Gold Coast Disability Employment Services and Allied Health Business, Artius Group are  celebrating the announcements from the federal budget that brought mental health, disability support and workplace participation to the fore.

“We are very happy to see such positive support for those with illness, injury and disability.  The programs and incentives that have been announced will undoubtedly offer plenty more reasons for employers to draw potential staff from these often-maligned groups.  It will provide some real and beneficial support to those in need,” said Paul Stokes, Managing Director of Artius Group.

Artius Group, run by local couple, Paul and Libby Stokes, has been built from the ground up, providing employment services to people with a disability or mental illness, and allied health services to their local communities in Ipswich and the Gold Coast.  With 6 offices throughout Queensland, the group is licensed to provide Disability Employment Services, and is the only service provider in their field nationally that specialises in Mental Health.

“Our team has been working for 6 years to push better support for workplace participation for the mentally ill in the belief that having a job that offers a sense of purpose is sometimes the best medicine that anyone can offer those with mental illness or disability,” said Managing Director Paul Stokes.  “This budget will allow us to help so many more people”.

Several positive changes in the budget will flow through to Artius clients, offering immediate benefits:

• The Federal Government’s changes to the Disability Support Pension now allow disability pensioners to ease their way back into the workforce without penalty.

“The Disability Support Pension was previously structured in a way that offered little or no incentive to get back to work once you started receiving it, as clients would immediately lose their entitlement to the pension when they started any work at all, said Paul.

Changes to the program now allow pensioners to work up to 30 hours per week without losing their entitlement.

• New incentives are being offered to Employers to take on long term unemployed persons as employees, and support our nation’s move to get people back into the workforce.  Up to $6000 is available in wage subsidy is offered to an employer who takes on a person who has been out of work for more than 2 years.  Artius

• And, the Government has doubled the employer subsidy for those who hire someone with a disability, injury or illness for more than 15 hours per week for more than 6 months.  Through the programs we administer, we can offer employers up to $3000, up from $1500 per person.

The Artius Group is excited by the support this Budget provides to those who need it the most.

“This Budget gives us the ability to help more people get back into the workforce. “

“Philosophically, psychologically, working is a really good thing for people with a disability, mental illness or injury, so we are happy to be able to support it,” says Paul Stokes.

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