What are Vocational Rehabilitation Services?
Vocational Rehabilitation Services provide specialist employment assistance, combined with vocational rehabilitation, to help people with a disability, injury or health condition find and retain safe and sustainable employment in the open labour market.
An additional intermittent post placement support component has been introduced in the program to assist people with a mental health issue to retain their employment through the support of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. This additional support forms part of the Commonwealth's component of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006 - 2011 through the Helping People with Mental Illness to Enter and Remain in Employment initiative.
Responsibility for Vocational Rehabilitation Services rests with the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Why is this important?
Vocational Rehabilitation Services assist job seekers to understand, compensate for and manage their injury or disability by building work capacity and/or developing new work strategies to avoid re-injury.
Who will benefit?
A job seeker can be referred to Vocational Rehabilitation Services if they:
- are aged 14 to less than 65 years;
- are an Australian citizen or permanent resident;
- have a disability that:
- is attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, sensory or physical impairment or combination of these impairments; and
- results in a substantially reduced capacity for them to obtain or retain unsupported paid employment; and
- the job seeker is assessed as being able to work independently in the workplace with less than six months support (if more than six months, they may be referred to the Disability Employment Network).
What do Vocational Rehabilitation Services deliver?
Vocational Rehabilitation Services are tailored to the individual and can include, but are not limited to:
- assessment of the impact a job seeker's injury, disability or health condition is having on the job seeker's ability to gain or maintain sustainable employment;
- identifying and delivering vocational rehabilitation interventions and strategies to manage their injury, disability or health condition, in order to achieve a safe return to work;
- vocational counselling and planning;
- counselling on disability issues;
- training and work trials;
- job search and job placement assistance; and
- assistance with job design, workplace assessments and modifications.
How does it work?
Job Capacity Assessors assess and refer eligible job seekers to Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
A comprehensive list of Vocational Rehabilitation Services providers is available at http://jobsearch.gov.au.
What funding is attached to this measure?
In 2007-08 the Commonwealth appropriation for Vocational Rehabilitation Services amounted to $226 million to assist around 40,000 people into Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The Australian Government has also committed $4 million over five years for the additional intermittent post placement support component of the program to assist people with a mental health issue to retain their employment through the support of Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
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How are Vocational Rehabilitation Services progressing?
In 2006-07 Vocational Rehabilitation Services assisted over 48,000 clients with 39 per cent in employment three months after participation in the program.
Further information
To locate a Vocational Rehabilitation Services provider: http://jobsearch.gov.au/provider/ProviderLocation.aspx?ProviderType=VRS.
For information and practical resources for people with a disability in employment - JobAccess: http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/joac/home.
For more information on the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and employment services: http://www.workplace.gov.au.
For general information on jobs and employment: http://jobsearch.gov.au/Login/Login.aspx?WHCode=0.
For information on the review of disability employment services - http://www.workplace.gov.au/workplace/Publications/PolicyReviews/DisabilityEmploymentServicesReview/.
Page currency, Latest update: 16 October, 2008