The Commission has just announced consultation days in every capital city and some regional centres as part of its national Willing to Work inquiry into jobs discrimination against people with disability.

In 2013-14, 830 complaints were received under the Disability Discrimination Act and 33% of these related to employment.

As part of the inquiry the Commission has also released an issues paper on disability employment.

The paper discusses the role of business and employers in preventing discrimination, it looks at what we know about how many people with disability are working and it compares Australia to other countries.

It discusses the economic and social benefits of employing people with disability and the cost to all Australians of discrimination.

It also looks at what laws, policies and other barriers may be affecting how many people with disability are able to find the jobs they want – and importantly, are qualified for.

It asks questions for discussion, such as:

• Are there distinct challenges faced by different sized businesses and organisations, sectors and industries in employing Australians with disability?
• How effective are the legal remedies for Australians with disability who have experienced employment discrimination?
• What lessons and leading practices can we learn from other countries to address employment discrimination and increase workforce participation of Australians with disability?

As part of its inquiry, the Commission is holding 18 consultations sessions between now and November in all capital cities and some regional centres.

Numbers are limited at some of the sessions so if you’re interested check out the dates and locations and register to attend.

If you can’t get there, don’t worry. You can still have your say by making a submission to the inquiry until 4 December. Just click through to the inquiry submission page.

You can also read more about the issues from NSW Disability Council Chair, Cain Becket in our employment story Changing attitudes about disability employment changes lives.