A New South Wales Labor government would team up with former Australian of the year Dylan Alcott in a commitment to recruit more than 10,000 people with disabilities to the public sector, doubling the current number.
On Friday the opposition leader, Chris Minns, will announce that Labor would partner with Alcott’s disability group, Get Skilled Access, in rolling out a series of initiatives across the public health, education and tourism sectors if it wins government in March.
It comes amid a more than decade-long decline in the number of disabled people in the NSW public sector workforce. The former premier Gladys Berejiklian set a target of having 5.6% of public sector jobs filled with people with a disability by 2025, but the figure is currently about 2.5%.
The most recent Public Service Commission annual report conceded meeting the 5.6% target “remains a challenge for our sector”, and the proportion of people with a disability employed in the public service has almost halved since it peaked at 4.8% in 2006.
Overall, the state’s public sector accounts for about 10.4% of all workers in NSW.
Labor’s commitment comes off the back of a royal commission report released this week which found the mistreatment and neglect of people with a disability was costing the national economy about $46bn a year.
More than half of that figure was failure to provide opportunities for people with a disability to participate in the economy.
Minns will commit to meeting the 5.6% target if Labor is elected through a $1.8m deal with GSA, the organisation founded by Alcott, a 20-time tennis grand slam champion, to improve disability inclusion in both the public and private sector.
He said while he wanted the state to “offer world-class opportunities to people with disabilities”, the government needed “to do much better”.
“I’m very proud to be partnering with Dylan Alcott and Get Skilled Access on this journey,” he said.
“His story is one of resilience and hope, and his advocacy for a more inclusive society is unmatched. I’m committed to making life better in NSW for people disability – this is the first step.”
The partnership mirrors similar recent agreements between GSA and the federal and Queensland governments.
If Labor is elected it has promised to spend half a million dollars to improve pathways for people with disability to become teachers and school support staff, as well as improved inclusion resources for teachers and students.
Labor would also spend $800,000 for more inclusive healthcare program across 10 hospitals, including at least five regional hospitals, with increased education for health staff.
Alcott said the funding was about “changing perceptions so people with disability, people like me, can get out there and live the lives they deserve to live”.
