Labour markets around the world are experiencing extraordinary disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. The gap in the employment rate between Australians with and without disability is likely to widen, given the entrenched disadvantage of people with disability in the job market. For many, it will compound existing health and economic vulnerabilities. This scenario is troubling from both a human rights and an economic perspective. In this paper, we examine the interface of two policy instruments intended to improve the prospects of people with disability finding and keeping employment in Australia – Disability Employment Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme – in the lead up to and in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from three studies conducted between 2018 and 2020 reveal these instruments are not mutually reinforcing. With a 10-year National Disability Employment Strategy (NDES) in development under federal government oversight, we argue that more concerted and targeted effort from these services and broader public policies and programs is needed to ensure Australians with disability are not sidelined in the labour market in the wake of the pandemic.

中文翻译：

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健康和经济危机中的残疾和工作：通过政策协调降低澳大利亚残疾人长期被劳动力市场排斥的风险

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，世界各地的劳动力市场正经历着异常的混乱。鉴于残疾人在就业市场上根深蒂固的劣势，澳大利亚残疾人与非残疾人之间的就业率差距可能会扩大。对许多人来说，这将加剧现有的健康和经济脆弱性。从人权和经济角度来看，这种情况都令人不安。在本文中，我们研究了旨在改善残疾人在澳大利亚寻找和保持就业前景的两种政策工具——残疾人就业服务和国家残疾保险计划——在该计划之前和早期阶段的相互作用。 2019冠状病毒病大流行。2018 年至 2020 年间进行的三项研究的结果表明，这些工具并非相辅相成。在联邦政府监督下制定的为期 10 年的国家残疾人就业战略 (NDES)，我们认为，需要这些服务和更广泛的公共政策和计划采取更加协调一致和有针对性的努力，以确保澳大利亚残疾人不会在劳动力市场上被边缘化在大流行之后。