What is open employment? (Easy Read)

	Open employment means working in a regular job like everyone else.
	In open employment you can: Find and get a job Start your own business.
	Open employment is good because you: Get fair pay Can build new skills and learn new ones
	Meet new people and make friends Become more confident and independent.
	Everyone has the right to work in open employment.
	But most people with an intellectual disability work in closed employment. For example working in an Australian Disability Enterprise or ADE for short.
	People who work in ADE’s usually get paid a lot less than people who work in open employment.
	Many people with an intellectual disability think they cannot work in open employment. But this is not true.
	Researchers have looked at open employment and say that everyone can work in open employment with the right support.
	Some of the things that can stop people with an intellectual disability from working in open employment are:

	They do not know about open employment Their family or supporters think it will be too hard They do not have good support to find a job in open employment
	Workplace cannot get the help they need to support people with disability at work Government or workplace rules make it hard.
	There are different ways you may be able to get support to find a job in open employment.
	You may be able to get NDIS funding to help you: Find out what you like doing and what you are good at Try out different jobs by doing work experience Get support at work.
	This is called Finding and Keeping a Job funding.

	You may be able to get support to find a job from Inclusive Employment Australia or IEA for short. IEA used to be called Disability Employment Services or DES for short.
	IEA can help people with disability to: Get ready for open employment For example help to write your resume or practice your job interview skills
	Look for work Keep getting support once you have a job.
	IEA can also help your workplace make sure they have everything they need to support you well at work.
	People on the Disability Support Pension or DSP can also get support from IEA to find and keep a job.
	The DSP is a Centrelink payment for people who cannot work or need extra support to work because of their disability.
	Each person’s pathway to finding a job in open employment will be different. Start your employment pathway here: https://www.everyonecanwork.org.au/ my-employment-pathway/