FAQ Sheet 7
What are workplace adjustments?
The information below is adapted from 'Education to Employment Package: A Website for Graduates with Disabilities and Employers' by Anna Mungovan, Greater Western Sydney Regional Disability Liaison Officer (2006).
As a person with a disability, you may need to negotiate with your employer or prospective employer about making some changes to accommodate your disability. These changes, called 'reasonable adjustments' or 'workplace adjustments', may be required for your job interview (e.g. interview questions to be provided in an alternative format, an accessible room, or via a sign language interpreter) and/or once you are in the job. Changes may include adjustments to how you do the job, the place where you do your job and when you get the work done, including breaks and use of leave entitlements.
Both the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act (1977) and the federal Disability Discrimination Act (1992) require employers to provide reasonable adjustments or workplace adjustments so that you can get a job and show that you can do the job, provided these will not cause hardship to the employer (such as costing too much). Reasonable adjustments or workplace adjustments may be relevant to any stage in employment including:
- during the selection process (application process and job interview)
- in the initial weeks of employment (induction, support, training)
- on the job
- in response to changes in the job (e.g. additional training and changes to workplace procedures and equipment).
What are some examples of workplace adjustments?
Examples of reasonable adjustments or workplace adjustments include:
- changes to recruitment and interview procedures (e.g. making the interview questions available in different formats: plain English, electronic, large print)
- changes to the work environment (e.g. making the work areas and facilities accessible to a worker in a wheelchair)
- changes to job design, work schedules or other work practices (e.g. flexibility with leave arrangements to enable a worker to attend medical appointments)
- changes to equipment (e.g. installing visual fire alarms for deaf workers)
- providing training or other help (e.g. extending training time for workers with a learning disability or intellectual disability)
- changing communication systems or information provided (e.g. having information available in written form and not just spoken at meetings)
- flexibility around hours of work (e.g. starting and finishing work later to enable a worker to work at the best time when their medication does not impact on the job).
Useful websites
- FAQs: Australian Human Rights Commission
An excellent overview about reasonable adjustments in employment with examples of adjustments and reference to case law - What are reasonable adjustments: JobAccess website
The JobAccess website provides information about identifying and implementing reasonable adjustments in the work environment.