Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA)
Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) is the new national model for disability employment support, replacing Disability Employment Services (DES) from 1 November 2025.
Its focus is on creating inclusive, participant-centred pathways, removing arbitrary caps on support, embedding accountability, and working in partnership with communities and employers to expand opportunities for people with disability.
At Social Sector Consulting, we know what reform looks like in practice. We have deep social sector experience across disability, aged care, out of home care and disability employment, including DES, Job Services Australia and Local Council employment programs. Our experience continues to highlight how reforms stretch people and systems, and what makes the difference between organisations that survive and those that thrive.
Our approach
We partner with IEA providers to make reform real, practical, and sustainable. Our work is values-led and people-centred, grounded in deep sector experience and proven practice.
We focus on:
Clarity of contracts and deliverables - translating agreements into clear actions and financial pathways.
Embedding performance from day one - designing evaluation and accountability systems that track what matters: outcomes, impact, and participant experience. We focus on ensuring people have what they need to succeed, and ensuring expectations are clear.
Culture and workforce stability - hiring for values, training for skill, and reducing turnover to create consistent, resilient teams.
Lived experience in action - supporting organisations to employ people with disability and provide the scaffolding that makes inclusion sustainable.
Strong systems and governance - building reporting, safeguarding and quality frameworks that give leaders confidence and free staff to focus on people.
Our work
We work alongside boards, executives, and frontline teams to:
Map contracts and performance expectations into organisational strategies.
Design workforce models that are sustainable, values-aligned, and inclusive.
Build governance frameworks that connect board oversight with day-to-day practice.
Strengthen systems for reporting, evaluation, and safeguarding.
Support providers to model inclusion internally so they can lead it externally with employers and partners.
“Thank you for ensuring our people and community are at the focal point of meaningful change.”
Workshop Participant, For-Purpose Disability and Aged Care Organisation