. You can search listed organisations by name, location, or business type. National Disability Services manages this site.
- The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has a list of supported employment services that are registered as NDIS providers(Opens in a new tab/window). You can filter within the provider list by the ‘Specialised Supported Employment’ registration group.
Supported employment grants
The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that people with disability have genuine opportunities to work in a wide range of settings. As part of the 2023-24 Budget, the Australian Government announced a commitment of $52.7 million over 4 years to:
- create ongoing employment opportunities for people with disability with high support needs
- assist the supported employment sector to evolve to better meet community expectations
- provide people with disability with high support needs, their families and carers with access to advocacy support and information. This will help build their confidence and understanding about their rights and options at work.
The Structural Adjustment Fund
The purpose of the Structural Adjustment Fund (the Fund) is to support the employment of people with high support needs. It aims to assist the sector to evolve in line with the guiding principles for the future of supported employment through the provision of grants. The Fund is supporting projects that enable the introduction of innovative approaches to:
- create pathways to open employment
- allow supported employment workplaces to better meet community expectations, and
- create sustainable employment opportunities for people with disability.
The Fund is being delivered over two grant rounds, with Round 1 projects underway and Round 2 applications being assessed in the second half of 2024.
Visit the Community Grants Hub for more information on the Structural Adjustment Fund(Opens in a new tab/window).
Read the summary of funded activities from Round 1.
Disability Employment Advocacy and Information program
This Disability Employment Advocacy and Information program (Advocacy program) will support people with high support needs, their families and carers. It provides these people with access to advocacy support and information to build their confidence and understanding about their rights and options at work. The Advocacy program will provide:
- case based advocacy support, where people with high support needs and their families would have the opportunity to access short term, one-on-one assistance to solve a particular employment issue
- group based workshops, events or information sessions for people with high support needs – both online and in person, and
- group based workshops, events or information sessions for families and carers of people with high support needs, both online and in person.
The Advocacy program is being delivered by Inclusion Australia(Opens in a new tab/window) and the Disability Advocacy Network Australia(Opens in a new tab/window), via a consortium arrangement.
Visit the Community Grants Hub for more information on the Advocacy program(Opens in a new tab/window).
Disability Employment Expos
The purpose of the Disability Employment Expos is to provide people with high support needs, and their families and carers, with information on a range of employment pathways and available supports. The expos(Opens in a new tab/window) are being delivered by ImpactInstitute. Expos will be delivered in the following locations:
- Wollongong – December 3, 2024
- Geelong – March 14 and 15, 2025
- Adelaide – April 29, 2025
- Hunter – May 9 and 10, 2025
- Virtual – May 20, 2025
- Gold Cost – June 6 and 7, 2025
- Darwin – June 17, 2025
Visit the Community Grants Hub for more information on the Disability Employment Expos(Opens in a new tab/window).
Guiding principles and supported employment plan
On 10 October 2022, the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, held a Supported Employment Roundtable (the roundtable) with state and territory disability ministers, people with disability, family representatives, supported employers, peak bodies and other sector experts in attendance.
Attendees shared views and experiences and agreed on a set of guiding principles for the future of supported employment (for people with disability with high employment support needs). All disability ministers have agreed to the guiding principles.
Read the Guiding principles for the future of supported employment.
To ensure the guiding principles are brought to life, Commonwealth, state and territory disability ministers agreed to work together to develop a supported employment plan (the plan). The plan was endorsed by Disability Ministers on 3 November 2023, and includes a range of practical initiatives and actions, with a specific focus on employment for people with disability with high support needs.
The plan is focussed on providing people with informed choice and control about their employment, as well as genuine opportunities to work in a wide range of settings, be it in an ADE, social enterprise, in open employment or in their own business. The plan was updated in 2024 with Ministers also noting progress of existing initiatives on 1 November 2024.
Read the Commonwealth, State and Territory Supported Employment Plan.
Disability Employment Continuity of Support
The Disability Employment Continuity of Support (DECoS) program provides funding for supports and services to supported employees who are ineligible for the NDIS, and who were previously funded under the department’s Disability Employment Assistance program. These services help supported employees to participate in and retain employment. The DECoS program commenced on 1 April 2021.
Supported employee wages
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is responsible for the Supported Employment Services Award (Opens in a new tab/window)2020 (the Award), which sets wages and working conditions for the majority of supported employees.
On 30 June 2023, changes to the Award took effect following a review by the FWC. Changes include:
- implementing 2 new wage Grades (Grades A and B) and slightly modifying existing Grades 1-7
- using the Commonwealth administered Supported Wage System (SWS) as the only wage assessment tool under the Award
- modifying the SWS to set a minimum wage of $2.90 per hour.
The FWC has set a period of three years for supported employment services to transition to the new Award. This transitional period will enable all SWS assessments to be conducted for those employees who have previously been assessed using an alternative wage tool.
The SWS is set up for employees with disability who are not able to perform jobs at the same capacity as any other employee. Under SWS, special workplace arrangements are created so that employers can pay wages to a person with disability based on how productive they are in their job.
An employer or Disability Employment Services (DES) provider may make an application under the SWS. The SWS assessment will be conducted by an independent assessor.
Visit the JobAccess website for more information about the Supported Wage System(Opens in a new tab/window).
Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website for more information about the Supported Employment Services Award pay rates(Opens in a new tab/window).
Quality standards
Supported employment services are audited against the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Provider Registration and Practice Standards) Rules 2018(Opens in a new tab/window) (NDIS Rules).