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What questions can I ask someone about their disability?
APS employees that work with people with disability are often unsure about whether they can ask people with disability about their circumstances and, if so, what questions they can ask. This material has been developed with the assistance of HREOC and provides some pointers to employees about how this issue can be approached in general employment. Further information about managing selection processes for people with disability, and questions that can be asked during selection processes, can be found at Part 2 of this kit.
As an overriding principle, the APS Values and Code of Conduct remind us that the APS promotes equity in employment, and that all APS employees have an obligation to treat everyone with respect and courtesy, and without harassment.
Further, people have a general right to privacy about their personal circumstances unless there are good reasons for information to be disclosed. The collection of personal information is regulated by the Privacy Act 1988, which underscores the principle that information should be collected only where there is a proper purpose.
In general employment
APS employees and managers need to be able to talk reasonably and respectfully about relevant disability issues in the workplace. Discussions of this character will be necessary, for example, to:
- determine whether a person can perform the inherent requirements of a position
- identify any reasonable adjustments required to be made to support a person in their employment.
APS managers in particular should be mindful to ensure that questions they ask are relevant and appropriate to the legitimate issue they are trying to establish, and canvass the issues properly and objectively; and to ensure that they treat any information they are given with appropriate sensitivity and observance of privacy requirements.
Providing information of this kind is generally voluntary.41 Discussions of this nature are, therefore, more likely to be productive where managers have already created a workplace culture in which employees are comfortable to disclose and discuss their condition.
Collecting statistical data
APS agencies will often ask their employees, typically as part of a general survey of employees or an induction process, to identify whether they have a disability or not. Section 45 of the DD Act specifically permits actions by an employer intended to provide equal employment opportunity to people with disability, and HREOC has indicated that this section may apply to data collection exercises of this kind.
The collection of data of this kind provides useful information for APS employers and should be encouraged. The accurate identification of disability is a first step to ensuring that employees get the support that they need in making their contribution to the organisation, and allows the agency and the APS to monitor the extent to which it is a genuinely diverse, merit-based organisation.
Improving levels of data capture appears to be affected by a number of factors, including:
- the confidence that individual employees have that the information is not being collected to identify and stigmatise people with disability. In this regard, it may be useful for this material to be requested personally by the Agency Head, or include material from the Agency Head explaining the purposes of the collection, to show the commitment of the agency as a whole to the exercise
- clarifying the purpose of the data collection so that employees understand that it is being undertaken to support them and also to monitor agency performance rather than for any other purpose
- improving the level of understanding within the workplace of what amounts to a disability so that employees can accurately self-identify (see below for definition)
- assuring employees that their information will be managed with a proper level of confidentially
- repeating the process regularly, perhaps on an annual basis.
The definition of disability for this purpose is not the same as that discussed earlier, that is, the definition set out within the DD Act. The Management Advisory Committee (MAC) noted that:
… while the breadth of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 definition ensures it is conceptually strong and thus appropriate to guide overall policy and direction, it can be difficult to operationalise at the practical process of data collection. It would be difficult, for example, to collect data on disabilities ‘imputed to a person’.
For this reason, agencies are to use the definition of disability adopted by the ABS in its 2003 Disability, Ageing and Carers Survey, to collect data and statistical information from APS employees. That definition provides the basis for the most recent data used by analysts in Australia. Its comprehensiveness and clarity make it easy to use in practice and thus provides the best opportunity to maximise self–reporting.42
The definition developed and used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics43 is as follows:
- loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)
- loss of hearing where communication is restricted, or an aid to assist with, or substitute for, hearing is used
- speech difficulties
- shortness of breath or breathing difficulties causing restriction
- chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort causing restriction
- blackouts, fits, or loss of consciousness
- difficulty learning or understanding
- incomplete use of arms or fingers
- difficulty gripping or holding things
- incomplete use of feet or legs
- nervous or emotional condition causing restriction
- restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work
- disfigurement or deformity
- mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision
- long–term effects of head injury, stroke or other brain damage causing restriction
- receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments and still restricted
- any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction.
… a person has a disability if they report that they have a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least 6 months and restricts everyday activities. This includes:
A suggested form of words for such a collection is at Appendix B.
41 In some circumstances, e.g. where there are occupational health and safety issues that need to be addressed, the disclosure of a relevant disability may be mandatory.
42 Management Advisory Committee 2006, Employment of People with Disability in the APS
43 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/
4430.0Glossary12003?opendocument&tabname=Notes&prodno=4430.0&issue=2003&num=&view=
