Berenice
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Berenice, late 30s, has an intellectual disability. Her partner also has an intellectual disability, and they live together in a private rental.
Berenice told the Royal Commission that over the years she has found it difficult to find suitable full-time work.
‘My experience has been up and down with the disability [employment] agency because they haven't been hearing me out about what I need and what I want in life. They just go according to what my disability is.’
Berenice was with one disability employment service (DES) for about 10 years. She said they didn’t give her any interview training and when they sent her for an interview it felt like they were ‘putting [her] in the deep end’. When she ‘failed the interview’ they never gave her any feedback, ‘just some excuse’.
The DES only found her one job, as a sales assistant, in 10 years. She worked in the role for two years but the company closed and she was ‘back to square one’.
The DES had high staff turnover. Berenice had to have numerous 30-minute sessions with each new consultant explaining her job history, her capacity and what work she wanted to do. She felt these meetings were a waste of time because the consultants never found her any work.
Sometimes she’d turn up for her meeting with a consultant only to be told the meeting was cancelled.
About a year ago she moved to a new DES and explained she was looking for work in office administration or hospitality. The consultant found her a potential role as a sales assistant in a gelato bar.
The consultant went to the interview with her and sat ‘sour faced’ while the manager asked Berenice questions she couldn’t answer. ‘[Afterwards], she looked disappointed and very angry that I didn’t get the [job].’ Berenice felt the consultant wasn’t trying to help her find a suitable job, that she only wanted to ‘hit her KPIs’ by finding Bernice any job.
After this, Berenice was forced to attend back-to-work training sessions to be ‘job ready’. She said these were a waste of time and thinks the DES benefited financially from this training.
Berenice decided ‘to ditch’ the DES and look for work herself. She’s currently working for a food delivery company. ‘It's a fun job for me to, just drive myself around, clear my head and do work. I do like the work. I'm happy.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.