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Inclusive Employment Australia: A new direction for Disability Employment Services

The new Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) model will replace DES from November 2025, with more flexible support, no time limits and broader access for people with disability. Ann breaks down what’s changing and what NDIS providers need to know.

By Ann Drieberg

Updated 4 Aug 20255 Aug 20258 min read
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The Department of Social Services (DSS) recently announced 84 organisations have received offers for funding under the Inclusive Employment Australia Program (IEA). According to the media release from Minister Plibersek, a full list of successful applicants will be available on the DSS website in coming weeks.

IEA will replace Disability Employment Services (DES) from the 1st November 2025. DSS will stop referring participants to DES providers who were not successful in the IEA tender in coming weeks. DSS has communicated a transition approach with DES providers. More on that later in the article.

What is Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA)?

IEA is part of the government’s broader disability employment reform and replaces DES from 1st November 2025.

The government has invested an additional $227.6 million over 5 years into the disability employment system to:

  • Support more people - an additional 15,000 people are estimated to use employment services each year.
  • Strengthen best practice - including funding for the Centre for Inclusive Employment.

IEA v DES

The DES program has been widely criticised for failing to deliver sustained employment outcomes for people with disability, particularly for people with intellectual disability. Multiple reviews and consultations have all highlighted the need for major reform of the DES program.

How does the IEA program differ?

IEA is a tiered service model which offers 2 levels of support for people with disability to find and keep a job:

  • intensive support for people who are preparing to be ready to work; and
  • flexible support for people who don’t need intensive services.

Under the new IEA model, there will be both specialist and generalist providers. Specialist providers will work with specified cohorts, having demonstrated a deep and historical expertise in supporting those communities in their tender response. Generalist providers will support all eligible IEA participants. This is a shift from the previous DES model which wasn’t tiered and largely offered a “one-size-fits-all” service.

Eligibility for the program has broadened to include people with a future work capacity of 0 – 7 hours per week and voluntary participants not in receipt of Centrelink income support payments. Participants under the DES system were required to have an assessed work capacity of between 8 - 30 hours per week and be in receipt of a Centrelink allowance or pension (plus some other criteria).

IEA removes the two-year limit on the time people can receive support. Under the DES program, participants could receive support for up to 2 years before they were exited from the program. For many NDIS participants, the 2-year limit didn’t allow enough time to build the skills and confidence needed to find and keep a job. Participants who needed more intensive or ongoing support were often exited before they were ready. Others were able to secure a job but couldn’t receive the ongoing support needed to maintain it. The time-limit also made it harder to take a person-centred approach, as employment outcomes were often driven by deadlines rather than readiness.

Transition timeline

DES providers who are not continuing under the new model (referred to as relinquishing providers) will begin transferring participants and will cease services by the 16th October 2025. DES providers who are transitioning to IEA will begin the transition process from the 16th October 2025 and complete the transition by the 31st October 2025. IEA officially replaces DES on the 1st November 2025, with the first date of service the 3rd November 2025. All IEA providers will be expected to commence operating under a new IT system from the 3rd November 2025.

Transition timeline from 16th October to 3rd November
What does it mean for NDIS providers and participants?

NDIS providers could play an important role in helping participants connect with local IEA services. With broader eligibility under the new program, more NDIS participants will be able to access mainstream employment support. This means providers will need to understand how IEA works and how to help participants connect with it.

With the removal of the two-year time limit on support, IEA may also reduce the need for additional NDIS funded supports to help participants maintain employment. This places more responsibility on the employment system to support people with disability find and keep a job.

Inclusive Employment Australia introduces significant changes to how employment support is delivered to people with disability. The new program expands eligibility, removes time limits on support, and introduces a tiered service model. More NDIS participants are likely to be eligible for IEA, and NDIS providers will need to understand how the new system works to support participants effectively. As the transition progresses through late 2025 and into early 2026, providers and participants should expect some disruption while systems and processes are updated.

DSS has just published the list of successful tenders for Inclusive Employment Australia on its website.

Authors

Ann Drieberg

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