NDIA Accountability Project

Employment supports, disability social enterprises, and DSP incentives

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Endeavour Foundation Submission

14 November 2025

ABOUT ENDEAVOUR FOUNDATION

Endeavour Foundation is an independent, for-purpose organisation established in 1951 with a vision to partner with people with disability to live their best life, at home, at work and in the community. For many years we have been committed to providing employment for people with disability, particularly people with intellectual disability, and people requiring long-term or high-level support in employment.

Endeavour Foundation’s employment services include a range of options to support people across a broad spectrum of needs. We also offer a range of pathways to support people as they transition to mainstream employment, including disability social enterprises, Inclusive Employment Australia, and support to work on-site for another employer.

We currently employ more than 1,780 people with disabilities.

INTRODUCTION

We welcome the opportunity to provide input to the Review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (the Act). This submission focuses specifically on employment-related discrimination and the critical need to strengthen protections and promote genuine inclusion of people with intellectual disability in the Australian workforce.

In April 2025 the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that only 24% of working-age NDIS participants are currently in employment on full award wages1, or just 21% in some regional areas. We believe this will only change if the Australian Government prioritises more disability-employment-friendly policies and labour market incentives to attract and support more employers to create job opportunities for people with high support needs.

Currently the Act’s intention is to protect genuine inclusion of people with disability in the Australian workforce however does little to promote genuine inclusion and job creation. If the aim is to create a more inclusive labour market and create economic opportunities for people with a disability, other areas of reform need to be considered.

PART 2: POSITIVE DUTY TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION

Positive Duty and Australian Human Rights Commission powers

We endorse introducing a positive duty on employers to proactively prevent discrimination similar to the positive duty introduced in 2022 under the Sex Discrimination Act. This change would move away from a complaints system which requires the person with a disability to raise a complaint. The positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act has resulted in comprehensive education in the employment setting which we feel would also be beneficial to prevent disability discrimination.

However, we do not agree that the Australian Human Rights Commission should have enforcement powers in relation to this positive duty, which may inadvertently result in some employers avoiding candidates with a disability, due to perceived risk.

We recommend that, similar to the operations of the Human Rights Act in Queensland, the Human Rights Commission adopt a mediation and resolution approach in response to employment discrimination complaints.

Given the current labour shortages seen in Australia, and the workforce shortages that are predicted as the so-called ‘baby boom generation’ move into retirement, we believe that a range of employer and employee incentives are more likely to result in positive employment outcomes for people with intellectual disability, than a negative enforcement approach.

1 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website, accessed 15 June 2025 (https://www.aihw.gov.au/australias-disability-strategy/outcomes/employment-and-financial-security/ndis-participants-in-full-award-wage-employment)

Targets and reporting

In addition to this Endeavour Foundation encourages the Australian Government to implement recommendations 7.18 and 7.19 of the Disability Royal Commission and establish specific and disaggregate targets for disability employment in the public sector alongside specific disability employment targets for the public service. Disaggregation would enable the Australian Government to identify trends and target real gains in meeting their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of people with Disability by directly employing people with intellectual disability, at all levels of employment throughout the Australian Public Service.

PART 3: ENCOURAGING INCLUSION IN EMPLOYMENT

Adjustment and Consultation

Endeavour Foundation strongly advocates for the inclusion of people with a disability in education and employment. We know that everyone’s needs in the workplace are different and therefore support reforms to the Act that would clarify that making adjustments is the default expectation of employers, not an exception.

We also support mandating employers to consult with employees and job applicants with disability about their required adjustments. These consultations should be ongoing throughout employment and documented by employers.

PART 7: FURTHER OPTIONS FOR REFORM

As part 7 of the review summary suggests, the Act is intended to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against people on the basis of their disability. However, we feel the Act cannot achieve this alone, other Government policy and legislation impact the extent to which discrimination can be eliminated and importantly people with disability can fully participate in education, employment and society more broadly.

Therefore, we encourage the Australian Government to consider the below areas for further reform and establish a cross-Government working group between the Departments of Attorney-General, Social Services and Employment and Workplace Relations to work together to eliminate discrimination against people with a disability in the workplace setting.

Supported Wages and the Critical Role of Disability Social Enterprises

Disability Social Enterprises play a vital role in providing meaningful employment opportunities for people with intellectual disability, who face the greatest barriers to mainstream employment. Endeavour Foundation alone employs over 1,780 people with a disability in positive and supportive employment opportunities in both urban and rural areas.

Endeavour Foundation supports the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendation (recommendation 7.31) to raise minimum wages for employees with disability and has advocated for this to happen as soon as possible.

However, extensive economic modelling2 and consideration of this issue by the Fair Work Commission3, have shown that Disability Social Enterprises will require adequate funding support to adjust their business models and absorb wage rises, protect jobs for people with the highest support needs and optimise transition of workers to inclusive mainstream employment settings. We therefore advocate for a wage subsidy which ensures employees with a disability are paid a minimum wage while also protecting their jobs.

Disability Support Pension: A Barrier to Employment

Consistent feedback from supported employees and their families and carers identifies that current policy settings for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) create unintended barriers to commencing work, increasing hours and advancing to

2 National Disability Services website accessed 14 November 2025 (Taylor Fry Supported Employment Modelling report released) 3 Fair Work Commission website accessed 14 November 2025 (Supported Employment Services Award review (AM2014/286)

higher paid roles. Our view is that pension income rules should encourage employment and career progression, while also providing a safety net. At a minimum, DSP recipients should be entitled to a pensioner work bonus that is equivalent to the amount currently allowed for recipients of the Aged Pension Work Bonus (allowing for the difference in tax rules between the DSP vs Aged Pension).

In addition to this, employees who would be able to progress or take on more hours hesitate to take on those opportunities out of fear of losing the DSP and associated benefits such as the Pensioner Concession Card (which DSP recipients are automatically qualified for) which provides access to discounts on medicines, doctors’ visits, public transport and utility bills. In order to provide some assurance for the future, we advocate that DSP recipients with a permanent disability should be able to retain access to these important concessions even after their income exceeds the threshold for income support payments. The provision of these ongoing concessions will improve people’s overall health and wellbeing, by making housing, electricity, transport and medicines more affordable.

Employment First in NDIS plans

Endeavour Foundation advocates that as a default NDIS participants should be encouraged to consider employment in all NDIS planning. Disability Social Enterprises should be recognised as a legitimate employment opportunity for people with high support needs who cannot yet obtain mainstream employment or who require skills and work readiness development. We advocate a full spectrum of employment opportunities should be made available for people with disability.

CONCLUSION

The Disability Discrimination Act must work in concert with, not in isolation from, broader government policy if it is to achieve genuine employment inclusion for people with disability.

While strengthening the Act’s protections is necessary, it is insufficient without parallel reforms to social security settings, NDIS policy, and wage support mechanisms. The current 24% employment rate for working-age NDIS participants is unacceptable and reflects systemic policy failures that actively discourage workforce participation.

We urge the Review to recognise that eliminating employment discrimination requires a whole-of-government approach that removes Disability Support Pension disincentives, provides sustainable funding for Disability Social Enterprises, and prioritises employment as a pathway to economic participation and independence.

Only through coordinated reform across multiple policy areas can the Act fulfill its intended purpose of creating genuine opportunities for all Australians with disability, particularly those with significant intellectual disability who face the greatest barriers to employment.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Endeavour Foundation

Email: redacted

Phone: redacted