Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 Outcomes Framework: 3rd annual report

Improving the transition of young people with disability from education to employment requires preparing them for employment. This includes supporting them to access skills development and work experience which can have long-term benefits for their employment prospects and careers (Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031).

VET graduate employment

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is post-compulsory education and training that provides people with occupational or work-related knowledge and skills. It includes programs that provide the basis for subsequent vocational programs (SCRGSP 2023). VET courses and qualifications are:

• Certificate I, II, III, IV
• Diploma, Advanced Diploma
• Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma (ASQA 2021).

Data for this measure are from National Centre for Vocational Education Research’s (NCVER) National Student Outcomes Survey. The annual survey includes students who completed nationally recognised VET delivered by registered training organisations (RTOs) in Australia. The 2023 survey collected data between June and August 2022 from students who completed their qualifications in 2022.

The desired key system outcome for this measure is that VET graduates with disability transition into employment on completing their training.

Latest results: 2023

• In 2023, 62% of domestic VET graduates with disability aged 15 and over were employed upon completion of training. This was 10 percentage points higher than at baseline (2021) (52%), indicating a positive change (Figure 2.6).
• The result for 2023 (62%) was the highest result achieved across the period 2016 to 2023. It was 3 percentage points higher than the previous highest result of 59% in 2022.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• For the purposes of this measure, VET graduates refer to ‘qualification completers’ – that is, students who completed a training package qualification or an accredited qualification. ‘Employed on completion of training’ refers to ‘employed after training’. Data are restricted to domestic students.
• This measure does not consider whether students were employed before training and/or whether they are employed in the same occupation as the training course. The measure also does not capture students who went on to undertake further vocational training.

For figure notes, see Appendix C: Figure notes and sources.

For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | VET graduate employment.

Young NDIS participant employment

Successful engagement of young people in the labour market and society is crucial for not only their own personal economic prospects and wellbeing but also for overall economic growth and social cohesion (OECD 2022).

This measure focuses on young NDIS participants aged 15–24. Data are collected from the NDIS Short Form questionnaire and refer to participants aged 15–24 who answered:

‘Yes’ to the question ‘Are you currently working in a paid job?’

The desired key system outcome for this measure is that the NDIS supports young people leaving school to prepare for employment.

Latest results: June 2024 (Q4 of 2023–24)

• In 2023–24 Q4, 1 in 5 (20%) NDIS young participants (aged 15–24) were in employment. This was around 3 percentage points higher than at baseline (2021–22 Q2) (18%), indicating improvement since the Strategy began (Figure 2.7).
• Since baseline, consistent quarter-to-quarter increases have been observed, with a modelled quarterly increase of 0.2 of a percentage point over the period (2021–22 Q2 to 2023–24 Q4). The result for 2023–24 Q4 was also the highest across the historical and post-baseline data.

Things to consider when interpreting results

Time series analysis for the NDIS data presented here is different from the longitudinal approach taken in NDIS reporting. See Data sources | National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for more details.

For figure notes, see Appendix C: Figure notes and sources.

For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Young NDIS participant employment.

Young people in employment

The desired key population outcome for this measure is to see an increase in young people with disability moving from education to employment.

Latest results: 2022

• In 2022, 4 in 5 (80%) young people with disability in the labour force were employed. This is 3.9 percentage points more than the proportion of young people with disability in the labour force in 2018 (76%) (Figure 2.8).
• As the change between the baseline and latest value is not statistically significant, the status is indicated as no change.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• This measure is restricted to people with disability aged 15–24 living in households who are in the labour force. People in the labour force include those who were employed during the reference week, had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week.
• Young people are more likely to experience lower employment rates compared with their prime age counterparts due to factors such as reduced experience, skills development, and educational attainment. For these reasons, young people are more likely to experience loss of employment during labour market disruptions. These labour market factors will also apply to youth with disability.
• Statistical methods are used to assist with determining confidence where there are 2 or more data points. For sampled (survey) data, sampling error is considered for determining whether the change is statistically significant, based on overlapping confidence intervals and z-tests. More information can be found in Appendix A: Methods.
• Many young people with profound disability may be out of scope of this measure as they may be out of the labour force (not be seeking work, or available to start work). As a result, care should be taken when interpreting this measure.

For figure notes, see Appendix C: Figure notes and sources.

For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Young people in employment.