Creating reasonable adjustment policies, expertise and strategy

The recommendation

Ambulance Victoria should embed leading practice expertise and practice with regard to reasonable adjustments by:

developing a stand-alone overarching Reasonable Adjustments Policy and Procedure that incorporates the Fitness For Duty Policy and Procedure and Return to Work Policy, and is informed by consultation with union representatives, external experts, and staff who have sought reasonable adjustments
incorporating detailed guidance in the new Reasonable Adjustments Policy on what reasonable adjustments may constitute for a potential or existing employee, and how to identify reasonable adjustments as a first step
amending the Fitness for Duty process in the new policy so that employees are only required to undertake an assessment when they disclose a condition that prevents them from adequately performing the ‘genuine and reasonable’ requirements of their role, and providing examples and guidance for this in the case of operational staff
collecting and capturing data relating to applications, approvals, types of reasonable adjustments provided, and refusals, not only for reporting purposes but for the purposes of continuous improvement
taking steps to expand capability within the People and Culture division, so the people working in this sector are better equipped to support the organisation to adopt leading practice approaches
embedding content to promote and implement the new policy into existing, relevant training.

Develop a stand-alone overarching Reasonable Adjustments and Resonable Accommodation Policy and Procedure that incorporates the Fitness For Duty Policy and Procedure and Return to Work Policy
Amend the Fitness for Duty process to only require a fitness for duty assessment when an employee discloses a condition that prevents them from adequately performing the ‘genuine and reasonable’ requirements of their role
Embed information about rights and manager obligations related to reasonable adjustments and reasonable accommodations into induction and other relevant training for graduate paramedics and new employees
Develop resources and tools for staff and managers to support the implementation of the overarching policy and procedure
Develop training to support managers to effectively and lawfully respond to reasonable adjustment or reasonable acommodation requests
Assign responsibility to record all data pertaining to reasonable adjustment and reasonable accommodation requests to the People Services Division.
Further develop the Commission’s outcomes framework by identifying the measures and data sources to understand the current treatment of reasonable adjustment and reasonable accommodation requests, including compliance with the law and address any data gaps
Enable reporting on reasonable adjustments and reasonable accommodations by the Equality & Workpalce Reform Division

AV will commence work to create reasonable adjustment policies, expertise and a strategy once key staff are recruited.

To be confirmed