Building a more Inclusive Australia

In previous years, we have asked you if you are ready for a new era. That era has now begun.

With the launch of Inclusive Employment Australia, we have a degree of certainty around the principal employment service for people with disability, however there is still so much to discuss. This includes:

• How we can deliver ever better, more effective services that support people with disability to secure, maintain, and progress in employment – including by deploying the evidence base
• Translation of research into practice, including through the Centre of Inclusive Employment
• The future direction of supported employment, including through work integrated social enterprise
• NDIS Employment Supports, including their integration with Inclusive Employment Australia
• Demand-driven initiatives and the critical question of how we get more employers to the table
• The rights of people with disability and how to dismantle ableist structures
• Our workforce, capability, and continuing professional development
• How to support different cohorts, and different disabilities, and the impact of intersectionality

The Call for Papers

If you’ve been working on an idea or a case study that aligns with the issues in play in the disability employment landscape, we would love to consider your presentation for Conference. Please submit your paper if it:

• is constructed on evidence-based research, case studies and/or industry or organisational best practice
• provides clear, actionable, and practical solutions, processes, or information, and not be purely limited to theoretical frameworks
• highlights innovative or unique practices, knowledge, and methodologies
• promotes discussion and participant engagement, be interactive where possible and offer opportunities for professional development

Who should attend?

The 2026 DEA Conference is Australasia’s premier Conference for managers, aspiring managers, practitioners, and academics working in or with the disability employment sector. It’s valuable to anyone with an interest in employment assistance for people with disability including anyone who:

• wants to be informed on the issues of the day in disability employment
• wants to shape the future of disability employment, and
• people who are both!