Six months of IEA:
Building something different in employment support
Six months ago, the landscape of employment services in Australia began to shift. On 1 November 2025, Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) replaced the long-standing Disability Employment Services (DES) program, marking one of the most substantial structural changes to the sector in recent years.
Appointed by the Australian Government Department of Social Services as a specialist provider, Sonder is delivering Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) in South Australia in partnership with the Australian Refugee Association and OARS Community Transitions. Together, the consortium brings complementary expertise in mental health, refugee support, and working with people with justice involvement.
As lead agency for the consortium, Sonder has drawn on its experience delivering person-centred mental health and employment supports – working in partnership with consortium organisations to build something deliberately different.
From compliance to connection
“When Inclusive Employment Australia first launched, our priority was building a model that felt genuinely different for participants,” says Sonder’s IEA State Manager Shauna Marrone.
“One grounded in trust, dignity, and strong relationships – rather than compliance and transactional service delivery.”
For many people with mental health challenges, traditional employment services have felt rushed and impersonal, with limited space to stabilise, reflect or rebuild confidence.
Sonder’s IEA model turns that on its head.
Through Sonder’s IEA model, mental health and employment support are not treated as separate steps – they are integrated. Participants engage at their own pace, supported by Career Coaches, Vocational Peer Practitioners and clinicians working together in real time.
This shift sounds simple on paper, but in practice, it requires rethinking everything – from workforce roles to how success is defined.
The scale of the first six months
In its first six months, the program has delivered strong early activity across the consortium, while maintaining continuity of service through the transition from DES to IEA – a complex undertaking at a national scale.
Across the consortium led by Sonder, since November:
- 1,983 participants have commenced in the program.
- 114 employment activities have been completed.
- 125 employment placements have been achieved.
*Activities refer to outcomes other than employment, such as training or work experience.
†Placements refer to accepted offers of employment.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
“What feels most significant is the cultural shift we’re already seeing,” Shauna says.
“Participants are engaging in the program in a way that reflects trust and psychological safety – often after feeling unheard or misunderstood in previous services.”
That shift is evident in participants re-engaging after past disengagement, setting clearer goals, and building a stronger sense of agency.
It’s also reflected in employment outcomes. Rather than short-term or ill-fitting roles, placements are increasingly aligned with individual needs – whether that means flexibility, supportive workplaces, or roles that accommodate fluctuating capacity.
In other words, the focus is on sustainable, meaningful employment.
A consortium approach to complexity
The program’s impact is strengthened by its consortium model.
Alongside Sonder, the Australian Refugee Association brings specialist expertise in supporting people from refugee backgrounds, and OARS Community Transitions in supporting people with justice involvement.
These cohorts are often underserved by traditional employment pathways and face overlapping barriers – language, stigma, housing instability, visa conditions, and mental health challenges rarely exist in isolation.
The consortium model enables a more coordinated response, combining cultural capability, local knowledge, and specialist support across the full employment lifecycle.
Building strong foundations
Behind the scenes, the first six months have focused on building the foundations for long-term impact.
The consortium now includes:
- 90 staff across the consortium partners.
- 16 sites across metropolitan Adelaide.
- 10,000+ appointments have been attended by participants.
Staff roles include Career Coaches and Community Liaison Officers – alongside Vocational Peer Practitioners, a role that is unique to Sonder’s model and embeds lived experience into service delivery.
Teams are investing in capability through formal training, professional development, and internal leadership programs.
“We’ve created space for learning,” Shauna explains. “Regular practice conversations, cross-team collaboration, and a willingness to trial, adapt, and improve.”
That adaptability has been critical – particularly in challenging long-held assumptions about what employment services should look like.
At its core, the program recognises a simple truth: mental health and employment are deeply interconnected.
“A hybrid program is essential because one cannot be effectively addressed without the other,” says Shauna.
“By integrating clinical and employment support, the program helps overcome barriers such as episodic mental ill health, fluctuating capacity, stigma, and unrealistic expectations around ‘job readiness’. These barriers influence whether someone can enter, stay in, or return to work.”
These are the factors that ultimately determine whether someone can enter, sustain or return to work, and whether employment becomes a source of stability or pressure.
Looking ahead
With the foundations in place, the next phase will focus on refinement and impact – strengthening employer partnerships, deepening trauma-informed and recovery-oriented practice, and using participant feedback to guide service design.
“We’re much clearer on our identity as a hybrid program and what that allows us to do differently,” Shauna says.
If the first six months were about building the structure, the next will test the program’s full potential – supporting both mental health recovery and sustainable employment outcomes.
Early signs suggest it’s built for exactly that.
About Inclusive Employment Australia
Inclusive Employment Australia supports people across metropolitan Adelaide to take steps towards meaningful employment.
As one of South Australia’s largest providers of mental health services, Sonder is uniquely positioned to help participants with mental health challenges build confidence, find fulfilling work, and thrive in inclusive workplaces.
Participants receive one-on-one career coaching, practical job search support, peer mentoring, and ongoing in-work support – alongside access to Sonder’s broader mental health and wellbeing services to support both their recovery and their long-term employment success.
To learn more about Inclusive Employment Australia or to register your interest as a participant or an employer, visit sonder.net.au/inclusive-employment-australia. You can also contact our friendly team on (08) 7093 1801 or via info@sonderIEA.net.au.
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Inclusive Employment Australia is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
Sonder is delivering IEA in partnership with the Australian Refugee Association, supporting people from refugee backgrounds, and OARS Community Transitions, supporting people with justice involvement.