What is Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment?
Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment includes funding for additional places in the Personal Support Programme, and more support for people with mental illness who are at risk of losing or leaving their jobs due to their condition and additional post placement support through the Disability Employment Network and Vocational Rehabilitation Services. It also includes funding for research projects examining mental health and employment and funding to make information on effective employment assistance available to employers, employees, service providers and jobseekers via JobAccess.
The Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment measure forms part of the Commonwealth's component of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006 - 2011.
Responsibility for Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment rests with the Australian Government Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations.
Why is this important?
This measure enhances services and support for job seekers and employees with mental illness. It focuses on improving people's employment prospects and opportunities, and assists people with mental illness to find and maintain suitable employment.
This measure includes funding for research projects into mental health best practice employment assistance. These research projects will enhance understanding of the services and support which provide the greatest assistance to people with mental illness in finding and remaining in employment.
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Who benefits?
Clients with mental illness who need the assistance of the Personal Support Programme.
Clients in the Disability Employment Network or Vocational Rehabilitation Services with mental illness who are placed into employment but may need additional short-term assistance to settle into their job.
Employees with mental illness who are at risk of losing, or leaving, their jobs because of their condition.
What is Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment delivering?
An additional 2,500 places have been added to the Personal Support Programme and are now available to increase the Australian Government's assistance to people with barriers to employment such as homelessness, drug addiction or mental health issues.
Additional support has also been provided through the Disability Employment Network and Vocational Rehabilitation Services for people with mental illness to retain employment:
- an Intermittent Support Fee for clients who require additional assistance; and
- additional places in the Employment in Jeopardy and Job in Jeopardy programs to assist people at risk of losing and leaving their employment as a result of their mental illness.
What funding is attached to this measure?
The Australian Government is committing $40 million over five years.
When did Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment start?
The 2,500 additional places in the Personal Support Programme were made available in two stages. The first 800 places were made available in July 2006, and the other 1,700 made available in March 2007.
Additional capacity for the rapid connect type services known as Employment in Jeopardy (in the Disability Employment Network) or Job in Jeopardy (in Vocational Rehabilitation Services) were provided from January 2007 to support people with mental illness who are at risk of losing or leaving their jobs due to their condition.
The new Intermittent Service Fee (Mental Health) was implemented as part of the Disability Employment Network program in January 2007 and the Intermittent Post-placement Support Fee through Vocational Rehabilitation Services in July 2007.
How is Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment progressing?
All other components of the measure: additional places in the Personal Support Programme; additional post placement support through the Disability Employment Network and Vocational Rehabilitation Services programs; and increased information on mental health and employment assistance through JobAccess.
The research and evaluation projects will be progressively developed and completed by June 2011.
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What's been done in the past?
All employment services funded through the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations have the capacity to assist people with mental illness, with some services in each stream specialising in assisting this group.
Job Network services for example, assist job seekers into sustainable employment by providing personalised assistance that involves ongoing job search and employment focused activities. Job Network services are tailored to individuals based on assessed needs and duration of unemployment, providing more intensive services for those assessed as highly disadvantaged including people with mental illness.
This measure represents a specific focus on people with mental illness as part of a holistic approach to assisting people with disability to find and maintain employment in the open labour market.
What's being done now?
The Australian Government believes that all Australians should be able to realise their full potential and to reap the social and economic benefits of employment. The Australian Government is therefore developing a National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy. The Strategy aims to address barriers to employment faced by people with mental illness and/or disability.
The Strategy is being developed in consultation with people with mental illness and/or disability, peak bodies, employers, service providers, trade unions, state and territory governments and experts. The consultation process has allowed the Government to hear first hand how the Strategy can be developed to increase the participation of people with disability in the social and economic life of the community.
A paper titled "National Mental Health and Disability Strategy Update - Setting the Direction" was released in December 2008. This paper synthesises the findings of a public consultation process and outlines the approach the Australian Government will take to increase employment for people with disability, including mental illness.
This paper, developed as a result of consultations with more than 700 interested individuals and groups and around 300 submissions, sets the directions for a National Mental Health and Disability Strategy to be released in 2009. The directions set out are intended to reflect closely the priorities of the community. The paper also details some important elements of the Stratetgy that have already been achieved and what is currently being implemented.
Complementing the development of the Strategy was a review of employment services for people with mental illness and/or disability undertaken during 2008. The Australian Government is committed to improving the employment services system and ensuring that the needs of people with mental illness and/or disability are being addressed adequately. A major guiding principle of the review was to ensure that better, more tailored assistance is provided to disadvantaged job seekers.
The Minister for Employment Participation, the Hon Brendan O'Connor MP, released a discussion paper on the future of disability employment services on 3 December 2008. The discussion paper outlines the Government's proposed improvements to disability employment services.
The purpose of The Future of Disability Employment Services in Australia discussion paper and subsequent consultation sessions is to seek views on the proposed model for disability employment services from 1 March 2010.
If you would like a copy of this discussion paper in an alternative format, or if you want more information on the Review, you can call 1800 064 516 or email desreview@deewr.gov.au.
Further information
- For information and practical resources for people with a disability in employment: JobAccess
For more information on the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and employment services
For further information on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and education measures
For more information on Job Network services
For further information on the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy
For further information on the Disability Employment Services review
For general information on jobs and employment
Page currency, Latest update: 24 December, 2008