Communities and Justice

Inclusion and diversity

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) actively promotes the employment of people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTIQ+ people, women and those with caring responsibilities.


How we're building a diverse workforce

DCJ is working to increase the representation of people from diverse backgrounds in the workforce by:

  • being a Disability Confident Recruiter (DCR) with the Australian Disability Network (ADN) since November 2016. Being a Disability Confident Recruiter means that our recruitment and selection processes have been independently audited to ensure they are accessible and inclusive for people with disability. DCJ offers adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process to people with disability
  • achieving Level 2 Carers Accreditation through the Carers NSW Carers + Employers Program. Accreditation was achieved following a comprehensive review of DCJ’s policies and practices that showed that DCJ is a carer-friendly workplace
  • being a gold member of the Australian Network on Disability, so we ensure that we’re constantly learning how to make our workplace inclusive for people with disability
  • being an active member of  Pride in Diversity, which provides advice on LGBTIQ+ inclusion and helps us to benchmark our practices
  • promoting  flexible work practices, in line with the NSW Government’s policy that all roles can be flexible in some way on an ‘if not, why not’ basis. See more information at NSW Public Service Commission (PSC)
  • providing recruitment adjustments for our candidates with disability to remove barriers and provide equal access to job opportunities, career development and learning opportunities
  • participating in sector forums and having a strong commitment to Aboriginal employment at DCJ.
An image of a male staff member playing wheelchair basketball

Building inclusion for employees

Employees at DCJ can join several employee networks as a member or an ally. These networks provide peer support and advice to their members, and contribute to key organisational decisions. Our networks include:

  • Disability Employee Network (DEN)
  • Pride Network (LGBTIQ+)
  • Women’s Network
  • Nguluway Yindamarra and Staff Networks
  • Multicultural Network
  • Young Professionals Network
  • Supporting Ageing Government Employees (SAGE)
  • Carer’s Network.

DCJ also provides employees with:

  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support all our employees, with dedicated helplines including: LGBTIQ+ Helpline, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Helpline and Disability and Carers Helpline
  • Mentoring programs, with a focus on professional development
  • Workplace Adjustment support throughout employment so that people with disability are provided with the adjustments they need to participate and succeed equitably in the workplace.

Employment programs

DCJ offers several employment programs for people from diverse backgrounds, including:

Aboriginal Traineeship Program – participants gain 12-months full-time employment while completing a Cert III or Cert IV qualification. Upon successful completion of the program, our trainees are then converted to ongoing employment. The program is offered annually. For opportunities to apply for the program email aes@justice.nsw.gov.au.

Yuranha Aboriginal Employment and Training Programs (YAE&TP) – an award-winning pre-employment program delivered by DCJ and TAFE NSW to prepare and educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with interview and employment skills for roles within DCJ.

Stepping Into Internship Program – university students with disability complete a paid work placement of 210 hours. People with disability currently studying at university need to be registered with the Australian Disability Network (ADN) to be considered for the internship program.

Last updated:

03 Jul 2024