Peter Bacon FIEP, Chief Executive Officer of Disability Employment Australia, spoke to EP about his Fellowship, DEA’s partnership work with IEP and his mission to redefine the landscape of disability employment services in Australia and beyond.
“I’ve been in this sector for about 16 years now, having started on the frontline with Ingeus in East London on a contract called Pathways to Work,” he said. “I then moved into more business development and strategic roles, and was lucky enough to be given the chance to relocate to Australia as the Head of Strategic Growth at Campbell Page. Following six years there, I was delighted to be offered the position of CEO at Disability Employment Australia (DEA), which is the industry association for providers of Australia’s Disability Employment Services (DES). This has given me the chance to advocate for real, positive change for people with disability, including through reforms to DES. DEA represents more than three-quarters of DES providers, and we are integrally involved with the design of the new DES program (starting in 2025), as well as other reforms associated with the Disability Royal Commission and the Independent Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. While we recognise there is some way to go, we genuinely believe that Australia can lead the way in disability employment – this includes driving up the high quality of services (where we are working with IEP) and wider thinking about how we can tackle workplace and workforce inclusion, including through strengthening ‘demand-side’ policy.
“I’d been connected to IEP for a while when Scott Parkin FIEP, IEP’s Group CEO, approached me to work in partnership to support IEP’s mission of professionalising the employability sector. It’s about finding that right balance between setting high standards without overlooking the skills of the workforce. It was a vision I shared and furthered my interests in becoming an IEP Fellow. As a Fellow, I attended the first IEP Summit in Australia which took place in October 2023. It was a great event and I’m looking for opportunities to run some events in partnership with IEP in the future. We’ve also been in discussions around the development a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for disability employment services in Australia, with IEP as a key part of the equation. In Australia, we have a growing group of IEP Fellows and I’m proud to be one of the pioneers. Collaborating with fantastic people like Jo Ingold FIEP, Professor of Business at the Australian Catholic University is inspiring, and I’m eager to spread the word and strengthen our connections.
“The essence of employment support remains the same across the globe and there’s no technology that can replace the human touch. It’s all about building relationships, trust, and turning that trust into action over time. Professional development plays a key role in that, and I’ve been excited to see the cross-country collaboration that the IEP is driving, providing opportunities for sector professionals to share experiences, learn from each other, and build meaningful relationships. The IEP is unique in bringing people together in this way and I am pleased to be a part of it.”
