Finding, Keeping and Changing Jobs

There are many benefits to having a job, and we want to help NDIS participants who want to work, to get the job they like and keep it. Having a job expands social networks, raises living standards, and increases financial independence and self-worth. There are a lot of ways that we can help you to pursue your employment goals.

Thinking about work

Disability Employment Services (DES) offers specialist employment assistance to help people with disability, injury or health conditions, find and retain suitable employment in the open labour market. DES can also offer support to their employers.

There are two parts to Disability Employment Services:

• Disability Management Services - they help job seekers with disability, injury or health conditions, find a job. They can also provide occasional support in the workplace.

• Employment Support Services - they help job seekers with permanent disability to find a job if they need regular, ongoing support in the workplace.

Are you a Year 12 student or leaving school?

School leaver employment supports are NDIS supports available to students in their final year and preparing to leave secondary school.

These supports give you the skills and confidence to help you move from school to employment. They offer individualised supports for up to 2 years after finishing school to help you get ready for work and plan your pathway to employment.

They are also tailored to meet your individual employment goals and may include:

• work experience in open employment

• job skills training

• travel training.

Getting job ready

Bring any other employment plans you have. For example, you may have an employment plan with a Disability Employment Service provider (DES) or an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE).

Bring any relevant reports or assessments, like school reports or work assessments to help your LAC or NDIA Planner understand your work capacity. If you are leaving school, remember to collect all of your information before you go.

If you are registered with Centerlink and looking for work, you may need an assessment to help work out the services and support to best meet your needs. This assessment is called an Employment Services Assessment. If you have had a Centrelink Employment Services Assessment (ESAT), bring all the information along.

Getting ready for work, finding your first job, or a new job may take some time but it’s okay. Discovering what you need is really important. Remember you can build on each of your previous NDIS plans. The sooner you start talking about your employment goals, the sooner you can start building your skills and looking for work.

How we fund support at work

If you need help to do your job, your NDIS plan may include money to pay for your supports at work.

This is called Supports in Employment and is in the core budget in your plan.

You can use this funding to pay a provider to help to do your job in different settings such as open employment, run a micro-business/self-employment or work in a supported employment service also known as an Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE).

Funding for Supports in Employment gives you choice about where you work. 

The information below is to help participants think about the support they need to do their current job or to think about changing jobs.

Volunteering

Volunteering is unpaid work. It can be a great first step to getting paid work.

Being a volunteer has lots of benefits. It can help you gain work experience in the field you are interested in and can increase your work skills and general wellbeing.

Volunteering can build important personal and work relationships as well as having a positive impact on your community.

Talk to your LAC about opportunities to volunteer in your area.

This page current as of

16 November 2021 

(Extracted from multiple pages, please visit reference link for full details and accurate information)