One in four bosses would not hire someone with depression or bipolar disorder, according to a report that has revealed the depth of mental health discrimination in the workplace.
A quarter of bosses say they would not hire someone with bipolar or depression, while the Albanese government has sat for a year on a national plan to combat mental health stigma in the workplace.
A source familiar with the strategy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, accused the government of putting mental health in the too-hard basket.“Eradicating stigma is about not living a life in the shadows. So it’s not clear why this report should live there either,” the source said., which surveyed Australians aged 16 to 85 between 2020 and 2022, an estimated 4.
“The patchwork of … legislative and regulatory arrangements is leading to potential inconsistencies of experiences and outcomes,” the report states. “The protections offered to people with lived experience under disability discrimination legislation may be limited by a lack of awareness or resonance with the concept of ‘disability’.”
The report notes that people with complex mental health needs can be less likely to seek out healthcare and are therefore at risk of dying as much as 20 years earlier than the general population. SANE Australia boss Rachel Green said those with a lived experience of ill-mental health who contributed to the report deserved to know the document wouldn’t just “gather dust on a shelf”.
“In the May budget, the Albanese government continued the hard work of mental health reform, with funding for a national early intervention service and investment to ensure free on-call access to a psychologist and psychiatrist at every one of the 61 Medicare mental health centres opening across the country.Loading
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Too-hard basket’: The workplace stigma against one in five AustraliansOne in four bosses would not hire someone with depression or bipolar disorder, according to a report that has revealed the depth of mental health discrimination in the workplace.
Read more »
‘Too-hard basket’: The workplace stigma against one in five AustraliansOne in four bosses would not hire someone with depression or bipolar disorder, according to a report that has revealed the depth of mental health discrimination in the workplace.
Read more »
One quarter of Australians fear homelessness, Salvation Army findsMounting cost of living pressures are pushing millions of Australians to the brink.
Read more »
Fighting spirit: Australians in action during week one of the Paris Olympics 2024Photographers captured the highs and lows of the country’s elite athletes as they competed during the first week of the Games
Read more »
One in five Australians improvised period products due to cost barriers, survey findsReport finds period poverty is spread across income brackets but affects more Indigenous people and people with disability
Read more »
One in five Australians admit to committing an act of sexual violenceThe study of 5,000 people also found one in six admitted to perpetrating sexual harassment or coercion.
Read more »