Supported Employment referrals in Gungahlin, ACT
Supported employment settings, including Australian Disability Enterprises, with on-the-job support for participants with higher support needs.
Supported employment is ongoing, individualised on-the-job support that helps a participant with higher support needs to gain, keep and progress in paid work. It is delivered in the workplace itself — through supervision, task training, and hands-on assistance — for people who need substantial, continuing support to work that mainstream employment services cannot provide on their own.
It is most commonly associated with Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs), which employ people with disability in a supported setting. Since the NDIS supported employment reforms, funding is individualised and follows the participant into the workplace rather than being block-funded to the provider. This gives participants more say over where they work and how they are supported, and increasingly allows the same on-the-job support to be delivered in open or mainstream workplaces.
The focus is person-centred: matching the support to the participant's goals, building skills, adjusting tasks and the work environment, and supporting the person to maintain their role and, where they choose, move toward more independent or award-wage employment over time.
Coordinator FAQs
- Does a provider need to be registered to deliver supported employment?
- Yes for agency (NDIA) managed participants — only NDIS-registered providers can be paid from agency-managed funds, and the provider must be registered against the Supported Employment registration group and meet the Supported Employment Practice Standards module. Plan-managed and self-managed participants can use unregistered providers,…
- How is supported employment different from Disability Employment Services (DES)?
- DES is a Commonwealth employment program that sits outside the NDIS and helps people find and keep open-market jobs. NDIS supported employment funds ongoing, individualised on-the-job support for participants who need substantial help to work, often in a supported setting such as an ADE. DES is not funded from the participant's NDIS plan;…
- Can a participant access DES and NDIS supported employment at once?
- Generally not for the same support at the same time — the NDIS and DES are designed to complement, not duplicate. A participant might use DES to find open employment while using NDIS-funded supports for other needs, but the same on-the-job support should not be funded twice. Check the participant's current arrangements and plan wording,…
- Which budget funds supported employment?
- Supported employment is funded through the participant's plan under employment-related supports, with its own line items in the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. Since the ADE reforms, funding is individualised and follows the participant rather than being block-funded to the provider. Confirm the plan includes employment…
- Do Australian Disability Enterprises still operate?
- Yes. ADEs continue to operate as supported employment providers, but funding changed after the reforms — instead of block grants, funding is individualised and follows each participant into the workplace. This lets support be tailored to the person's needs and goals and supports greater choice about where they work. Participants can be…
- How is supported employment different from School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES)?
- SLES is a capacity-building support that helps young people transition from school to work over roughly one to two years, building job-readiness skills. Supported employment is ongoing, on-the-job support for people already working, or ready to work, who need substantial help to maintain a role. A participant may progress from SLES into…
- Can supported employment be delivered in open, mainstream workplaces?
- Yes. Since the reforms, supported employment is no longer limited to ADEs — it can be delivered in open or mainstream workplaces where a participant needs ongoing, individualised on-the-job support. The setting should match the participant's goals and support needs. When referring, tell the provider whether the participant is seeking an…
- Does the NDIS pay the participant's wages?
- No. The NDIS funds the disability-related support a participant needs to work — supervision, training and on-the-job assistance — not their wages. Wages are paid by the employer, such as an ADE, under the relevant industrial arrangements. When referring, focus the conversation on the support ratio and needs; wage and employment terms are…
- What Practice Standards apply to supported employment providers?
- Registered supported employment providers must meet the NDIS Practice Standards, including the specific Supported Employment module covering areas such as a supportive work environment, worker rights and progression opportunities. They are regulated by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This matters most for agency-managed…