Staff Disability Policy

Policy statement and broad overview

The university recognises and values diversity amongst its staff and is committed to creating an inclusive environment that ensures that equal employment opportunities are available to all staff, including those with a disability. The university seeks to provide staff who have a disability (whether temporary or permanent) with the opportunity to participate in a safe, equitable, discrimination and harassment free working environment. The university will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate staff with a disability. In considering such adjustments, the university will have regard to the availability of resources, the number of staff seeking reasonable adjustments and its priorities.

Definitions

Disability - The definition of "disability" is very broad. It includes some conditions not usually thought of as disabilities. Disability includes:

• loss of physical or mental functions, for example, a person who has quadriplegia, brain injury, epilepsy or who has a vision or hearing impairment;
• loss of part of the body, for example, a person with an amputation or a person who has had a pacemaker implanted;
• infectious and non-infectious diseases and illnesses, for example, a person with AIDS, hepatitis or TB, a person with allergies or who carries typhoid bacteria;
• the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person's body, for example, a person with diabetes or asthma or a person with a birthmark or scar;
• a condition which means a person learns differently from other people, for example, a person with autism, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder or an intellectual disability
• any condition which affects a person's thought processes, understanding of reality, emotions or judgement or which results in disturbed behaviour, for example, a person with a psychiatric condition, neurosis or personality disorder;

and includes a disability that:

• is present;
• or once existed but doesn't any more, for example, a person who has had a back injury, a heart attack or an episode of psychiatric illness;
• or may exist in the future, for example, a person with a genetic predisposition to a disease, such as Huntington's disease or heart disease or a person who is HIV positive;
• or someone thinks a person has, for example, assuming a person living with someone with an infectious disease also has the disease or assuming that a gay man has AIDS

Adjustments - and accommodations are terms often used interchangeably to refer to the removal of barriers and changes made to almost any aspect of work to ensure that staff with a disability have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential as employees. Adjustments may include the provision of support services (eg. sign interpreters), accessible facilities (eg. parking close to buildings), assistive technologies (eg. voice recognition software) and/or the application of flexible work practices so as to facilitate the performance of work by people with disabilities. The University will make reasonable adjustments where such adjustments do not lessen work output requirements, lower work standards or otherwise place the university in a position of 'unjustifiable hardship' in relation to the management of its finances or the pursuit of its legitimate objectives. The criterion of reasonableness in the circumstances should be applied to all requests for adjustments and take into account all circumstances relevant to the job and the incumbent.

Assistive technologies - refers to different kinds of equipment (eg. magnifying light or motorised scooter); software (eg. voice recognition); hardware (eg. ergonomic keyboard or large screen monitor) or other equipment reasonably required to facilitate effective and efficient work performance by people with disabilities.

Employment

The university seeks:

• To actively facilitate the employment of people with a disability in all suitable areas of university employment;
• To encourage people with a disability to apply for positions for which they are qualified;
• To ensure that people with a disability are treated equitably during all stages of employment, including recruitment, selection, promotion, training, termination of employment;
• To ensure that the needs of people with a disability, such as effective interaction, management and supervision, are recognised in the performance management process;
• To ensure that people with a disability can contribute to and participate in the university work environment.

Environment

The university seeks to ensure that the physical environment, communication and other systems and resources are accessible to staff with a disability.

Education

The university seeks to raise the awareness of all staff on disability issues and, in particular, to provide specific training and development for managers and supervisors in recognising and dealing with discrimination or harassment and supporting people with disability to maximise their potential in the workplace.

Disclosure

A member of staff is not required to disclose an impairment, health condition or disability in the normal course of employment, but he/ she may be asked to disclose and document a disability if requesting adjustments in the workplace.

Confidentiality

Information provided by a member of staff about his or her disability and health condition is kept strictly confidential. The university may only communicate this information to another person with the consent of the member of staff concerned.

Access to reasonable adjustments

Where a staff member would like to request that a reasonable adjustment be made, the staff member should follow the procedure as set out in the Procedure to Request Reasonable Adjustments.

Grievances

Any grievances arising from discrimination or harassment on the ground of disability should be resolved promptly and fairly using the University's Discrimination and Harassment Grievance Procedures.

Operative date, policy authorisation and administrator

Operative from 26/09/2002

Policy authorisation - Vice-Chancellor

Policy administrator - Director, Equity and Diversity Centre

Implementation

All managers and supervisors are responsible for implementing this policy in relation to their own staff and areas of their responsibility. In some cases, the provision of reasonable adjustments may have to be considered by a higher level of management.

Relevant Australian legislation

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth)
Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Victoria)

Relevant international legislation

Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 (South Africa)
Employment Equity Act, 1998 (South Africa)

International conventions and rules

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1976
Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons 1975
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, (ILO 159) 1983.
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, 1993
International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, 1977

Parent policy and associated policies, guidelines and procedures

Equal Opportunity Policy

Discrimination and Harassment Grievance Procedures
Selection procedures
Workcover policy  
Risk management
Occupational Health and Safety Policy (pdf)