Why did you the join the Abilities Collective and why is this group so necessary?

The need for an employee support network has been recognised for a while, particularly from the perspective of helping Curtin become more disability confident. People have felt more comfortable sharing their equity status anonymously, which is possibly due to fear of being discriminated against in the workplace, and that’s something we wanted to change.

We’ve implemented a lot of Mental Health First Aid training and developed our own disability awareness training, which is available to all staff. For the staff with disability that we already employ, I wanted to establish a network of like-minded peers to share their experiences and build connection and engagement with other colleagues, while generating awareness of disability in the workplace to break down barriers and stigma. It speaks directly to Curtin’s values of respect, integrity and excellence in actively working to create a culture of inclusion.

We wanted Curtin to be an employer of choice for people with disability, but I was also conscious that the Abilities Collective shouldn’t be led by myself – it needed someone who identified as having a disability (the philosophy has always been, “nothing about us, without us”).

So, when Alana Kelly approached me to ask where she could find Curtin’s network, I jumped at the opportunity. We have almost 40 members already since we first put feelers out via our staff news channels to gauge interest in September. We’re officially launching the Abilities Collective @ Curtin next month, as part of International Day of People with Disability.

What do you hope the new Disability Access and Inclusion Plan will include?

Curtin has come a long way and achieved some great things, but there’s always room for improvement. Ultimately, I hope lots of people will participate in the community consultation processes during our DAIP review, so our next plan appropriately reflects and targets the priorities and needs of our community. I hope people will be encouraged to come to Curtin for either work or to undertake studies, because we offer really accessible and inclusive opportunities for people to engage with as part of their professional development.

Any final tips for non-disabled people who want to be an ally?

Spend some time educating yourself. It’s not someone else’s job to teach you about their experiences living with a disability – and that would only be their experience, not necessarily anyone else’s. There are loads of amazing resources available to help employers support people with disability, including the Australian Network on Disability and Job Access.

Don’t make assumptions or allow personal biases to prevent someone participating in work, study or any other activity, simply because you can’t envisage how they might do something. Get to know them and be curious and compassionate when building relationships in the workplace. I think if we all just asked the question, “what support do they need to be productive and effective in the workplace?”, this approach would work regardless of anyone’s circumstances. Make sure there is opportunity for their voice to be heard at the decision-making table, and finally, speak up and show your support.