Dr Gary Allen | Breaking Barriers

Gary Allen is to Co-Founder and Emeritus Advisor for Enabled.vip, a platform aimed at providing the disability community access to revenue stream outside of traditional nine-to-five roles. Gary has lived experience of disability as an individual with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, relying on a powered wheelchair for mobility and is confined to bed for at least 19 hours per day.

The QUT Alumni Team sat down with Gary to chat about Enabled.vip and how to support a more inclusive workplace regardless when people join the community.

Can you tell us more about Enabled.vip and what inspired you to start the business?

Between 2003 and 2024, I was the Managing Director and General Manager of a Research Ethics and Research Integrity consultancy business. It was grown from a passion project (a hobby really) into a successful national and international firm. I realised I've gained valuable insight and experience I could pay forward.

The current approach to disability workforce engagement in Australia is flawed.

Only 48% of Australians with disability are engaged in the workforce, compared to 81% of the non-disabled ₁. Around 45% of the Australian disability community lives in poverty ₂. Recently, the ABC reported a succession of Australian governments (of both major parties) over the last 30 years have spent over a billion dollars trying to improve this and only improved matters by a pathetic 8%  ₃.

This is unacceptable. Actually, it is worse than that. In 2010, the engagement rate was 53%, in 2024 it is 48%. The poverty rate was 40%, and it is now 45% ₄. One billion dollars over 30 years and things have got worse. It is not hard to imagine what a company’s board of directors would do if a CEO took a billion dollars and 30 years to fix a problem and only achieved an 8% improvement.

The problem with the approach is that it focuses almost exclusively on getting people into a ‘regular job’.

This ignores the fact that, for many disabilities, people do not know hour-to-hour if they will be well enough to work. This is incompatible with even casual work. This is not my fault of employers or people with disability, but it does leave them financially vulnerable and socially isolated.

It also ignores the fact people with emergent or progressive disabilities, as well as injury related disabilities (such as a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury) may have marketable skills, experience and/or networks. The typical disability job and salary is unlikely to match the potential of many people with disability. The recent Disability Royal Commission highlighted the poor wages that are often paid by disability jobs.

Disability entrepreneurship is a promising answer to these apparently intractable problems.

The level of Australian disability entrepreneurship, compared to the level of entrepreneurship of the non-disabled, is not as high as it is in North America, the UK and Europe. When you explore the reasons why, people point to lack of role models, peer support, resources and training.

This suggests a community of practice in the Australian disability entrepreneurship space could be helpful and powerful. Enabled.vip is establishing, nurturing and supporting a community practice for Australia’s disability community.

Enabled.vip is a charitable, national and award-winning disability service. We are proudly disability led and guided. We ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to the precept of “Nothing for us, without us”.

We provide one-to-one mentoring, monthly webinars, a resource library, an internal discussion board and self-paced capacity-building modules currently in development with QUT.

I recently participated in the QUT research project about supporting Australians with disability and facilitating their contribution in the Australian workforce. In October 2024, I was one of the panel members for an in-person discussion (which was streamed online) about the excellent toolkit that was produced drawing from that research.

I do not view disability entrepreneurship and the toolkit as being in competition. Instead, I see them as complementary strategies to improve the chronically low level of disability workforce engagement in Australia and the unacceptably high level of disability poverty.

Can you share some ways an organisation can support a more inclusive workplace?

There are some compelling indicators and commentary that points to the fact that diverse and inclusive teams are more productive and innovative.

It should also be noted that 18.8% of the Australian community live with disability, that is 4.4 million potential consumers for Australian businesses ₁. Having a diverse team that includes people with lived experience can better arm a business to provide services/products that are specifically tailored to the needs of this consumer base. Being able to credibly point to a team that includes lived experience can be a powerful advantage for a business.

With this in mind, businesses should strive to have a more inclusive workplace that includes lived experience.
There are a few ways in which a business can establish, nurture and support a more inclusive workplace:

1. Toolkit – Use the Toolkit to design, continually evaluate and improve the workplace. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the toolkit once it is released please contact either Dr Jannine Williams (jannine.williams@qut.edu.au) or Dr Ruth Knight (ruth.knight@qut.edu.au).
2. Reference group – Establish a reference group to inform the designing and operation of the workplace. Initially, the membership of the group may be external to the business, but eventually, the membership of the reference group would be internal to the business.
3. Recruitment – Specifically advertise for people with lived experience. Have this as a selection criterion for any interview or appointment decision. Perhaps this may also include looking for people with connections to the Australian disability community.
4. Flexible arrangements – Consider establishing flexible work arrangements, in terms of time of the day and location for work. This flexibility may make it easier for people with disability to work for your business. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated that non-traditional work arrangements can be effective and productive. Consider advertising indicating that flexible work arrangements can be negotiated.
5. Accessibility – Ensure that the workplace is set up to support access by your team, such as ramps and disability toilets for team members in a wheelchair, the use of ALT text and captioning for workers with a visual or hearing impairment, the creation of quiet spaces for people who are neurodiverse and being open to suggestions from your reference group.
6. Celebration and congratulation – Look for ways to acknowledge the contribution of the reference group and team members with lived experience.
7. Review timetable - Decide upon a review timetable for your business. Depending on the pace of change in your business and turnover of staff this should be sometime between every two years and every five years.

Programs like Job Access provide financial support for businesses to provide modifications and accommodations to suit the needs of their staff with disabilities. This might be something like adding a ramp to your workplace, assistive technology to support workers or an adjustable desk. Engage and occupational therapist and the reference group to identify needs and potential solution. Under the scheme, the business makes the purchase and then is reimbursed by the program. You should contact Job Access direct if you want to explore purchasing a modification or accommodation.

What does employment mean for an individual with disability?

Workforce engagement is such a fundamental component of modern Australia life. It is essential for dignity, agency and meaning. We are raised to believe that manhood involves being the breadwinner that provides for their family. Even though gender roles have been evolving over the last century, such notions remain prevalent. There is plenty of evidence that a ‘regular job’ is not only necessary for financial independence it can be key for mental health and mental well-being.

Depression and mental health difficulties are often common for Australians with disability, this can be especially true for Australians with disability who are unemployed, under employed or not engaged in meaningful work.

The toolkit developed by QUT is such a fantastic resource because it can assist employers to provide meaningful work for Australians with disability.

Enabled.vip provides resources for Australians for whom a ‘regular job’ is not a viable option. If facilitates Australians with disability in creating their own jobs. We envisage a future where Australian would-be entrepreneurs with disability are celebrated and supported as future business leaders, tax contributors and employers.

Do you have any advice for someone who comes to the disability community as a result of an acquired injury or diagnosis?

Your life isn’t over, but you are just beginning a new chapter in your life. Seek the support of a NDIS Support Coordinator to engage with the NDIS to get yourself a NDIS plan. Engage with an occupational therapist. Engage with a psychologist (initially using some of your government supports available through your General Practitioner). If you need more support, you might be able to build this into your NDIS plan.

The NDIS has a support category for ‘finding and keeping a job’. In this contest, employment includes self-employment and entrepreneurship.

You can use these funds to help you build your capacity, supports and knowledge.

If you had a magic wand what is the one barrier you would like to see removed to improve the employment of individuals with a disability?

Too often, prejudice and stereotyping can hold people with disability back from pursuing their employment potential and aspirations. If I have a magic wand, I would make it so that employers and supervisors would only see the potential, ability and energy of people with disability.

Around 1.9 million Australians of working age live with disability. This number is likely to increase as the average age of the Australian population increases. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, many Australian industries are facing chronic skills shortages. We can ill afford to ignore the potential and enthusiasm of Australian workers with disability.

With some relatively modest accommodations and supports, employers can facilitate many Australians with disability to become productive and valuable members of their teams.

Can you name some of the individuals who inspire you? What qualities in these individuals do you admire and seek to emulate in your own work/life?

One of my inspirations is Stephen Hawkin, a brilliant man who made a pivotal contribution to physics and astrophysics, despite living with a terrible medical condition and severe disability symptoms. I am always wary of inspiration porn, but I think Stephen’s life and his approach to his disability is genuinely worthy of being inspirational.

In close second is Dinesh Palipana OAM, a lawyer, researcher, author and disability advocate. Dinesh is the patron of Enabled.vip and a fellow QUT Alumnus.

What is one skill you couldn’t live without and why?

I consider my disability to be my superpower, boosted by empathy, respect and a lifelong curiosity about ways in which to assist people to pursue their potential. My work as a consultant opened many doors for me and the fact I did so despite my medical condition has enabled me to become a disability advocate.

QUT degree - Doctor of Social Science (2016)

Do you have a question for Gary? Connect with him on LinkedIn.

References

1. Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare. 2024. “People with disability in Australia.” Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/summary
2. PWC. 2011. “Disability expectations.” Accessed November 14, 2024. https://www.pwc.com.au/industry/government/assets/disability-in-australia.pdf
3. Gibbs, E. 2023. “Disability employment rates haven’t shifted in decades — blame discrimination.” Access November 19, 2024. https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/01/23/disability-employment-rates-discrimination/
4. People with Disability Australia. 2023. “Extent and Nature of Poverty in Australia.” Accessed November 19, 2024. https://pwd.org.au/extent-and-nature-of-poverty-in-australia/