We commend the Australian Government and the Department of Social Services for pursuing this important election commitment, and for showing the leadership needed to ensure that all Australians, including those with disability, can participate and enjoy the benefits of meaningful employment. Our response to the Options Paper has focused on an ecological-systems approach, where improvements in employment outcomes for people with disability (PWD) is argued to require an integrated, coordinated approach that reflects the needs and strengths of different stakeholders.

However, we argue that the Centre should focus on improving the capability and capacity of employment service providers as they are best positioned to have a direct impact on employment outcomes. To this end, a cooperative research centre model is proposed to bring together the different stakeholders and to provide an administrative structure for the proposed Centre.