Australian of the Year’s disability inclusion group joins forces with PwC

One of the ‘big four’ business consulting firms in the nation, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia, has shared that a new strategic alliance with disability inclusion consulting group, Get Skilled Access (GSA), will aim to improve accessibility at work.

GSA was founded by Paralympian and 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott in 2016, to help businesses improve workforce conditions and opportunities for people with disabilities.

“People with disability make up nearly 20% of our population, and it can happen to anyone, at any stage,” said Alcott.

“It makes good business sense to invest in inclusive leadership and building more diverse teams. We want to role model what leading practice disability inclusion looks like and what it delivers, doing this by putting lived experience at the forefront, providing opportunities and showcasing the social and economic value that being inclusive brings.”

Alcott welcomed the agreement between PwC Australia and GSA, as the chance to innovate and future-proof the workforce and create systemic change has been a driving force behind his work.

“By making activity and participation easier through technology, support, and relationships, as well as services, policies, and shifting attitudes and behaviour, we can increase inclusion and opportunity for our community of Australians,” said Alcott.

As a business consulting firm, PwC Australia provides businesses across the country with industry-experts that can come in and figure out how to tackle issues that might be beyond the scope of their existing structure.

The strategic alliance between the two groups will involve the 25 GSA staff working from the PwC Australia offices located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, from May 1 2023.

As the agreement is between two firms, neither GSA nor PwC Australia will lose their brand identity, but instead help to broaden their ability to provide services to companies, in line with Federal and State Government Disability Strategy.

“In line with our Belonging Strategy, PwC is committed to reimagining accessible employment, and helping build accessible and inclusive workplaces across Australia,” said PwC Australia Chief Executive Officer Tom Seymour.

“We know that engaging people with disability in meaningful employment brings better outcomes for business, and to society more broadly, and we advocate this through the Australian Human Rights Commission’s IncludeAbility initiative.

“Our employee network is already active in this space, with network members using their lived experience of disability to inform the advice they provide to our clients.”

Currently, PwC Australia offer a range of services including disability consulting, assurance services, legal aid for disability or regulatory insights, data-driven infrastructure consulting for disability and accessibility and tax advice for disability issues.

“We’ve built the foundation and our alliance with GSA is the strategic extension that brings expertise in the disability space to deliver these outcomes. We’re proud to be partnering with Dylan and GSA on this journey,” said Seymour.

Alcott’s mission to support Australians living with a disability, much like himself, and to feel included in the workplace, has recently inspired the launch of his employment platform, The Field, in November 2022.

The Field is a website which helps the 52% of working–age Australians living with disabilities find employment.

The core purpose for the Dylan Alcott Foundation, GSA and The Field — to uplift the lives of young Australians with disabilities through his humanitarian work, industry expertise and inspirational accolades — has now been taken on board by one of the nation’s biggest firms.

Do you believe that enough is being done to address disability inclusion and accessibility in the workforce?

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