Employing for a Diverse and Productive Workforce

Included in this article:

 

Employing for diversity and inclusiveness in your team is a really smart move for your business and is proven to give you:

  • Access to more talent – Discover skilled candidates you might otherwise miss and increase your chances of finding the perfect fit
  • Increased productivity and performance – Diverse teams spark fresh ideas, drive innovation and can get better results
  • A great culture – Inclusion lifts morale, engagement and loyalty
  • Retention of great staff – Supportive workplaces reduce turnover and keep top talent
  • A boosted reputation – Be known as a socially responsible, forward-thinking employer
  • Access to extra support – Benefit from potential wage subsidies and funding for workplace adjustments

 

CoAct Connect + BUSY Ability are employment experts with decades of experience in employment solutions for job seekers and employers. We help businesses find and recruit exceptional people and embrace diversity and inclusion. We do this through the Australian Government funded Inclusive Employment Australia program, a new program that replaced Disability Employment Services from November 1, 2025.

We work with people from all walks of life, including people with disability, a treated illness, injury or mental health condition. Our free, tailored support includes recruitment and workforce planning, access to wage subsidies and workplace modifications, and diversity and inclusion education.

How we help your business with no-cost recruitment solutions

Our team of Diversity Recruitment Specialists will work with you to design tailored recruitment and workforce planning solutions, that include:

  • Inclusive recruitment practices – Support with accessible job ads, job descriptions and inclusive interviewing. We help ensure your recruitment process is fair, accessible and welcoming to employees with disability.
  • Workplace adjustments – Advice on changes to make the workplace accessible, often at no cost to you through government funding. This may include adjustments to remove physical and technological barriers or offering workplace flexibility, such as job-redesign, flexible hours or part-time arrangements.
  • Training and awareness – Training for your leadership team on disability inclusion, understanding bias and respectful communication. We can also help with strategies to champion embedding inclusion in your workplace culture.
  • Ongoing support – Regular check-ins to ensure your new employee/s have the tools and environment to succeed in their role. We can also provide advice on how you can expand your outreach by partnering with disability organisations and diverse networks.

 

Access to our services is at no cost and we can help you build a high-performing, productive team with confidence.

Find the right people for your business

We’re employment experts who help businesses find and recruit exceptional people.

Under the Inclusive Employment Australia program, we work with people from all walks of life, including people with disability, a treated illness, injury or mental health condition.

Our team of Diversity Recruitment Specialists will:

  • connect you with job-ready candidates who have completed industry-aligned training and are matched to your specific workforce needs
  • work closely with you to design tailored recruitment and workforce planning solutions
  • advise you on job design, workplace modifications and role customisation to ensure the right fit for your team
  • streamline the recruitment process by managing everything from candidate sourcing and pre-screening to onboarding and workplace adjustments
  • provide you with the opportunity to trial candidates before making a long-term commitment
  • offer you and your staff workshops, resources and on-the-job training to support diversity and inclusion practices
  • support your new recruits with ongoing coaching, workplace assessments and digital tools as long as they need it for long-term success
  • help you develop return-to-work plans for staff recovering from illness or injury
  • assist you in accessing employer incentives, such as wage subsidies and outcome-based financial support, for inclusive employment practices.

 

Priya, Pizza Hut franchisee said of her experience, “I wouldn’t have considered working with people with disability before because it felt like it was too hard. Having had the first few candidates being such successful employees, I’ve really changed my mind. In the future, I’ll be making sure any workplace I’m in is an inclusive one for people with disability.”  

Funding and training support for business

We’ll help you navigate the funding and training opportunities available for your organisation. These include:

  • Inclusive Employment Australia Wage Subsidy

Funding ranging up to $10,000 may be available to businesses that hire eligible individuals into ongoing jobs. Different subsidy levels are offered depending on the hours of employment provided by the employer.  

  • Employment Assistance Fund (EAP)

Financial help for eligible employers and clients to buy work related modifications and services.

Learn more about wage subsidy and EAP assistance

  • Work Assist – support for your current employees with disability or medical condition to stay in work

Solutions and funding to support your employees with a verified disability or medical condition to return to or stay in work is available through Work Assist. Work Assist can help you fund employees to stay in work if they’re having difficulty performing due to their mental health, disability, illness or injury. This is a free service for employers with staff that are registered with an Inclusive Employment Australia provider. Learn more about Work Assist

We know how hard it is to find a good employee, and the time and cost you put into recruiting and onboarding. Here’s what we’ll do so you can help your employees stay at work or return to work, and you don’t lose valuable talent.

  1. Advise on job redesign, development and planning
  2. Carry out a comprehensive workplace assessment
  3. Recommend specialised equipment and workplace modifications
  4. Support to access funded health support your employees are eligible for, e.g. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pain management and counselling.

 

    • Supported Wage System


    Most employees with disability work at the same rate as others. However, if a disability genuinely affects how much a person can get done each day, you can use the Supported Wage System (SWS). This system gives you the flexibility to pay an employee with disability a wage that reflects their productivity, while they build their capacity to improve their rate of productivity. You can only use it when a disability genuinely affects a person’s daily productivity and a fair, measured wage adjustment is needed.

    Learn more about Supported Wage System

    CoAct Connect and BUSY Ability – a partnership for success

    CoAct Connect and BUSY Ability partner to deliver Inclusive Employment Australia. CoAct Connect is a national network of not-for-profit organisations, implementing consistent and effective service delivery nationwide.

    BUSY Ability knows your community and is one of Australia’s most trusted providers. We understand your local area and the challenges of recruitment and retention.

    We will introduce you to carefully chosen candidates who suit your business needs, working closely with you to ensure both you and your new recruits feel supported. We also provide advice, resources, workshops and training on recruitment, workforce planning and diversity and inclusion best practices.

    If your business is looking for staff, Lodge a Vacancy or Contact Us today to discuss your workplace needs.