Services Australia

Post Reply New Topic

Gordon Douglas spent most of his 20s on welfare, struggling to find an employer who would look past his "differences" and give him a break.

The 34-year-old battled his way through job application after job application but, despite being highly qualified and intelligent, he often fell out of contention when it came to face-to-face interviews.

His problem, he said, was misreading social cues and interview panels that didn't know how to interpret his quirks.

"There are still those biases that play into it," Mr Douglas said.

"'Oh, this guy doesn't make eye contact, so we couldn't possibly trust him to do any work for us'.

"It's been brought up with me several times in exit interviews."

Now he's in a top-secret role with the same government agency which supported him through years of jobseeker payments — Services Australia — in a ground-breaking program that recruits people on the autism spectrum.

"There was only one job I wanted, and I was the first pick for it, so, great!" Mr Douglas said.

Services Australia spokesman Hank Jongen said the agency had been actively recruiting people on the spectrum for five years.

"They bring us highly desirable skills — they're in data analysis, they're in programming, they require attention to detail," Mr Jongen said.

"We encourage diversity across the spectrum. We are always looking for opportunities as a model employer, and we keep an open mind."