Workforce

Welcoming and inclusive organisations with employees and volunteers who are knowledgeable about and empathetic towards people with disability, that feel safe, and are free of harassment or discrimination, are an important facilitator of sport participation. ^{5, 18, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 133}

Whereas when organisations, staff, coaches, or volunteers lack the motivation, confidence, skills and training (including how to engage and modify programs to suit specific needs) or have negative attitudes towards people with disabilities participating it is a significant barrier. ^{3, 9, 21, 31, 33, 35, 48, 50, 54, 60, 61, 62, 65, 83}

There is a clear need, and desire, for additional training for people who work in sport (both paid and volunteer) to help to better meet the needs of people with disability. ^{31, 60, 61, 83}

Australian surveys have indicated that many clubs would like to offer more inclusive programs and services, but are unsure of how to do so, and feel that additional training, especially for administrators and coaches, is needed to facilitate this. ^{60, 61}

A 2019 survey of South Australian sports clubs found that 60% of participants thought their club would have no idea where to start actively engaging people with disability into their teams and club roles. 88% wanted additional training for coaches and volunteers. And while three quarters of respondents supported the participation of people with disability in their competition, when asked if including a person with disability in a game would negatively affect the quality of a club game, 43% said that it would 'in some regard'. The authors of the study highlighted that this attitude suggests that, in principle, inclusion is highly regarded and communicated, but when ‘inclusion’ joins ‘your’ team it is seen differently. ⁶¹

Inclusion in the workforce

Beyond the need to ensure that sport workforces are welcoming and well trained in including people with disability, it’s also important to increase the number and visibility of people with disability who are actively working in the sector (both paid and volunteer). ^{31, 35, 41, 61, 79, 116}

Data from the AusPlay survey shows that for Australians over 18 years with disability in 2024: ¹¹³

• Approximately 12% participated in a non-playing role, compared to 15% of the population without disability.
• Participation rates in non-playing roles were higher for males with disability (17%) than for females (8%).
• The most popular non-playing roles were coach, instructor, trainer or teacher (4%); official (3%), and administrator or committee member (3%).

A 2023 report by the Activity Alliance in the United Kingdom found that 12% of people with disability who were surveyed wanted the opportunity to become a coach or have a role in delivering physical activity. The desire was even higher for those currently taking part in organised activities (26%), and for young people (31%). ⁴⁸

To increase workforce engagement organisations need to collaborate with people with disability, and actively work to ensure open, two-way communication about what is needed and wanted, as well as ensuring that management practices and policies are inclusive and support individuals to start and remain engaged. ^{65, 79, 114, 116}

Resources and reading