This interactive, one-day course offers practical insights into how to foster inclusive and accessible working environments. Drawing on a range of real-world cases and examples, the course equips participants with knowledge of a range of impactful strategies for breaking down bias, promoting equal opportunity, and preventing workplace disability discrimination.

The course’s interactive approach will enable participants to draw on their transformed understanding of disability when responding to case studies and build their capability and confidence in designing and implementing disability inclusive practices in and out of the workplace.

The course will be conducted by two experienced disability studies researchers, who have both personal and professional experience in disability advocacy.

Course structure

The course contains four modules:

• Understanding disability and employment in Australia
• Key policy and legislation
• Identity and intersectionality
• Inclusion in the workplace and community

In Module 1, participants will learn about the employment experiences and outcomes of people with disability in Australia. This initial module also explores the history and contributions of the disability rights movement and appropriate language use. Module 2 introduces participants to the Australian disability policy and legislative environment and will develop understanding of the content of key policies and their implications for employers and employees. Module 3 focuses on disability identity and intersectionality. In Module 4, participants will learn about fostering inclusive workplace cultures and practices through the implementation of universal design principles and reasonable accommodations.

Learning outcomes

• Recognise and critically analyse different ways of experiencing, accommodating, and communicating about disability.
• Discover strategies to address workplace disability discrimination and foster inclusive working environments.
• Analyse case studies of successful inclusion practice and apply these insights to real world workplace scenarios.

Anticipated and behavioural and business impacts

After completing this course, participants will have the capacity and confidence to implement strategies that address workplace disability discrimination and that foster inclusive and accessible working environments. By guiding participants’ engagement with real-world problems and barriers, the course supports participants to design and implement inclusive and accessible employment practices. These practices may relate to:

• Respectful and inclusive language use
• Accessible and inclusive recruitment processes
• Reasonable adjustments
• Accessible documentation
• Engaging with a Disability Employment Service
• Implementing principles of universal design

By exercising these skills throughout the course, participants will also accrue the confidence to apply these skills in their workplace.

Who should attend?

This course is designed for managerial staff (or above) across the private and public sector. Staff at lower levels may benefit from the course; however, managerial staff will be targeted as they have the requisite authority to implement disability inclusive practices in their workplaces. Participants will need to work in an office environment (as opposed to a trade, for instance) for module 4 to be relevant.