Fiddling with my computer I had a look at the cost of the disability support pension – I used conservative figures (www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/dsp_rates.htm) as the site I visited only gave maximum payments. I worked on $250 a week per person (720,000 people receive the DSP in Australia) divided by 7 days of the week and 24 hours a day which gave a total of $1 071 428,50 each hour.
Hmm – it’s probably costing even more in pure dollar terms.
But that’s not the real cost – the real cost is much higher since it includes stuff you can’t put a price on, like what’s the worth of a wasted life?.
The late Wolf Wolfensberger listed a ‘wasted life’ as one of the 21 wounds commonly inflicted on members of small and less powerful groups by larger and more powerful groups. People that have a disability, despite the large number mentioned above, are certainly still members of a disadvantaged and disempowered group.
What’s also worrying is the lack of knowledge that still exists amongst employers about who make up ‘the disabled’, how you can find talent amongst this group and what’s real and what’s imagined when it comes to offering a person that has a disability a job.
This report: http://www.ahri.com.au/MMSDocuments/profdevelopment/research/research_papers/disability_employment_report_web.pdf
clearly shows the gap between the needs of people with disability and employers (and this is not meant as a criticism of employers) understanding of who’s out there, what they can achieve and how they might access the pool of talent that people that have a disability are able to offer.
The most disturbing bit is how few employers were aware of the Disability Employment Service program that NOVA is part of – only half the total respondents knew we exist so the total number of employers that aren’t sure how or where they might tap into our job seekers talents is likely more than half all business!
My experience is that Australian employers are more than prepared to offer a fair go and many go to extraordinary lengths to accommodate our job seekers. Our greatest obstacle still appears to be associated with an information program that helps business owners understand how they can benefit.
G.P (our accountant) believes we should speak more about the fact we are free – I have previously said, ‘everybody knows’ – the report quoted above suggests that wrong – we need to still explain we are free.
We also need to keep talking about our ability to provide workplace modifications, help to design appropriate duty statements, on –site post placement help and so on – it’s still a question of working to inform.
Looking at the costs above, we simply can't afford to fail!
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