In July 2014, the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity commenced an across government 90 day project, (Public Sector) Employment of People with Disability. The project aimed to contribute to the to increase the number of people with disability employed in South Australia and to ensure that the South Australian public sector is an exemplar employer of people with disability. The project objectives were to: Increase the number of people with intellectual disability employed in the public sector. Identify a consistent and contemporary online disability awareness tool and mechanism for hosting the tool. Create a central site of useful tools and resources for employers and employees, including good practice examples. The project achieved significant outcomes, including: Supporting the successful employment of eight persons with an intellectual disability in the public sector. Publishing an Employment of People with Disability Reference Guide on the Equal Opportunity Commission website at: . The guide provides links to information and support available for employers and employees during both recruitment and employment. A good practice fact sheet is also included. Progressing the design and development of an online disability awareness tool for the public sector. Project members include the Equal Opportunity Commission as lead agency, the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion, Office for the Public Sector, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA, the Department of State Development, and Barkuma’s Personnel Employment service. The project team continue to meet to drive cultural change in support of employment of people with disability in the public sector and to facilitate the disability awareness training tool. The Flexible Workplace Futures project is a longer term, across government project approved under the Public Sector Renewal Program. The project aims to create a more productive, dynamic and flexible workforce which is able to adapt to the future needs of the State Government and the community. The Equal Opportunity Commission has worked with a wide range of state government agencies on the project to achieve a number of goals including: A new Commissioner for Public Sector Employment Guideline and Determination on Flexible Workplaces. Research on flexible work and sourcing best practice. An online information package for use by government agencies and the private
- Chosen Gender and Disability discrimination Settled by agreement between the parties and discontinued by the complainant on 9 July 2015. If the Commissioner declines a complaint, the complainant has a right under the Act to take their complaint to the Tribunal. In these cases, they do not receive financial assistance from the Commissioner and can either represent themselves or engage a lawyer to represent them. In 2014-15, 34 complaints which were referred to the Tribunal and registered were not funded by the Commissioner. Note that a number of complaints made by one complainant may be registered as one Tribunal matter if they are related. In 2014-15, the following “unfunded” complaints were referred to the Tribunal: Mirdoolati v TAFE SA Adelaide North Institute - DCCIV-14-1232 - Pregnancy discrimination Discontinued by the complainant on 18 November 2014. Downing v Women’s and Children’s Health Network - DCCIV-14-1620 - Disability discrimination Discontinued by the complainant on 9 December 2014. Ingham v Department for Planning, Transport & Infrastructure, Mohammed Elgazzar, David Bernard, Michelle Kappler - DCCIV-15-256 & DCCIV-14-1291 - Victimisation as a whistleblower Discontinued by the complainant on 3 March 2015. Simpson v Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia - DCCIV-14-296 & - Race discrimination Discontinued by the complainant on 9 April 2015. Clarke v South Australia Police - - Disability discrimination Discontinued by the complainant on 6 May 2015. Selth v Department for Communities and Social Inclusion - DCCIV-14-1647 - Disability discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. Blight v Women’s and Children’s Health Network - DCCIV-14-1765 - Sex and Disability discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. De Ieso v Department for Health and Ageing and Others - DCCIV-14-1912 - Victimisation as a whistleblower Awaiting Tribunal hearing. Hasse v Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council - DCCIV-14-1913 - Disability discrimination The complainant did not appear at two scheduled hearings. The complaint was dismissed by the Tribunal on 13 May 2015. Bishop v Whyalla Netball Association - - Sex discrimination DCCIV-
Discontinued by the complainant on 6 July 2015. Walker v Aboriginal Family Support Services and Others - DCCIV-14-1917 - Victimisation Discontinued by the complainant on 7 July 2015. Palmer v Unity Housing Association - - Disability discrimination Discontinued by the complainant on 20 February 2015. Sellen v TNT Australia Pty Ltd - DCCIV-14-2068 - Disability discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. Richards v SA Health - DCCIV-15-81 - Chosen Gender discrimination Awaiting Tribunal outcome. Keyburg v TAFE SA - DCCIV-15-82 - Disability discrimination The complainant did not appear at two scheduled hearings. The complaint was dismissed by the Tribunal on 13 May 2015. Richards v Department for Correctional Services - DCCIV-15-84 - Chosen Gender discrimination Awaiting Tribunal outcome. Scotland v The City of Unley - DCCIV-15-112 - Disability discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. Viney v Department for Education and Child Development - DCCIV-15-113 - Identity of Spouse and Marital Status discrimination As at 30 June 2015, the matter was awaiting Tribunal hearing. McIver v South Coast Swimming Club Inc - DCCIV-15-114 - Disability discrimination Settled by agreement between the parties on 15 April 2015 and discontinued by the complainant. Easton v El-Jasbella Pty Ltd trading as Edenfield Family Care - DCCIV-15-372 - No EO ground identified Discontinued by the complainant on 23 April 2015. Gupta v Department for Education and Child Development - DCCIV-15-836 - Age discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. Mogridge v Gull Truck Stop - DCCIV-15-837 - Race discrimination Awaiting Tribunal hearing. 2014-15
A number of training courses and workshops are offered by the Commission throughout the year. Information about each of these courses is available on the Commission’s website under ‘current training courses.’ Training is held at the Commission’s office in Adelaide’s central business district. Training for contact officers and sessions on effectively managing workplace issues are the most popular public courses. The Commission’s training programs continue to be very well received, generating positive feedback from attendees. In 2014-15, 85% of people attending training at the Commission rated courses as being excellent or very good, and 92% said they would recommend the training to others. Eighty-eight percent of training attendees rated the trainer’s presentation skills as very good or excellent. Customised training is also available and it can be tailored for individual workplaces. Commission training officers work closely with organisations to ensure their program is relevant and effective. The Commission offers workplace training: for individuals or groups for managers on specific topics Training includes reviewing workplace policies and procedures, developing an equal opportunity plan, completing an assessment of the workplace culture and supporting organisations to conduct their own training in the future. The Commission also offers e-Learning training programs to better suit the demands of the modern workforce. The Commission presents information to the community regarding their rights and responsibilities through community education sessions. The Commission, for example, conducts regular sessions through TAFE’s Interlink program for new arrivals. Commission staff are also regular guests on Radio Adelaide and Coast FM discussing current issues of discrimination. The Commission works with community organisations to raise awareness of equal opportunity and build the capacity of organisations to better manage issues around discrimination, diversity and equal opportunity. Organisations we worked with in 2014-15 included: TAFE SCOSA Australian Education Union - SA Branch Workcover SA Barossa Valley Council City of Port Adelaide Enfield Metropolitan Fire Service Department of Primary Industries and Resources of South Australia (PIRSA) Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure The Commission also partnered with the Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of SA Inc. (DACSSA) on a stall at the Adelaide Disability & Lifestyles Expo in November 2014. Events such as this are a great opportunity to provide individuals and service providers with information about rights, responsibilities, and options for making and resolving complaints.
South Australia has the second oldest population in Australia, after Tasmania. Within 30 years, almost a quarter of the population will be aged over 65. In support of Prosperity through Longevity: South Australia’s Ageing Plan 2014 - 2019, the Office for the Ageing funded the Commission to work with key employment industry groups, the Australian Industry Group, and Don’t Overlook Mature Expertise (DOME) to raise awareness of, and combat, age discrimination in employment. The Greatest Asset: Overcoming Age Discrimination Project aimed to maximise employment opportunities for South Australians over the age of 45 years through a range of strategies including awareness raising, promoting the value of an older workforce, implementing workforce planning, and addressing age discrimination. The project challenged employer and employee assumptions about mature age workers, including expectations of their intentions to retire, based on age. A review of existing material, along with consultation with key stakeholders, assisted in the development of an online tool for employers. This free educational resource was developed to help prevent and/or reduce age discrimination in recruitment and employment. The tool, available online, helps to support workforce planning and transition planning and contains a list of useful resources. A simple online tool was also developed for employees. The tool aims to encourage employees (and prospective employees) to think about what they are looking for in terms of their shorter and longer-term employment future, the skills they have to offer an employer, and where the job market may be heading. Two practical workshops were also held to strengthen employer awareness of the project, while at the same time developing employer capability to undertake workforce planning on their mature age workforce. These workshops (‘Maximising opportunities to retain and attract the workforce you need’) were delivered by Workforce Planning Global Chief Executive, Julie Sloan, in the Upper Spencer Gulf Region and Glenelg. Both the employer and employee tools are now available on the Equal Opportunity Commission’s website at: . Screenshot from the Greatest Asset employer tool which is available on the Commission’s website