September 2, 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Organisational Strategy, Recruitment

Could your NFP be hiring (more) refugees?

As the Australia debates whether our intake of refugees is the “right” number, ACOSS has noted that “20,000 refugees per year is . . . just three to five per cent of arrivals.”

But the heated debate over numbers obscures the enormous contribution refugees make to our economy – including as employees, often in regional areas or in less popular jobs that can be impossible to fill otherwise.

Refugees often arrive in Australia with valuable skills but without recognised qualifications and sometimes with challenges that are a result of their experiences of displacement.

For organisations looking to fill vacancies or skills gaps – and potentially make an additional impact by helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community – employing refugees might be an option you haven’t fully considered.

August 26, 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People Analytics, Remuneration

A workplace that works for everyone: How to tackle socioeconomic disadvantage in your workforce

Most people tend to think of the workplace as a meritocracy: if people have the right skills and experience, work hard and perform well, they have the same opportunity to succeed.

But socioeconomic background can shape people’s working lives in ways that are not easily visible – influencing who gets hired, who progresses, who feels they belong and ultimately who reaches senior positions.

In Australia, one in three children born into the lowest 20 per cent of income-earning families will still be in that group by adulthood.

So what can NFP employers do to work out where those barriers are showing up in their workplaces, and how can they remove them?

April 1, 2026 Culture and Values, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Recruitment

Six ways to make your recruitment process work for First Nations candidates

If Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates aren’t applying for your roles, the barrier may not be a lack of interest – it may be your recruitment process. Even when NFP employers are working to build a more inclusive workforce, the way roles are designed and advertised can unintentionally exclude First Nations applicants.

The good news is that NFPs can make small changes to create genuinely welcoming, culturally safe hiring processes – and increase engagement from First Nations candidates.

We asked Australia’s only 100% Aboriginal-owned executive recruitment firm specialising in Indigenous appointments how to craft a recruitment process that encourages First Nations people to apply for a role.

December 17, 2018 Bullying, Harassment & Inappropriate Behaviour, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Organisational Strategy

4 ways to stop racism in the workplace

More than six years ago the Australian Human Rights Commission launched the “Racism. It Stops with Me” campaign under then Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane. Since then more than 400 organisations have pledged their commitment to anti-racism.

August 16, 2023 Bullying, Harassment & Inappropriate Behaviour, Culture and Values, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Legal Issues

Every Australian employer has new duties under the Sex Discrimination Act – here’s what you need to know

Australian employers have new duties under the Sex Discrimination Act

You may well have missed it, but in December 2022 changes to the federal Sex Discrimination Act came into affect. The legal changes have been made to better protect workers from sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination, harassment, and unfair treatment in the workplace, and they impose some significant new responsibilities on every Australian employer, including every NFP organisation.

These are the seven new standards that the Commission expects all organisations to satisfy the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act, plus some advice on what to do next to make sure your organisation is compliant.

October 27, 2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Managing People Well

How hiring and accommodating workers with autism can benefit NFP employers – and all of us

NFP organisations seek to super-charge their impact and achieve their missions by hiring talented people, yet many capable workers are overlooked because they have autism.

Why is it happening? Largely because autism is poorly understood and managers are ill-informed about how to accommodate affected workers.

Fortunately, research has provided us with many strategies to make workplaces more inclusive.

September 14, 2016 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Legal Issues, Making Decisions, Recruitment

Six things you just can’t discuss when assessing candidates for your next job

Up until 1975, employers could take almost anything into consideration when recruiting staff. But the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act – passed by the Whitlam Government – started a legislative trend towards protecting a variety of people from employment discrimination. And that means there are now some things you just can’t discuss when you’re making a decision about who to hire.

March 8, 2017 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, Recruitment

Unconscious bias is keeping women out of senior NFP roles, but we can get around it

Most people would not consciously decide to hire candidates based on whether they remind them of themselves. But one unconscious bias – affinity bias – may lead people to favour candidates who are like themselves, research shows.

If senior managers and NFP boards are made up of mostly men who unconsciously engage in such bias, it stands to reason that more men than women will continue to be hired and promoted – particularly men who share the same background with current managers. This only serves to perpetuate the cycle of men outnumbering women in leadership positions.

So what can be done?

July 24, 2017 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Recruitment

Is your NFP an attractive place to work for young people?

When it comes to shaping the future of the not-for-profit sector, young people are in a unique position.

Millennials – which covers everyone aged from about 17 to 37 – are empowered by new and emerging technologies, and are driven by a strong sense of social justice.

And that’s a good thing, since they’re the ones who will eventually be running the NFP sector – alongside the rest of our society’s institutions.

So how does your organisation do at recruiting, training and retaining young people as staff and volunteers?

December 11, 2018 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

What you need to do to ensure you’re recruiting diverse candidates to your organisation

With benefits ranging from increased productivity and innovation to higher engagement and retention rates, a diverse workforce can have far-reaching positive impacts for organisations.