Welcome to Martin's blog

Disability Employment Services (DES): choice and control We know that choice is only choice when you . To understand our options and therefore make informed decisions, we need access to accurate, timely and meaningful information. In the disability employment sector, governments collect the data, but  interprets it into manageable chunks. For example, do you want to know which NSW-based Transition program finds the most jobs for young workers? Go here.  Or do you want to know which

A disability employment model that works I’m convinced that the average Australian would be amazed by the many successful work placements we have facilitated over the years. Sometimes we’re even amazed ourselves! And humbled. And inspired. We have a wealth of case study examples and the Federal Government’s own statistics also show that NOVA places many more people with disability into work than any other provider. But there is nothing amazing or magical about NOVA Employment’s consistently outstanding

NDIS: A Looming Disaster I can no longer sit and watch the NDIS turning into a debacle.  At least this is the case in terms of supporting young adults with significant disability to transition from school to work. The enormous amount of money was always going to attract new players onto the market. (That’s a good thing: fresh ideas, competition, new energy, etc.) However, it was also obvious that the same money would bring profiteers,

Working in a disability employment service At NOVA, we try about what it takes to do this job well. Sure, we see ourselves as experts in the disability employment field, and we have some  on the board. These are not laurels to rest on. Our stated mission is ‘to help people with a disability find and keep satisfying jobs of their choice’. And that’s certainly what we dedicate ourselves to in our day-to-day work and our long-term planning. The

Disability Employment Services Reform 2018 ‘The labour force participation rates for people with disability have remained stagnant for the past 20 years, at around 53 per cent, compared to 83 per cent for people without disability’ (DES Reform 2018: Industry Information Paper, June 2017). In one sense the quote above says it all: the disability employment sector is no longer making progress and needs urgent reform. I’d go further and say that ‘stagnant’ is just

Community – a web of support I think we’d all agree that community connections are vital to a well-rounded life. Whether it’s family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, church, clubs or online groups, networks provide an enormous range of social opportunities. We make friends, we find jobs, and we learn. Most importantly, we share our lives, including its milestones and stumbling blocks. Many of our job seekers with a disability don’t have this web of support. What