Why get it right?
One in five people in Australia have disability. This means that at least one in five recipients of the services provided by the Victorian Public Service (VPS) have disability.
In order that the services delivered by the VPS for the Victorian community meet the needs of the community, the VPS needs to reflect the diversity of its community, including people with disability.
Attracting, recruiting, employing, developing and retaining people with disability as part of a workforce reflecting the diversity of the broader community will lead to:
- better understanding of stakeholders better delivery of services to stakeholders stronger corporate image
- better meeting of corporate and social responsibilities
- legal compliance.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the Victorian public sector principles of merit and equal employment opportunity are upheld throughout your attraction, marketing, recruitment and selection process. This includes ensuring equal opportunity for people with disability.
This also involves ensuring that all legislative requirements are met during your recruitment process. These are detailed in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwlth), the Disability Act 2006 (Vic), and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1996.
What is this resource?
This document is a guide to assist managers with responsibility for recruiting to ensure equal employment opportunity for people with disability, that the VPS employs the best person for each role and to provide the most appropriate service to the Victorian community. It complements the Victorian Public Sector Commission Best Practice Recruitment and Selection tool kit released in 2008 and the Office for Disability campaign Bar None Employment.
This guide aims to promote best practice in employing people with disability throughout the attraction, marketing, recruitment and selection process.