June 20, 2025 • 9 mins
In this interview highlight Sam speaks with Dr Jenny Crosbie, interim director of the Centre for Inclusive Employment, run through Swinburne University to drive better outcomes for employees and job seekers with disabilities in Australia.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:05):
Jenny, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for
your time today.
S2 (00:09):
Thank you for having me, Sam. It's a pleasure to
be here.
S1 (00:12):
First of all, let's have a bit of a chat
about the center for Inclusive Employment itself. Tell us a
bit about the center.
S2 (00:21):
Sure. So the center came about. It was originally called
the Center of Excellence in Disability Employment. And it came
about because there was a group of people meeting early
in 2021 and 2022 looking at how the des, the
disability employment services system could be reformed. And that was
chaired by the then Disability Discrimination Commissioner Ben Gauntlett. And
(00:45):
it had people with disability and service provider reps and
family Reps and so forth on that group. And one
of the recommendations of the group was to have a
centre of excellence where there could be a central repository,
a central hub where providers and people with disability and
families and employers could go and get access to high
quality information about what works. The Labour government then picked
(01:07):
that up as an election promise for the 2022 election,
and once they were elected, they then delivered on that promise.
And we now have what's called the centre for Inclusive Employment.
S1 (01:17):
Let's have a bit of a chat about the timeline, Jenny,
because as I understand, it's still in its early stages.
It is getting off the ground and there's been quite
a lot of work that has gone on over the
past few months to get the centre where it is now,
but there's still quite a few things that people can
(01:38):
look forward to in the coming months. So tell us
a bit about them.
S2 (01:43):
Sure. So the centre was announced earlier in the year
and the funding commenced in March of 2025. So for
this financial year, we've got a small amount of funding
to do some establishment work, and then the centre itself
kicks off on the 1st of July. The timing of
the centre aligns with the launch of the new Inclusive
Employment Australia programme, which is replacing Des. So the disability
(02:07):
Employment services the, the Des program is being replaced. Unfortunately,
that timeline was pushed back to 1st of November, but
very much the center and the new Inclusive Employment Australia
program are supposed to work together and line up. So
we're just in the process of onboarding some new staff.
So we'll be going out with some job ads very soon.
And we're have been developing a strategic plan, an interim
(02:30):
strategic plan, getting a governance structure in place and some
other short term planning will be recruiting for a director.
So I'm the interim director at the moment until October.
And so there'll be a recruitment process shortly for director,
and then there'll be a second strategic planning process held
towards the end of the year. And the centre's got
(02:51):
a three year. It runs for three years, so it'll
be until the 30th of June 2028. And our first
big milestone is to get our online hub up and running.
So we've contracted Oppo, who are the Analysis and Policy Observatory,
and they are working with us to build an online hub,
which will be the central place where people can go
(03:13):
for access to resources, information, all sorts of things, including
our new centre for Inclusive Employment collection. So we'll have
a collection which will have all of the evidence based
information that we're hoping people will use.
S1 (03:26):
What sort of information is the centre looking to hear
about from people in terms of the disability, employment space
and sort of resources, knowledge and information that would be
of benefit to both the centre and the people accessing
those resources.
S2 (03:46):
So the intention is that the centre is disability led,
and so both the governance structure and the recruitment processes
were undertaking have a strong lens on disability leadership. So
once we've got those processes completed, there will be several
ways that both individuals with disability, but also organisations and
(04:08):
others can engage. Just to let you know, we have
got a consortium behind the centre. So Swinburne, the centre
for Social Impact at Swinburne University, is the lead of
the consortium. We also have all of the disability representative
organisations from across Australia engaged, as well as some service
provider peak bodies, Disability Employment Australia and National Disability Services.
(04:32):
We have a family advocacy group called Napo who are
engaged in the consortium, and also Melbourne University through the
Melbourne Disability Institute. So once we get the governance structure right,
there will be multiple opportunities and ways that individuals can
engage with the centre, but also through those other organisations
I just talked about, including the disability Rep organisation.
S1 (04:55):
And Jenny, I understand earlier in the year, you and
a few of your colleagues received quite a few insights
in terms of fact finding and knowledge gathering and all
that sort of thing, while the centre was sort of
getting off the ground. What was the biggest highlight for
(05:15):
you and the most exciting learnings and insights that you
and the team were able to gather in that time?
S2 (05:22):
So yeah, I was lucky enough to be invited to
attend the Zero Foundation Conference in Vienna. It's held every
year and it's a disability focused international conference, which is
invitation only. And this year's conference theme was employment. So
that was probably the highlight for me of my fact
finding mission. I also met with people in the United Kingdom,
(05:44):
in Europe about disability employment policy and practice, with a
strong lens on people with intellectual disability and autism, who
are two of the groups that we want to have
a focus on in the center. So at the conference,
it had a very strong lens on technology as an
enabling tool for people both seeking employment but also in
the workplace. So I saw some fabulous initiatives where technology
(06:08):
was being used to connect people looking for work. It
was creating talent pipelines, if you like, so that graduates
coming out of university or people who had particular skill
sets were being matched with employers or businesses that were
looking for people with that skill set. So they were
using technology at the front and back end to connect
people up. And so that was something that I was
(06:28):
really interested in exploring in Australia, because I think we
haven't really put enough focus on how employers and businesses
can actually find the talent that they need. They often
tell us that they don't know where to find people.
So yeah, so that was one thing that I thought
was really exciting and interesting for the Australian environment.
S1 (06:46):
Certainly very exciting. So we're very keen to keep tabs
on how all of that goes. And speaking of which, Jenny,
if people are interested in following the progress of the centre,
they'd like to keep in touch and hear about the
next steps. And when the new components of the centre
(07:07):
go live, what's the best way for people to keep
in the loop and follow the latest updates from the
center for Inclusive Employment.
S2 (07:18):
So once the website launches, we will be promoting that
very heavily across all parts of the community, including hopefully
through this program. So I'll come back to you with
the website address and some further information once we have
that all locked down. In the meantime, people can send
CSI and email at CSI, which is s w I
(07:43):
at Dot edu, and that you'll get added to our
mailing list so that you'll start to receive newsletters and
other information. But I think from 1st September, that's when
the engagement will really ramp up and people will start
to be able to access the website and have a
look at the resources that have been made available. And
(08:05):
then I think moving into next year, you know, we'd
be really keen to engage with the blindness and low
vision community around what they think the centre can help with.
We'd be very keen to do that. So it'd be
great to hear from the community, either through the disability
rep organization or directly about some of the barriers to
employment and some of the particularly some of the enablers
(08:27):
that they'd like to see in the system.
S1 (08:30):
Okay. Well, that's all very exciting. And we do absolutely
have a great interest in keeping in touch. And you
are always welcome back on Talking Vision any time in
the coming months. Jenny, we'd absolutely love to have a
chat and hear more about the centre. I've been speaking
today with Doctor Jenny Crosbie, interim director of the centre
(08:55):
for Inclusive Employment, currently operating through the Swinburne University of
Technology in Melbourne. Jenny, thank you so much for your
time today. It was great to have a chat with
you and hear all about the centre.
S2 (09:11):
Thanks so much for having me Sam and I really
would love to come back in September once the online
hub is launched and tell your listeners a little bit
more about it.
Jenny, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for
your time today.
S2 (00:09):
Thank you for having me, Sam. It's a pleasure to
be here.
S1 (00:12):
First of all, let's have a bit of a chat
about the center for Inclusive Employment itself. Tell us a
bit about the center.
S2 (00:21):
Sure. So the center came about. It was originally called
the Center of Excellence in Disability Employment. And it came
about because there was a group of people meeting early
in 2021 and 2022 looking at how the des, the
disability employment services system could be reformed. And that was
chaired by the then Disability Discrimination Commissioner Ben Gauntlett. And
(00:45):
it had people with disability and service provider reps and
family Reps and so forth on that group. And one
of the recommendations of the group was to have a
centre of excellence where there could be a central repository,
a central hub where providers and people with disability and
families and employers could go and get access to high
quality information about what works. The Labour government then picked
(01:07):
that up as an election promise for the 2022 election,
and once they were elected, they then delivered on that promise.
And we now have what's called the centre for Inclusive Employment.
S1 (01:17):
Let's have a bit of a chat about the timeline, Jenny,
because as I understand, it's still in its early stages.
It is getting off the ground and there's been quite
a lot of work that has gone on over the
past few months to get the centre where it is now,
but there's still quite a few things that people can
(01:38):
look forward to in the coming months. So tell us
a bit about them.
S2 (01:43):
Sure. So the centre was announced earlier in the year
and the funding commenced in March of 2025. So for
this financial year, we've got a small amount of funding
to do some establishment work, and then the centre itself
kicks off on the 1st of July. The timing of
the centre aligns with the launch of the new Inclusive
Employment Australia programme, which is replacing Des. So the disability
(02:07):
Employment services the, the Des program is being replaced. Unfortunately,
that timeline was pushed back to 1st of November, but
very much the center and the new Inclusive Employment Australia
program are supposed to work together and line up. So
we're just in the process of onboarding some new staff.
So we'll be going out with some job ads very soon.
And we're have been developing a strategic plan, an interim
(02:30):
strategic plan, getting a governance structure in place and some
other short term planning will be recruiting for a director.
So I'm the interim director at the moment until October.
And so there'll be a recruitment process shortly for director,
and then there'll be a second strategic planning process held
towards the end of the year. And the centre's got
(02:51):
a three year. It runs for three years, so it'll
be until the 30th of June 2028. And our first
big milestone is to get our online hub up and running.
So we've contracted Oppo, who are the Analysis and Policy Observatory,
and they are working with us to build an online hub,
which will be the central place where people can go
(03:13):
for access to resources, information, all sorts of things, including
our new centre for Inclusive Employment collection. So we'll have
a collection which will have all of the evidence based
information that we're hoping people will use.
S1 (03:26):
What sort of information is the centre looking to hear
about from people in terms of the disability, employment space
and sort of resources, knowledge and information that would be
of benefit to both the centre and the people accessing
those resources.
S2 (03:46):
So the intention is that the centre is disability led,
and so both the governance structure and the recruitment processes
were undertaking have a strong lens on disability leadership. So
once we've got those processes completed, there will be several
ways that both individuals with disability, but also organisations and
(04:08):
others can engage. Just to let you know, we have
got a consortium behind the centre. So Swinburne, the centre
for Social Impact at Swinburne University, is the lead of
the consortium. We also have all of the disability representative
organisations from across Australia engaged, as well as some service
provider peak bodies, Disability Employment Australia and National Disability Services.
(04:32):
We have a family advocacy group called Napo who are
engaged in the consortium, and also Melbourne University through the
Melbourne Disability Institute. So once we get the governance structure right,
there will be multiple opportunities and ways that individuals can
engage with the centre, but also through those other organisations
I just talked about, including the disability Rep organisation.
S1 (04:55):
And Jenny, I understand earlier in the year, you and
a few of your colleagues received quite a few insights
in terms of fact finding and knowledge gathering and all
that sort of thing, while the centre was sort of
getting off the ground. What was the biggest highlight for
(05:15):
you and the most exciting learnings and insights that you
and the team were able to gather in that time?
S2 (05:22):
So yeah, I was lucky enough to be invited to
attend the Zero Foundation Conference in Vienna. It's held every
year and it's a disability focused international conference, which is
invitation only. And this year's conference theme was employment. So
that was probably the highlight for me of my fact
finding mission. I also met with people in the United Kingdom,
(05:44):
in Europe about disability employment policy and practice, with a
strong lens on people with intellectual disability and autism, who
are two of the groups that we want to have
a focus on in the center. So at the conference,
it had a very strong lens on technology as an
enabling tool for people both seeking employment but also in
the workplace. So I saw some fabulous initiatives where technology
(06:08):
was being used to connect people looking for work. It
was creating talent pipelines, if you like, so that graduates
coming out of university or people who had particular skill
sets were being matched with employers or businesses that were
looking for people with that skill set. So they were
using technology at the front and back end to connect
people up. And so that was something that I was
(06:28):
really interested in exploring in Australia, because I think we
haven't really put enough focus on how employers and businesses
can actually find the talent that they need. They often
tell us that they don't know where to find people.
So yeah, so that was one thing that I thought
was really exciting and interesting for the Australian environment.
S1 (06:46):
Certainly very exciting. So we're very keen to keep tabs
on how all of that goes. And speaking of which, Jenny,
if people are interested in following the progress of the centre,
they'd like to keep in touch and hear about the
next steps. And when the new components of the centre
(07:07):
go live, what's the best way for people to keep
in the loop and follow the latest updates from the
center for Inclusive Employment.
S2 (07:18):
So once the website launches, we will be promoting that
very heavily across all parts of the community, including hopefully
through this program. So I'll come back to you with
the website address and some further information once we have
that all locked down. In the meantime, people can send
CSI and email at CSI, which is s w I
(07:43):
at Dot edu, and that you'll get added to our
mailing list so that you'll start to receive newsletters and
other information. But I think from 1st September, that's when
the engagement will really ramp up and people will start
to be able to access the website and have a
look at the resources that have been made available. And
(08:05):
then I think moving into next year, you know, we'd
be really keen to engage with the blindness and low
vision community around what they think the centre can help with.
We'd be very keen to do that. So it'd be
great to hear from the community, either through the disability
rep organization or directly about some of the barriers to
employment and some of the particularly some of the enablers
(08:27):
that they'd like to see in the system.
S1 (08:30):
Okay. Well, that's all very exciting. And we do absolutely
have a great interest in keeping in touch. And you
are always welcome back on Talking Vision any time in
the coming months. Jenny, we'd absolutely love to have a
chat and hear more about the centre. I've been speaking
today with Doctor Jenny Crosbie, interim director of the centre
(08:55):
for Inclusive Employment, currently operating through the Swinburne University of
Technology in Melbourne. Jenny, thank you so much for your
time today. It was great to have a chat with
you and hear all about the centre.
S2 (09:11):
Thanks so much for having me Sam and I really
would love to come back in September once the online
hub is launched and tell your listeners a little bit
more about it.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.