Appendix 6: Evaluation workshop questions

Workshop for Agency Executives

Questions for discussions

Where to from here?

Key Question: What actions should Commonwealth agencies now take to improve outcomes for people with disabilities?

At the whole-of-government level

• - Can improved outcomes be achieved through the existing Commonwealth Disability Strategy (CDS)? If not, what is the best way forward?
• - If so, how can effectiveness be enhanced?
• - Where should leadership and overall responsibility for the CDS reside?
• - Should there be targets for each of the five elements of the CDS?
• - Should there be incentives and sanctions for achievement of targets?

At the agency level

• - What should the strategy require agencies to do?
• - What support generally is necessary to enhance effectiveness of the CDS at the agency level?
• - What are the resource implications for individual agencies in seeking to achieve better outcomes for people with disabilities?
• - How can the intentions of the CDS become embedded in the day to day operations of individual agencies?

What are the priorities for future action?

In light of the discussion of the above issues, what appears to be the most important actions that now need to be undertaken by Australian Government agencies to improve the life of people with disabilities?

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Appendix 7: Stakeholder interview questions

1. In what ways have the lives of people with disabilities been enhanced by the Commonwealth Disability Strategy (CDS) since 1999?

2. Can you provide specific details about the impact of the CDS in improving:

3. • equity for people with disabilities (opportunity to contribute to social, political, economic, and cultural life)
   • inclusion of people with disabilities (availability of all mainstream Commonwealth programs, services and facilities)
   • participation for people with disabilities (participation on an equal basis in decision making processes that affect their lives)
   • access for people with disabilities (access to information in appropriate formats about the programs and services they use)
   • accountability for agency responsibilities in relation to people with disabilities (for the provision of access to programs, facilities and services, including complaints handling procedures).

4. Are there other major achievements that have been made by Australian Government agencies since 1999 that provide outcomes for people with disabilities?

5. What barriers remain to be overcome?

6. What do you consider to be the future priorities and actions for improving outcomes for people with disabilities?
   • What will help or hinder the achievement of these priorities?
   • What are the alternatives to the current approach (CDS) for achieving the outcomes intended ?
   • What is the best option for moving forward?
7. Are there any other issues you wish to raise in relation to the CDS?

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Appendix 8:Employee case studies

The following case studies have been prepared by Erebus International based on interviews with four APS staff members. Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Commonwealth Disability Strategy (CDS) Case Study 1: "James"

James is a "thirty something" tertiary qualified public servant working in Canberra. He has been in the public sector for over fifteen years and has worked his way up through the ranks. Over that time he has worked in four agencies. He currently has responsibilities for managing staff. James has two disabilities: one declared and one not declared.

The declared disability is related to a repetitive strain injury (RSI), which has led to the provision of voice activated computer software, so that James doesn't have to use a keyboard for his work. This support has allowed him to keep working in circumstances that would otherwise have been impossible. When James reported his RSI, he was referred to Comcare for assessment. His claim was dismissed, but he contested the case using a lawyer. He won the case before reaching the tribunal, but it cost between $2,000 and $3,000 to do this.

James and his immediate superior only know the undeclared disability, a psychiatric disability. He suffers from anxiety and depression. He entered the workforce with this condition and expects to leave the workforce with the condition. Accordingly he tries to avoid disagreements in the workplace. He has left work places to avoid this stress. The disability is an undeclared because James is concerned about stigmatisation in the workplace. He feels that any problems that arose in the workplace would likely be "shifted home" to his psychiatric disability.

James believes that he is managing his condition more effectively than in the past. He also notes that medication can be an issue for people with a psychiatric disability. James sees the workplace becoming more competitive, which can cause more stress. The increasing recruitment of managers from "outside" concerns him, as they may not share traditional public service values. James believes that the support mechanisms put in place have been helpful and, over time, have improved. However, there are a number of challenges that on a day to day basis he still finds particularly confronting: performance appraisal, recruitment processes, and on occasion general interactions. While the principles of reasonable adjustment are known and used, there is no reduction in the workload or expectations of him or his manager.

James has identified a number of improvements that could be made. He believes it starts with "tone at the top": a need for a strong and supportive message from the top. Appropriate resources and practical training for managers are also seen as essential (eg how you manage people with epilepsy in the workplace). Strong and immediate support in the workplace is required for people with disabilities when there is an "incident", rather than letting the matter escalate. Centres of excellence in the organisation could act as a resource for both people with disabilities and managers. While he welcomes workforce diversity planning, he believes it focuses on physical disabilities at the expense of other disabilities. He believes that there are particular challenges for young people with disabilities who do not have his level of experience or confidence.

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CDS Case Study 2: "Maureen"

Maureen is a highly qualified tertiary educated public servant working in Canberra. She has been in the public service for an extended period of time. In comparison to the academic qualifications that she has, she believes that she is holding a fairly lowly position. She has seen a number of her coworkers promoted but has found getting promotion difficult. She is often offered acting positions, but finding permanent more senior positions has proved to be elusive.

Having a physical disability, Maureen is dependent on the use of a wheelchair. While her immediate working environment meets her needs, she feels that her work choices are very limited because of the few locations in her organisation that are configured to meet the needs of people with a physical disability: carpet taken up and replaced with vinyl, electronic door access and an accessible toilet. In particular, she believes that the concept that people with disabilities are happy to work in one place is a myth. Because of the obvious nature of the disability, nondisclosure is not an option. She has the feeling that there is an expectation that she will fail in the workplace.

Maureen feels that it's not about individuals and their needs, but about the environment being more inclusive. In that regard she sees for key issues for improvement: the environment, attitudes, policies and social values.

Rather than seeing things in light of "disability", she sees things in light of "ability". This means that within the right support, she will have the same opportunities to succeed that everyone else in the workplace has. She's concerned that people with disabilities are separated into groups, and wonders how appropriate this is in the 21st century. If the CDS was working, she believes that there would be no need for disability action plans.

In terms of the future, Maureen talks about "my rights" and "my responsibilities". There are a lot of practical implications in this view, starting with such things as appropriate public transport provision, physical access to the workplace and appropriate working conditions. Having the appropriate access, she then feels it is her responsibility to be a useful and productive member of staff. She feels that there is a need for significant education of parents of people with disabilities, of managers of people with disabilities, and people with disabilities as well.

In terms of planning by government organisations, she believes that diversity plans are in fact the answer. In particular, there is a critical need for the Australian Government to make intelligent purchasing decisions: for example, any buildings leased by the Australian Government should have to meet access standards. This would have the effect of creating a market for quality buildings that are accessible. She acknowledges that there are standards in place, but they are in fact taking far too long to implement (eg 20 plus years for accessible public transport).

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CDS Case Study 3: "Bill"

Bill is a long-term public servant, who works in a regional office of one of the larger Australian government agencies. Bill has a repetitive strain injury (RSI), which means that he is unable to use a keyboard for his computer work.

To deal with this situation, Bill has been provided with voice activated computer software. Bill is appreciative of the assistance provided, which has allowed him to keep working. He feels as though he is a valued employee. He likes the organisation that he is working for, but there are issues in being an early adopter of new technology.

Firstly, when this technology was acquired to support Bill it was very much in its infancy: it didn't necessarily work very well. It required a lot of practice to become operational and there was little in the way of training. Bill became very frustrated over this. Further, because very many people did not use it across the organisation, support from IT was quite problematic in the early days as well. The processing power of standard machines was also an issue, as was the amount of memory required by the program. This caused lots of system crashes in the early days, but things are now much better from a computer perspective. Bill also indicated that he was uncomfortable in being an "early adopter": he felt that this made him stand out in the workplace from his colleagues.

In thinking about the skills required to "dictate" to a computer, Bill indicated that this was a somewhat different skill from keyboarding, maybe a different way of working that required different ways of thinking. So, the issue goes beyond training and into the specific ways in which people work.

Bill looks at the future with some uncertainty in mind. He is worried about corporate downsizings and their possible effects. In particular, he believes that despite only having a torn muscle in a shoulder, he is seen as disabled. The implication, in his mind, is that an employer would be thinking, "Well if this is a problem, what others are there?" Further, he had heard on the grapevine that another potential employer (i.e. another Australian Government agency) is not a technology friendly place for people with a disability. Accordingly, he is fearful of "ending up" in this agency as a result of downsizing.

CDS Case Study 4: "Penny"

Penny has a sight disability: she has been blind since birth. Penny came into the APS via the graduate recruitment program and has now been working in the APS for ten years. During that time, she has worked for three departments in Canberra.

When Penny arrived at the assessment centre for the graduate recruitment program, material was not available in an accessible format for her. While this caused some initial problems, her persistence ensured that "things were sorted out".

Having a vision disability means that navigating the everyday environment is challenging for Penny. Day-to-day transport issues are very tricky: she needs to work where public transport is readily available. At one stage Penny had a job in an outlying suburb. While cab-charge vouchers were provided to get her to work, Penny felt this was a resource drain on the department. She was so uncomfortable about this that she left that department. Penny makes the point that the employment of people with disabilities can be easy, if thought is given before employment commences. Trying to devise solutions to these issues in a reactive way leads to higher costs and band-aid solutions.

Penny relies on the use of adaptive technology in the workplace. This has become an ongoing issue, mainly as a result of the outsourcing of information technology. When support issues arise with the equipment Penny uses, she is invariably met with "not part of the contract" from the provider. The issue gets escalated through the organisation until a senior officer gets involved to "sort things out". She contrasts the situation with the USA where Section of 508 of the Rehabilitation Act has had a major impact on the way that suppliers operate on a day to day basis.

Another of Penny's concerns is the focus on employing people in entry-level positions. Penny has an MBA, is studying for a Ph.D. and has ambitions of entering the senior executive service. She feels that quotas are not the answer: "it's all about ensuring that people have the right knowledge and skills to succeed at executive levels". There are some clear implications for succession planning in her mind.

In terms of future actions, Penny feels that there are still the physical barriers to be overcome (equipment, premises). The real change that she feels is needed is to change general perceptions of people with a disability. While the CDS has been good, there is still much to be done. Penny makes the point that people with a disability are often isolated, so there is a need to have someone internal (and senior) to trust, who has the authority to make things happen in individual agencies. She suggests that perhaps some sort of mediation service may be helpful. She also feels that there is a need for the equivalent of a "Board of Directors" for the APS who have a particular focus on disability issues. She felt that chairmanship by a parliamentarian, with representatives from inside and outside the APS would be good. The aim would be to hold the APS accountable for its actions, to act as a reporting centre for progress on disability issues and to also provide expert advice as required.

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