Abstract
This chapter examines the planned role of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in boosting the workforce participation of people with disability in Australia and how it is unfolding in practice. It explores the private and public benefits of employment for people with disability; employment trends for Australians with disability; the focus on employment in the economic case for the NDIS; a range of internal and external challenges facing the NDIS in supporting participants to find and sustain meaningful employment; and actors involved in that process. It concludes that the NDIS has a critical role to play in shifting perceptions of disability and employability to achieve its stated aims. However, shifts in the economy and the labour market in Australia flowing from the COVID-19 pandemic pose serious challenges for people with disability seeking work. Coordinated effort and grounded strategies are needed, now more than ever, to ensure people with disability are included in the workforce as the economy rebalances.
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Olney, S. (2021). Inclusion, Work and Wellbeing: Shifting Perceptions of Disability and Employability Through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. In: Cowden, M., McCullagh, C. (eds) The National Disability Insurance Scheme. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2244-1_15
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