Sign the petition to show your support
We need your support so that people with Down syndrome can be paid a fair wage.
About the Right to Work Campaign
Let’s build a future beyond $3 an hour
Imagine working every day but earning less than the cost of your morning coffee per hour.
That is the reality for many people with Down Syndrome in Australia, who are legally paid as little as $3 an hour.
What we are asking for:
Phase out the $3 wage
Fund programs that work
Make the Disability Support Pension work for workers
Our three asks
Phase out the $3 wage
People with Down Syndrome can legally be paid $3 an hour for their work in Australia. This needs to change.
People with Down Syndrome are already thriving in workplaces across the country, and deserve real wages for real work.
The Disability Royal Commission recommended that people with disability should receive at least the minimum wage, and that the Government should act to achieve this by 2034. But so far, they have not taken any action.
The Federal Government has the power to lift people out of poverty with the stroke of a pen. Sign our petition to support phasing out the $3 wage:
Fund programs that work
Down Syndrome Australia supported 84 people with Down syndrome into jobs around the country over a year and a half – and we are just getting started!
Our Employment Connections Service connects potential employers to people with Down syndrome and is run locally in QLD, VIC, ACT, TAS, WA, SA and NSW. Staff work with businesses and employment agencies to show the benefits of employing people with Down syndrome, as well as help them to identify suitable jobs and help recruit, train, and provide ongoing support. People with Down syndrome are placed into roles that pay at or above the minimum wage.
This program works in a way that current Disability Employment Services do not: providing tailored and ongoing support that works with the community.
Programs like this are excellent value for money, but they are only given short term, limited funding. We need to fund programs that work.
Make the DSP work for workers
The Disability Support Pension (DSP) provides financial support for people with disability that may be unable to work, or have limitations for work.
We need to make payments like the DSP work for workers. This means changes to how DSP is administered: so that people can earn a liveable wage, but not run the risk of losing DSP as a safety net.
Making these changes means people with Down syndrome will have security, knowing that if things change with their job, they will be ok. It will also support them to work and earn a liveable wage without fear.
The current rate of the DSP is below the poverty line. DSP also places limits on the amount people can work: people on the DSP can not earn more than $178 per fortnight before their payments are reduced. If your payments are reduced for too long then you can lose your DSP.
This means people with Down syndrome are being given a choice: you can earn enough to live, or you can keep the security of your DSP payment.