Presentations

Employment outcomes for Autistic people remain poorer than for both the general population and other disabled groups, with unemployment rates exceeding 30% and high levels of underemployment and job loss. These outcomes are often linked to systemic workplace barriers such as implicit social expectations, unclear communication practices and processes that privilege normative behaviour.

Many initiatives aimed at improving employment outcomes focus on supporting individual employees or creating specialised recruitment programs. While valuable for some participants, these approaches rarely address the organisational systems that shape access to work, retention and progression. As a result, employers often lack the capability and practical frameworks needed to create sustainable change.

The A-Plus Inclusion Program, developed by Amaze, takes a different approach by focusing on employer capability and organisational design. Grounded in lived-experience co-design, systems thinking and evidence-informed practice, the program works with organisations to embed three practical principles: clarity, transparency and flexibility. These principles are applied across the employment lifecycle to reconsider recruitment, leadership practice and workplace expectations so inclusion does not rely on individual advocacy.

The presentation will share evaluation findings and case examples from organisations participating in the program. Early findings indicate progression from conceptual clarity about neurodiversity to empathy and bias reflection, followed by practical changes to recruitment processes, communication practices and management approaches. Early indicators of broader cultural change are also emerging.

Participants will gain practical insights into how employer-focused capability building can complement traditional employment supports, reduce systemic barriers and support more sustainable employment outcomes for neurodivergent people.