On this International Day of People with Disability, the world celebrates the contributions of people living with disability – including half the New England Times team.
For the millions of Australians living with a disability, finding meaningful employment remains a challenge. However, with greater awareness and inclusive practices, workplaces can unlock vast potential and create opportunities for all.
The United Nations’ theme for this year’s International Day of People with Disability, Amplifying the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future, underscores the vital role inclusive employment practices play in fostering growth and equity.
atWork Australia, which has offices in Tamworth, Gunnedah, Manilla, and Quirindi, as helped more than 5,700 people—many facing invisible disabilities such as anxiety, depression, and chronic pain—secure meaningful employment over the past year. McDonald’s Australia has been a key partner in this effort, working with atWork Australia for over six years to offer employment opportunities to people from diverse backgrounds and abilities.
Kathleen is one of many success stories. After struggling with depression and anxiety, she found it difficult to find a job that matched her needs. But when she connected with atWork Australia, things began to change.
“They really listened to me and understood my needs,” Kathleen said. “With the support of my job coach and the team at atWork Australia, I found my dream job.”
Kathleen says her job at Maccas has helped her rediscovered excitement and purpose in her work.
“At Macca’s, we mean it when we say our doors are open to everyone. We work hard to build inclusive workplaces by embracing the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our team members,” Amanda Belz, McDonald’s diversity, equity, and inclusion manager, said.
Small employers can get in on the action too, often getting very loyal and hardworking staff by giving people with disability a break.
New England Times is proud to be a disability friendly business, owned and run by Raphaella Kathryn Crosby. Crosby, the Founder and Chair of Migraine Australia, herself lives with hemiplegic migraine which causes significant stroke-like symptoms with every attack, including sometimes losing the ability to walk or speak. More than half the people who work for New England Times have a disability.
“It’s not that hard,” Crosby says. “Certainly supporting someone with physical disabilities is easy, you just need to ask them what they need, and don’t assume anything – and being a fully remote business makes it even easier, in that they can stay in their home where they already have everything that they need.”
Amongst the NET team are people with chronic health conditions like migraine, arthritis and lupus, physical disabilities including back injuries, hearing and vision impairments, mental health disabilities including PTSD and bipolar disorder, and a healthy collection of neurodiversities.
New England Times has been working with APM, another local disability employment service which has offices across the region including Tamworth, Armidale, Inverell, Glen Innes, Walcha and Barraba, to keep an eye out for potential journos – and anyone living with significant migraine. Raphaella also advertises directly into the migraine community.
“Obviously I’m pretty passionate about helping people with migraine back into the workforce in my charity capacity. But it’s not charity for my business.”
“I know and understand that the migraine brain works faster than a neurotypical brain, so if you support someone with migraine and allow them to make up in the straights what they lose in the corners, they’re often your highest performing staff,” she said.
Reuben Artmann recently joined the team at New England Times after seeing a job posting in a Migraine Australia Facebook group.
“Migraine attacks started for me in my late teens as an occasional hinderance that I was able to manage through my life. As time passed, migraine attacks have begun to make a deeper impact on my day to day – lights too bright, repetitive noise, stress and anxiety are all now triggers.
“I’m in my 30s now and my whole life has changed because of migraine, particularly my hire-ability.
“When I saw Raphaella’s job posting in Migraine Australia Chat Group I put myself out there yet again in the hopes of finding something that would allow me to work from home without running a high risk of being put out of action by the seemingly mundane daily irritants that we all face every day.
“This opportunity felt like a miracle – something I wanted so much but didn’t think even possible for me. I couldn’t be more grateful,” he said.
In Australia, only half of people aged 15 to 64 with a disability are employed, with one in 10 experiencing discrimination, often from employers themselves.
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