Hosting students with disabilities

Connecting you with students 

Recruiting individuals with disabilities benefits organisations through improved profitability, competitive advantage and ability awareness.^* 

Through our partnerships, networks and experience, we’ll connect you with our student talent and support you in becoming a Disability Confident Recruiter.  

On this page, you’ll find tips and strategies to attract candidates living with disability in Australia.

^*Lindsay, S., Cagliostro, E., & Carafa, G. (2018). A systematic review of workplace disclosure and accommodation requests among youth and young adults with disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 40(25), 2971–2986 

Create a safe recruitment process 

Everyone finds interviews and the general recruitment process daunting, including people with a disability.  

Here are some things disability confident recruiters do:  

• explain to candidates that their disability information is used to modify the recruitment process to help them demonstrate their ability 
  
• give candidates more time to complete tasks 
  
• make sure the information you present is in an accessible format (i.e. online forms, videos, etc.) 
  
• have an option for a phone interview 
  
• send interview questions in advance 
  
• make sure the environment caters to light, noise and colour sensitivities 
  
• give permission for candidates to use adaptive technologies, assistance dogs, their own equipment to complete exercises, or for a support person to be present during video interviews.  

Make inclusive practice business as usual

Enable a smooth onboarding process for successful candidates by accommodating individual work styles whether an employee lives with a disability or not.  

Equitable management is key to this – ensuring employees have access to maternity and parental leave, ergonomic assessments, working from home and other flexible arrangements and the use of adaptive technologies.  

The Australia Network on Disability has developed information on supporting employees with disability through new ways of working brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Disability awareness and acceptance resources 

Access a range of resources for industry on disability awareness and acceptance in the workplace: 

• Australian Network on Disability - a group supporting organisations to advance the inclusion of people with disability in all aspects of business
• Amaze - a group raising awareness and influencing positive change for people on the autism spectrum
• Spectrospective - stories of autism and work
• search LinkedIn for the hashtag: #EmployTheirAbility.

Find out more about government funding 

There are government funds and resources that can help you:  

• Job Access Employment Assistance Fund – get financial help to buy work-related modifications, equipment, Auslan and workplace assistance services.  
  
• Job Access Employer Toolkit – videos and resources empowering you to hire people with a disability.  
  
• Job Access Advice and support for employers – watch this two-minute video for fundamental advice.  
  
• For organisations in Victoria, access the Victorian Public Service Disability Employment Toolkit.
  

Make a job only available to people living with disability

Based on available information, you can advertise a job as available only to a person living with a disability because of the inequality they experience in the job market. To ensure you’re consistent with anti-discrimination legislation, as a start, seek advice from your legal team on:  

• Australian Human Rights Commission Identified Positions quick guide
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 section 45 Special measures
• Fair Work Ombudsman’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2018-2021 [PDF 2.89MB] 
• Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2016. See Part 3 – Recruitment and selection, item 27, Affirmative Measure – Disability.