Attracting and recruiting people with disability to your organisation
Access recruitment strategies to attract people with disability and build disability employment, accessibility and inclusion into your organisation.
Overview
This guide provides information on how to attract people with disability to your organisation by:
- demonstrating a commitment to accessibility and inclusion
- proactively connecting with candidates with disability
- establishing accessible and inclusive recruitment practices.
1. Demonstrating an organisational commitment to accessibility and inclusion
Many employers recognise the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace but are unsure about the practical steps needed to achieve it.
A common mistake employers make is assuming accessibility is only important in physical spaces. This can lead to the belief that installing ramps or accessible bathrooms is enough to make a workplace accessible. In reality, accessibility covers many different considerations, because people experience and interact with their work environment in many different ways.
The following are key things you can do as an employer:
Show commitment in your communication
- Use inclusive and respectful language.
- Include images of people with disability on your website, particularly on careers and recruitment pages.
- Highlight your commitment to attracting employees with disability in diversity statements and plans.
- Feature stories of employees with disability in internal and external communications.
Demonstrate leadership and accountability
- Ask senior leaders to act as disability champions and promote the benefits of employing people with disability.
- Develop and publish a Disability Action Plan that outlines your commitment to inclusion.
Create an inclusive workplace culture
- Ensure all staff events are accessible and inclusive.
- Provide disability awareness and confidence training to all employees, especially managers and people leaders.
- Establish a Disability Employee Network (DEN) led by people with disability, and promote its activities and achievements.
Promote your efforts
- Develop a campaign showcasing your organisation’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion, with a specific focus on disability.
Learn more
For more information on ways to demonstrate a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, and to understand what candidates are looking for, see the IncludeAbility guides on Creating an accessible and inclusive workplace, Establishing a Disability Employee Network and Identifying accessible and inclusive employers.
2. Proactively connect with candidates with disability
The best way to attract people with disability to your organisation is to recruit them directly.
Partner with disability employment specialists
- Engage an Inclusive Employment Australia provider to help identify and connect with suitable candidates.
Advertise through targeted channels
- Promote vacancies on job search platforms dedicated to people with disability.
Work with disability organisations
- Engage with disability organisations, including peak bodies and advocacy groups, that support people with disability seeking employment.
Create targeted opportunities
- Identify select graduate and internship positions as targeted roles for candidates with disability.
3. Establishing accessible and inclusive recruitment practices
To attract people with disability to your organisation, you must establish accessible and inclusive recruitment practices.
3.1 Job advertisements and position descriptions
Use inclusive and clear statements
- Include a diversity statement that encourages applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including people with disability.
- Advise applicants that reasonable adjustments are available throughout the application and recruitment process.
- For example: “You can request a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process by contacting the person listed below.”
Remove unnecessary barriers
- Avoid including non‑essential requirements that may exclude applicants.
- For example: do not require a driver’s licence if the workplace is accessible by public transport.
- Indicate that the role can be customised for the right candidate.
Provide accessible contact options
- Include the contact person’s name, phone number and email address.
Job customisation
Job customisation means designing a role based on an employee's skills and an employer's needs. It is usually negotiated between the employee and employer before the employee starts and can involve exchanging duties with another employee. These negotiations aim to match an employee's experience and capabilities with an appropriate job.
For more information on job customisation, see the IncludeAbility guide on Customising a job for a person with disability.
3.2 Interviews and assessment processes
Supporting reasonable adjustments
- Asking all candidates at the interview or assessment stage whether they require any reasonable adjustments, and putting those adjustments in place.
Ensuring physical accessibility
- Confirming that the interview or assessment location is accessible, including entrances, pathways, internal spaces and facilities.
Focusing on essential job requirements
- Limiting any assessments, including medical assessments, to the essential (inherent) requirements of the job.[1]
Providing accessible digital options
- Ensuring candidates can access any online platforms needed for interviews or assessments, and offering an alternative format if they cannot.
At the beginning of 2019 I was employed at Women With Disabilities Australia through a standard application and interview process. I found this process extremely difficult; but felt very grateful that my employer was able to look past my social difficulties.
I think there are a lot of things organisations can do to improve the employment rates and experiences of people with disability. But one of my top recommendations would be to consider alternative ways to recruit staff. Traditional interview processes rarely reflect how a person works.
Reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process
Reasonable adjustments are administrative, environmental or procedural changes made at work to ensure employees with disability can perform their roles safely, effectively and without barriers. They are sometimes called workplace adjustments or reasonable accommodations.
In the context of the recruitment process this may include:
- extra time for the interview or any tasks associated with the recruitment
- an alternative approach to completing any online assessment tasks if the online system is not accessible
- accessibility supports like live captioning, an Auslan interpreter or a support person.
A candidate may decide to share information about their disability in an interview. In that case, as an employer you should know what is and isn't appropriate to ask. It is unlawful for an employer to ask a candidate about personal attributes unless the questions are related to the position they are applying for.[2]
The following guidance on questions has been adapted from the JobAccess guide on Interviewing People with Disability.
Tip
It is good practice for an employer to ask a newly hired employee again if they need adjustments to perform their role.
This is a chance for the employee to identify as a person with disability if haven't mentioned it yet. It also demonstrates a genuine commitment to an accessible and inclusive workplace.
For information on how to facilitate an accessible and inclusive induction process, see the IncludeAbility guide on Creating an accessible and inclusive induction.
