COMMISSIONED RESEARCH PROJECT 

Improving transitions to careers for young people with disability

 

About the research funding opportunity

 

There are three funding opportunities for the commissioned research:

​

Opportunity One – NDIS Employment Assistance (broad):

 

The project will combine existing evidence and new research to map systemic and organisational factors that (i) shape the conditions that can enable younger NDIS participants (15–25 years of age) to make genuine and informed choices about access to and use of NDIS employment supports; and (ii) influence service providers’ capacity and willingness to implement best practice approaches in supporting youth employment transitions.

Opportunity Two – NDIS Employment Assistance (First Nations/Peoples):

 

The project will combine existing evidence and new research to map systemic and organisational factors that (i) shape the conditions that can enable younger NDIS participants (15–25 years of age) identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to make genuine and informed choices about access to and use of NDIS employment supports; and (ii) influence service providers’ capacity and willingness to implement best practice approaches in supporting the employment transitions of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. 

Opportunity Three – NDIS Employment Assistance (People with complex support or communication needs):

 

The project will combine existing evidence and new research to map systemic and organisational factors that (i) shape the conditions that can enable younger NDIS participants (15–25 years of age) with complex support needs or young people who may not use spoken communication (e.g. young people who communicate using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Auslan) to make genuine and informed choices about access to and use of NDIS employment supports; and (ii) influence service providers’ capacity and willingness to implement best practice approaches in supporting the employment transitions of young people with complex support or communication needs. 

​

The focus of these opportunities is on internal and external factors that may act as barriers or enablers for younger NDIS participants’ to make genuine and informed decisions about transition to, access and use of NDIS employment supports, and providers’ ability or motivation to deliver best practice supports. For example, workforce stability, organisational culture, markets and access to services, and accountability mechanisms. The research will not be directed towards NDIS service providers’ access to information and training (for example the Centre for Inclusive Employment has a key role in providing this information to employment service providers), nor trialling alternate funding models such as the Blended Payments initiative.

 

NDIS participants in scope for this research will be aged 15–25 and will have NDIS employment supports under the “Capacity building – Finding and Keeping a Job” category in their plans, specifically supports which fall under the subheadings of “Employment Assistance”, “School leaver employment supports” and “Employment Related Assessment, Counselling and Advice” (pp79–80 and 83) of the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26. Opportunities Two and Three may also include NDIS participants aged 15–25 who do not have, but could have (i.e. they are interested in obtaining employment) NDIS employment supports under the “Capacity building – Finding and Keeping a Job” category in their participant plans.

​

Projects should also consider how geographical (e.g. remote) or other factors (e.g. school exclusion; youth within the justice system; low socioeconomic communities) may create unique conditions that shape participant transition to employment outcomes.

​

It is expected that the critical outputs for all projects should include recommendations for improving employment outcomes for young people with disability who are transitioning from education training to employment, which may have implications across multiple systems (e.g. state/territory policy, commonwealth policy, service providers, health settings, etc), rather than the production of resources.

​

Please note: the implementation of pilots or trialling of ‘best practice’ interventions should not form a part of the research proposal. While the focus of this project is on NDIS participants, recommendations should also consider the project findings' relevance for other cohorts (e.g. young people with disability who are not NDIS participants; those who are NDIS participants but who do not currently have, or who are not utilising, NDIS employment supports in their plan; NDIS participants aged over 25).