Dilemmas and Challenges faced by Disabled People

Running head: DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES
DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES: A RESEARCH BASED ANALYSIS OF THE
EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS FACED BY DISABLED PEOPLE FROM ASYLUM
SEEKERS BACKGROUND IN AUSTRALIA
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1DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES
As stated by Humane and Head (2019), the nation of Australia in the year 2018 had more
than 1.86 million refugees or asylum seekers which in turn accounted for around 2.9% of the
entire world and over the years it had been seen that Australia had been consistently among the
top three resettlement nations of the world. King, Edwards, Correa-Velez, Hair and Fordyce
(2016) are of the viewpoint that Australia is presently playing a crucial role in the rehabilitation
of the people from troubled nations and adequate amount of welfare services are being offered to
them for the effective fulfillment of their basic psychosocial needs so that they would be able to
maximize the full potential of their life. More importantly, it had been seen that more than 46%
of the refugees within the nation of Australia have children and thus it becomes all the more
important for the Australian government to offer adequate employment, healthcare and other
related services to them (Refugeecouncil.org.au, 2020).
However, the important issue arises since it had been seen that around 19.7% of the
refugees or for that matter the asylum seekers within the nation of Australia suffer from one form
of disability or the other which in turn makes it very difficult for them to get adequate
employment opportunities (Aihw.gov.au, 2020). In this relation, it needs to be said that some of
the most important employment barriers that the disabled people from asylum seekers
background face within the nation of Australia are related to discrimination or stigmatization,
language differences, gaps in disability policies, language and skill barriers, their own disability,
outlook of the business corporations, lack of knowledge regarding their rights and others. The
purpose of this paper is to undertake an analysis of the employment barriers that the disabled
people from asylum seekers background commonly face within the nation of Australia.
Robinson and Masocha (2017) are of the viewpoint that perhaps the most important
employment barrier that the different individuals suffering from disability related to the asylum

2DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES
seekers background commonly face within the nation of Australia can be attributed to their
physical condition. Adding to this, Hirsch, Maylea, David and Nipperess (2019) have noted that
the business corporations often look for the kind of candidates or workers who would not only
physically or mentally fit but would also be able to make a positive contribution towards their
organizational growth as well. However, in the particular context of the disabled people from the
asylum seekers background it is seen that because of the physical disability often find it very
difficult to effectively complete the different job roles which are being allocated to them within
the corporations or for that matter to perform as per the organizational standards (Fleay, Lumbus
& Hartley, 2016). This in turn had created an outlook of the business corporations wherein it is
seen that they do not feel comfortable to recruit or offer employment opportunities to the
disabled people from the asylum seekers background.
However, for the effective resolution of this particular employment barrier faced by the
disabled people from the asylum seekers background it is seen that the Australian government
had undertaken various initiatives yet the situation continues to worsen. For instance, as per
Humanrights.gov.au (2020), the corporations refusing to offer employment opportunities to the
disabled people from the asylum seekers background are likely to incur significant penalties and
even liquidation. The resultant effect of this is that the corporations are only offering menial job
roles to the disabled people from the asylum seekers background with lower wages and this is
merely meant for the fulfillment of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives followed
by the corporations rather for the improvement of the condition of the disabled people related to
the asylum seekers background (King, Edwards, Correa-Velez, Darracott & Fordyce, 2016).
As discussed by El-Lahib (2020), the stigmatization, discrimination, social depravity and
other kinds of societal evils that the disabled people from the asylum seekers background had to

3DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES
face within the nation of Australia is another important employment barrier which makes it very
difficult for these people to get adequate employment opportunities. Adding to this, Mayne,
Lowrie and Wilson (2016) have noted that the Australian government forbids any form of
discrimination within the concerned nation be it related to age, sex, disability, racial background
and others and the individuals indulging in discrimination are likely to incur severe penalties.
The “Disability Discrimination Act 1992” of the Australian government is an important
legislation in this connection which strictly forbids the discrimination of the individuals on the
score of their physical and emotional disability (Ag.gov.au, 2020). However, the official report
of Aihw.gov.au (2020) clearly indicates that almost 2 in every 5 disabled individuals related to
the asylum seekers background had to face discrimination within the societal framework of
Australia, its different business corporations and others.
More importantly, in the particular context of the disabled people related to asylum
seekers background had to face double discrimination within the societal framework of
Australia, firstly, on the score of their being asylum seekers within the concerned nation and
secondly, on account of their disability (Rotondo, 2019). Furthermore, as per the intersectionality
theory, the discrimination that these individuals have to face within the societal framework of
Australia is the resultant effect of the social as well as the political identity of these individuals
within the nation under discussion here (Liamputtong & Kurban, 2018). As a matter of fact, it is
seen that along with the discrimination that these individuals have to face in terms of education,
healthcare services and others, these individuals also have to face a substantial amount of
discrimination in terms of the employment opportunities which are being offered to them within
the nation of Australia (Haigh & Moloney, 2019). This in turn had given rise to the situation
wherein it is seen that the disabled people from the asylum seekers background find it very