Reasonable adjustment policy

POL-G-049, Version 2.2, 20 February 2022

Reasonable adjustment policy

The National Museum of Australia (the Museum) is a major cultural institution charged with researching, collecting, preserving and exhibiting historical material of the Australian nation. Established in 1980, the Museum is a publicly funded institution governed as a statutory authority in the Commonwealth Arts portfolio.

The Museum is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive workplace to enable people with disability to participate fully in all aspects of employment, including job design, recruitment and selection, the work environment, staff training and development, performance management and cessation.

In keeping with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986, as well as the Museum’s Disability Access Plan and Diversity and Inclusion Policy, the Museum will commit to apply the principle of reasonable adjustment to remove barriers to employment participation for people with disability. Reasonable adjustments will be made to enable appropriately skilled people with disability to perform the inherent requirements of their positions unless this is determined to cause undue hardship to the organisation.

4.1 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the principles related to making reasonable adjustments in the workplace to meet the needs of current and potential staff with disability applying for employment and working at the Museum.

Reasonable adjustment

‘Reasonable adjustment’ refers to the change or modification of workplace practices, procedures, policies, environment or equipment to enable an employee to carry out their duties effectively or a prospective employee to apply for a vacant position. The reasonable adjustment may be either permanent or temporary.

Disability

Section 4 of the DDA defines disability in relation to a person as:

1. total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; or
2. total or partial loss of a part of the body; or
3. the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or
4. the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or
5. the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; or
6. a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or
7. a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour; and includes a disability that:
8. presently exists; or
9. previously existed but no longer exists; or
10. may exist in the future (including because of a genetic predisposition to that disability); or
11. is imputed to a person.

Guidelines

The Museum is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. By making reasonable adjustments to the workplace and/or duties as appropriate, the Museum enables employees or future employees who have disclosed a disability or a specified injury or illness to effectively participate and contribute to the operations of the Museum.

5.1 Application of reasonable adjustment

The Museum will develop and apply one or more reasonable adjustments in circumstances where it is considered necessary, achievable and reasonable to enable an employee to perform the essential activities of their current or future role efficiently. Where required, the Museum can seek additional information about required reasonable adjustments from an independent medical assessment arranged under the Public Service Regulations 1999.

Any information collected or created during a reasonable adjustment process will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Executive

The Museum’s Executive will champion the organisation’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce. The Executive shall, where possible, support the use of reasonable adjustments and endorse funding initiatives for these commitments.

Business unit manager

Business unit (BU) managers will seek assistance from Human Resources for reasonable adjustment measures as soon as practicable after an employee shares information about a disability, injury or illness. BU managers will work cooperatively with the employee, Human Resources and Workplace Modification Assessors (WMAs) to find appropriate solutions. BU managers are responsible for the implementation of any Reasonable Adjustments Plan.

Human Resources

Human Resources will work cooperatively with employees, BU managers and WMAs to assist employees who may need reasonable adjustments.

Employees

Employees should consider sharing information about their disability, injury or illness with their BU manager and/or to the Program Manager, Human Resources, if or when it affects their ability to perform the inherent requirements of their position or it creates a health and safety risk to themselves or others in the workplace.

Comcare reasonable adjustments information sheet

JobAccess Reasonable adjustment Employer Toolkit Resource 2.4

The Program Manager, Human Resources is responsible for the implementation of this policy on behalf of the Museum.

9.1 Coverage

All Museum employees, volunteers and applicants for employment opportunities.

9.2 Superseded policies

None

9.3 Monitoring

This policy is monitored regularly by the Chief Operating Officer and the Program Manager, Human Resources.

9.4 Review

This policy will be reviewed every two years. The next review is due February 2024.