Disability and employment in the Australian labour market

Abstract

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations’ Office of the ASCC commissioned the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research to conduct research on disability and employment under the Department’s Social Policy Research Services Agreement. The project set out to identify the socio-economic conditions and the disincentives people with disabilities (in particular those with work related disabilities) face in the Australian labour market, using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The main finding of the report is that there is a negative relationship between labour force participation and disabling conditions. Associated research carried out by the ASCC Are People with Disability at Risk at Work? A Review of the Evidence corroborated the Melbourne Institute findings, and further identified that workers with a disability are not an increased occupational health and safety risk in the workplace. Authors: Kostas Mavromaras, Umut Oguzoglu, David Black and Roger Wilkins