This project will support national expansion of Spinal Cord Injury Australia Employment Service through virtual platforms and local community connections for people with a spinal cord injury or other physical disabilities.

Project Lead: Spinal Cord Injury Australia

UTS Lead: Prof Simon Darcy, UTS Business School

Duration:  2021 - 2022 

Spinal Cord Injury Australia (SCIA) currently delivers holistic employment services with the objective that people with spinal cord injury (SCI) or other physical disability (OPD) are supported to aspire to, prepare for, secure and maintain meaningful work. This unique specialised service is currently Sydney based.  

SCIA proposes a national expansion of its Employment Service. In an Australia first, the expansion will create virtual employment platforms to support national coverage and take the specialised service to six new sites nationally. The SCI or OPD cohort is largely ignored in the employment space, and yet it is highly capable and increasingly able to work due to technology and flexible work models. The life outcomes for this cohort as well as the economic benefits of their employment are profound.  

The proposed expansion of the Employment Services offered by the SCIA includes: 

  • Employment Resource Library: A virtual repository for employment related learning, resources, capacity building and an Employment Marketplace for existing and potential candidates and employers nationally 

  • Employment Engagement platform: A private network to enable Virtual Employment Advisors and Local Employment Coordinators to engage with existing and potential candidates including to: 

The UTS team will provide support for the expansion of these services by conducting an independent review and evaluation of the service model to ensure sustainability of the ongoing program. 

What impact will we create?

The overall proposed project will create more jobs and employment pathways for people with SCI or OPD, leading to increased confidence, self-esteem and independence, improved financial stability, and improved mental health and wellbeing. These benefits flow on to families and the broader community and, in the long-term, increase the employment rate for this neglected but capable cohort and delivers economic benefits. 

Research Design

All aspects of the proposed model will be subject to inclusive design; informed and shaped by the SCIA cohort so that virtual platforms and local employment supports are tailored to the specific needs of participants. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will partner with SCIA to undertake the research and evaluation of the SCIA Employment Services across the funding period. The research plan will be to: 

  • Embed an evaluation framework within the three components of our model 
  • In-depth interviews 
  • Analysis of management information systems 
  • Online reflective journals 
  • Other methods to ensure a robust understanding of the candidates experience  

The UTS partnership will serve to refine the model and ensure that SCIA have an independently verified and proven model at conclusion of the funding to support the program sustainability. 

Who we will work with?

  • Spinal Cord Injury Australia (SCIA)
  • People with disability
  • Professor Simon Darcy, UTS Business School
  • Professor Bronwen Dalton, UTS Business School
  • Rachael Bertram, UTS Business School 

Funding Support

  • Department of Social Services; Innovation, Linkage and Capacity Grant
  • National Disability Insurance Agency 

Network Research Themes

  • Inclusion and Social Participation
  • Social Justice, Diversity and Equity