Australian Network on Disability

The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests. 

Defence is a large and diverse organisation, with civilian and military components.  Defence has a workforce of 19,500 civilian employees in addition to 51,000 permanent and 19,000 reserve military personnel.  It is one of the largest employers of people in Australia. 

Disability management

Defence has unique programs in place for the rehabilitation and compensation of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who may suffer a disability as a result of their military service. The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme (MRCS) provides rehabilitation, treatment and compensation for ADF members who suffer mental or physical injury or contract a disease as a result of their military service. The MRCS has a focus on providing rehabilitation services to help injured or sick personnel make as full a recovery as possible and, if possible, return to their normal duties.

For its civilian employees, Defence has a formal Disability Management Strategy and is recognised as a leader in equity and diversity best practice in the public sector.  Defence has won public and private sector awards for its workplace support to people with disabilities. 

The Defence Disability Management Strategy 2004-2007 for civilian employees is a product of the Defence Workplace Equity and Diversity Plan 2003-2005 and the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. The Defence strategy seeks to achieve an inclusive and supportive workplace that enables staff with a disability to contribute to Defence's goals.

The Disability Management Strategy consists of three main action components:  Disclosure , Resources, Support; and a fourth action to address Evaluation.

Disclosure:  Disclosure of disability by employees is an issue that most workplaces face at some point, both in the private and public sectors. Historically, people with disabilities have been reluctant to disclose their disabilities. Defence actively encourages all people with disabilities to voluntarily disclose their disability.  Disclosure enables the development of policies and programs that focus on strategies to not only recruit and attract prospective employees, but also to retain current employees with disability and provide appropriate resources and support.

Resources:  Information resources are critical for Defence employees, with and without disabilities. Knowledge is a vital tool that can enable all employees to better manage disability issues in the workplace. The strategy addresses this need through the creation and establishment of a disAbility website and by encouraging general awareness by incorporating disability information into mandatory equity and diversity training and the new Guide to Managing Diversity.

Support:  The strategy addresses technological support for employees with disabilities, website and intranet accessibility, the possible development of a mentoring program, and enhanced access to training and development opportunities.

Evaluation:  The Disability Management Strategy is currently being evaluated and the outcomes will contribute to the development and implementation of the next strategy.  The updated strategy will also be guided by the August 2006 Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) Management Advisory Committee Report 'Employment of People with Disability in the APS'’.  Defence has accepted the APSC report and will aim to develop more effective strategies to attract, recruit and retain people with disability. More broadly, the APSC is evaluating Commonwealth government agency approaches to disability management and Defence is a major player in this.