The NDIS is opening up possibilities for people with disability to realise their employment potential.

This includes people like Lizzie Heynemann (pictured), who now works two days a week doing a ‘tea towel run’ for local businesses in Perth, using support available through her NDIS plan.

Lizzie operates her tea towel run as a branch of Heather’s Tea Towels, which she connected with through her coordinator at Inclusion WA. Lizzie says that having a job makes her feel happy and that she gets satisfaction from her job knowing that she is helping people.

NDS is running an online competition for people with disability who have used their funding or support effectively to gain work, start a business or earn money through doing something they enjoy.

The Map Your Own Way competition aims to improve employment aspirations among young people with disability in WA. It showcases the achievements of people who have used their NDIS funding to find and keep a job. The website provides a platform to present these stories as examples of what is possible.

NDS WA Project Lead Peter Darch said that under previous funding models, one third of people with disability had been deemed ‘unemployable’ and therefore not eligible for support to find work relevant to their interests and skills.

“Job participation is a major determinant of living standards and influences overall quality of life in many areas of life, such as housing, education and health and wellbeing,” said Mr Darch.

“People who are willing to work but who are denied the opportunities are also denied the personal and social benefits of dignity, independence, a sense of purpose and social connectedness,” he said.

Mr Darch said he hoped the competition would reveal some innovative employment approaches, which in turn would inspire other people with disability to use their NDIS funding for job creation and engagement.

Read more about Lizzie and her business and enter the competition via the Map Your Own Way website.

The closing date for entry to the competition is 5.00pm, Tuesday 28 February 2017.