New specialist disability employment program – Release of draft Request for Tender

The new specialist disability employment program is coming from 1 July 2025. The first step in preparing for the new program is the Exposure Draft of the Request for Tender (RFT), which has now been released for public consultation.

The Exposure Draft is available on AusTender(Opens in a new tab/window) or DSS Engage(Opens in a new tab/window). All interested stakeholders are encouraged to review the Exposure Draft and provide any feedback to DESConsultations@dss.gov.au by 30 August 2024.

The release of the Exposure Draft will be supported by public briefings later in August 2024. Details will be available on our DSS Engage(Opens in a new tab/window).

Feedback received through the Exposure Draft process will inform the final policy settings for the new program and development of the final RFT that will be released later this year.

Please note that the department will consider, but may not adopt, all of the feedback received and is unable to respond directly to individual feedback.

Find out more

The department will continue to upload opportunities for consultation and feedback to DSS Engage(Opens in a new tab/window). Please check the website regularly for updated information and consultation opportunities.

Probity Information

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that the probity of the process to develop the new specialist disability employment program is conducted in a manner that is fair, transparent and equitable. Accordingly, the Government will ensure that access to information regarding the Disability Employment Service reforms process is equitable and objective, and that stakeholders are treated consistently.