That's the view of Karlie Lonergan, who has worked in the disability sector for 25 years and is executive manager of service delivery at NDIS and disability employment service provider Castle.

As Castle marks 30 years in operations, she is intensely proud of its Inclusive 100 campaign, which has achieved its aim to partner with 100 local companies (currently there are 108) to increase employment and the social inclusion of people living with disability.

The campaign has shifted perceptions of disability by focusing on removing barriers to employment and creating opportunities, rather than focusing on the disability.

"It is a significant opportunity to open people's eyes to what disability looks like: often the perception of disability is a wheelchair, but it comes in so many forms," she says. "There is still a gap in understanding and a sense of fear [from employers] and the greatest challenge is that a lot of disabilities are invisible or don't consistently present.

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"It's about having a true understanding of your employee. Not showing up may not be a lack of desire to work, it may be other factors impeding things. But the more confidence someone gets in being supported, the less it happens or the easier it is to manage."

Castle operates in Newcastle, Maitland and the Hunter Valley, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast. When the pandemic hit, its 170 staff were assisted by JobKeeper and continued to provide an essential service to clients as the company worked also to while keep its workforce safe and upgrade its digital capacity. She is concerned about the potential impact of scaling back of government support measures.

"These things all affect mental health and the implications around people's health, it's a fragile, reactive environment and it is a challenge for people to continue to sustain these changes," she said.

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