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Why work matters (Easy Read)

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Employee with an intellectual disability working at a Bakery Workshop

Having a job makes life better.

Young woman with an intellectual disability in an office operating a copy machine.

Having a job helps you:

  • Learn new skills
A young woman with Down Syndrome working as a cashier passing change to a customer for scones in a café.
  • Meet new people
A hand passing a stack of $100 notes to another hand.
  • Earn money.
An image of a man holding a wad of notes in one hand and cheering. Below him is another man in a supermarket holding a box of fruit.

Earning money makes a difference in your life.

A shopping checklist containing green ticks next to pictures of milk, peppers, grapes, eggs and fish.

Earning money helps you pay for:

  • Food
A woman handing a piece of paper to a girl in a wheelchair in front of a house with a 'Rent' banner and a hand holding Australian notes.
  • Rent
Older woman with an intellectual disability holding a phone bill beside an image of a mobile phone.
  • Bills
A man and a woman reading a menu at a cafe.
  • Going out with friends
A woman wearing a brown tee shirt holding a handbag and wheeling a suitcase, alongside an image of a pink piggy bank with money sticking out of it.
  • Saving for a holiday.
A woman wearing a red jacket smiling and pointing at her chest

Earning money helps you be more independent.

A person with a disability typing an email to other staff.

Having a job also helps you to:

  • Keep busy
A group of people greeting each other with speech bubbles.
  • Take part in the community
A woman in office clothes smiling and holding two thumbs up.
  • Feel good about yourself.
A young man with glasses seated on a chair, leaning forward with his chin resting on his hand.

Many people with an intellectual disability do not work.

A red circle with a cross through it over a person typing on a laptop with two clocks showing 9:00 and 5:00 in the background.

Some people think people with an intellectual disability cannot work.

An image of a person's thumb pointing down.

This is not true.

A mature man in his 40s with Down Syndrome working in a supermarket. He is wearing an apron, standing in the refrigerated section of a grocery store, looking at the camera with his hands on his hips.

People with an intellectual disability can work with the right support.

Laptop with the word 'click' and a cursor on the screen.

Click here to start your employment journey.

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