Workers must be valued and empowered

Employers who create supportive, inclusive environments consistently see higher engagement, stronger performance, and lower turnover. When people feel valued, they contribute more, writes Dr Katrina Norris.

Recent research showing employers are excluding candidates based on mental illness, disability, and age reveals an uncomfortable truth about Australian workplaces: discrimination is not fading – it is becoming more entrenched.

Data from the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) showed one in seven employers admitted to excluding candidates over 55, or those with a history of mental illness or disability. These figures have risen steadily over the past three years, despite decades of awareness campaigns and stronger legal protections.

This is not a fringe issue. It is systemic.

Discrimination against older workers and those with mental illness or disability is driven by stigma – by deeply held, and often unexamined, beliefs about people’s worth and capability. These attitudes are not confined to employers; they reflect broader societal biases.

Too often, public discussion reinforces this problem. When systems like the NDIS or workers’ compensation are framed primarily in terms of cost, the people they support are also framed as a burden – as liabilities, rather than valued contributors.

There is, of course, a legitimate role for assessing risk and inherent job requirements. Some roles carry genuine functional or regulatory demands that must be considered in recruitment.

But essential requirements are a safeguard – not a justification for exclusion.

The AHRI findings suggest many employers are not applying these requirements properly. Instead, they are pre-emptively excluding candidates based on assumptions, bypassing fair and lawful assessment processes.

Breaking stigma does not mean ignoring job demands. It means applying them correctly, fairly, and without bias.

Perhaps most concerning is what the research reveals about disclosure. Many employers are asking candidates to disclose health information that is irrelevant to the role, and relying on a limited understanding of workplace rights to pressure them into doing so. They then judge suitability based on history, not on current capacity.

A history of mental illness or disability does not define a person’s ability to work.

Sadly, persistent myths remain – these workers are costly, unreliable, or difficult to manage. In reality, the opposite is often true. At a time of skills shortages and an ageing population, excluding capable workers is not just unfair, it is economically short-sighted.

We need to refocus on the value people bring to work.

Employers who create supportive, inclusive environments consistently see higher engagement, stronger performance, and lower turnover. When people feel valued, they contribute more.

That is what a productive workforce looks like. That is what empowerment looks like.

Dr Katrina Norris is the vice president of the Australian Association of Psychologists.

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