Exclusively available to Australian Disability Network members, our Internship Program offers a strategic, accessible way to champion disability inclusion for your team members.
The program pairs your employees with university students and recent graduates who have a disability in paid internships. It offers a unique opportunity to meet both your operational needs and inclusion goals – promoting education, awareness, and disability confidence across the organisation, contributing to a more supportive and inclusive workplace.
100 per cent of organisations that participated in last year’s Internship Programs reported increased disability confidence and awareness and 95 per cent said they would participate again. 100 per cent said their intern’s work met or exceeded expectations.
Key benefits for your organisation:
- Drive Cultural Change
The Internship Program raises awareness, breaks down barriers, and builds disability confidence in your organisation.
- Advance Diversity and Inclusion Goals
The Australian Disability Network Internship Program provides an effective way to support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives by offering employees a hands-on opportunity to engage with and learn about disability inclusion.
- Cost effective operational support:
Hosting an intern is an affordable resource to assist in the completion of projects and key deliverables.
- Talent and Workforce Development
Employees who serve as supervisors and mentors gain leadership, coaching, and management skills, as well as experience in managing diversity and inclusive practices.
- Expand Access to a Diverse Talent Pool
The program introduces you to a largely untapped talent pool of skilled individuals with disability, offering potential for future recruitment and broadening our organisation’s talent pipeline.
What’s involved
The programs team at Australian Disability Network provides structured support and end-to-end management that make it simple to engage with the program and realise immediate and lasting organisational benefits.
We handle all aspects of the program—from recruiting interns to matching roles, conducting pre-briefings, providing ongoing support, and evaluating outcomes—making participation streamlined and hassle-free.
See the breakdown below:
| What the host organisation does | What Australian Disability Network does |
| Register for the program and sign the program agreement. | Offers information sessions.
Consults on how to register for the program. |
| Identify roles and provide a job description for each internship position. Each role is a minimum of 152 hours of paid work for four weeks minimum. | Assists in creating inclusive job descriptions. |
| Conduct a formal interview and selection process from the shortlist provided. | Screening and shortlisting suitable candidates. |
| Assign a supervisor to manage the intern and a buddy to support in the workplace. | Train supervisors on how to support interns with disability. |
| Assist interns in completing the onboarding process. | Providing ongoing support throughout the internship. |
| Celebrate the success of the program and encourage your team to offer feedback. | Provide feedback and evaluation upon our request after completion of the program. |