Australian Government Wage Subsidy Scheme – What you Should Know

You might be surprised to learn that there are close to 2 million Australians who have disabilities, which does not mean they are not good employees; selective positions enable disabled people to have a positive role in society. Employers that wish to join with atWork Australia, a government department that oversees the recruitment and employment of registered disabled people.

Wage subsidies

As an employer, you can benefit greatly by receiving a wage subsidy from atWork Australia, while the employee receives the full support of the department, with skilled staff monitoring their progress. You could be eligible for as much as A$10,000 per year for each employee to offset training costs, which is a significant amount. The Australian government wage subsidy scheme is designed to encourage employers to consider disabled applicants by assisting with wage costs.

Employer criteria

In order to qualify for the subsidy, a business must:

• Be registered as a business in Australia.
• Provide employment for not less than 6 months.
• Be in accordance with minimum wage.
• Not be a government agency.

Employee criteria

To qualify, an employee must:

• Not be an immediate family member of the employer.
• Be supported by the employment services.
• Work the minimum number of hours, as per agreement.

AtWork Australia

This organisation is dedicated to helping employers and employees with disability to come together; the trained staff offer comprehensive support to both employer and employee. Ongoing support means you, the employer, do not have extra workload, while the employee has daily contact with their contact at the agency. Click here to find out how to boost your customer service.

Job position suitability

Of course, it is vital that the employee is well-suited to the position and atWork Australia’s staff make sure that job applicants are more than capable of carrying out the work. Once you are registered as an employer, a staff member is assigned to you and they start looking at their database and match with your needs. After the screening, suitable candidates can be appointed for interviews, with the agency staff liaising with both employer and the job applicant. Of course, there will likely be staff training required, which agency staff can help to arrange.

Enriching the lives of disabled people

If you are an employer that offers opportunities to those with disabilities, you are providing a valuable service to the community, which is something to be proud of. Just because a person may have a particular disability, that doesn’t mean they can’t work and research tells us that employees develop close bonds when they work with disabled people, so joining the initiative will help with staff morale.

Online solutions

You can set the ball rolling by searching the web for atWork Australia’s website and looking for wage subsidy; there is a lot more information on their website, and their helpful staff are always ready to answer any questions you might have.