Free Specialist Recruitment for Australian Employers
Sign for Work is a free recruitment service for Australian employers, specialising in deaf and hard of hearing candidates. We find, screen and match deaf and hard of hearing candidates to your vacancies, at no cost to your business. There are no recruitment fees, no placement fees and no ongoing charges, because the Australian Government funds our service under Inclusive Employment Australia. This program replaced Disability Employment Services in November 2025.
We are a business of Deaf Children Australia, and that is where our expertise comes from. Decades of work with the deaf and hard of hearing community sit behind every placement we make. It is the whole of what we do, not a specialty bolted onto a general service.
With 19 offices across Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, we place job-ready deaf and hard of hearing candidates with employers of every size, from single vacancies to bulk recruitment.
Register your vacancy today and hear from a consultant within one business day. Call 1300 350 560 or send us your role details.
What It Costs You: Nothing, Plus Funding You Can Access
Hiring through Sign for Work does not add to your wage bill. In most cases, it reduces your hiring costs, because two separate streams of government funding may be available to you on top of our free service.
| Support | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Our service | Free. No recruitment fees, no placement fees and no ongoing charges at any stage. |
| Wage subsidy | Up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) for eligible hires. The subsidy amount varies with the hours worked. The role must be at least 8 hours per week and be maintained over 26 weeks. |
| Employment Assistance Fund | Workplace modifications, assistive equipment, Auslan interpreting and deaf awareness training, delivered through JobAccess. |
Eligibility conditions apply to both funding streams. Your consultant works out which apply in your situation and handles the paperwork with you.
What Sign for Work Does for Employers
We are not a resume forwarding service. A consultant works with your business from the first conversation through to well after your new employee has settled in.
- Specialist deaf and hard of hearing recruitment and job matching built around your vacancy.
- Pre-screened, job-ready candidates, so you interview people who can do the work
- Job design and role-shaping advice where a small change opens up a much larger talent pool
- Workplace preparation before the start date, so nothing is left to the first morning
- Induction support and pre-employment training
- Deaf awareness training for your team
- Ongoing in-work support after your employee starts
- Support for existing employees who are losing their hearing
There are no fees at any stage of this, including the support that continues after your employee starts.
Why Employers Choose a Specialist
Most employment services can send you candidates. Very few can tell you how to run an interview with an Auslan interpreter, which alerting systems suit a noisy warehouse, or how to brief a team before a deaf colleague starts.
What you get with Sign for Work:
- Consultants who use Auslan
- Auslan interpreters arranged for interviews as standard
- Deaf awareness training delivered in-house through Deaf Children Australia
- Consultants who work with deaf and hard of hearing candidates every day, not occasionally
- Ongoing support for the employer, not just the candidate
Few providers combine both.
The Business Case for Employing Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
This is not only a good thing to do. There is a straightforward commercial case, and it is worth knowing before you weigh up a vacancy.
The talent pool is larger than most employers assume. The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care reports that one in six Australians, more than 3.6 million people, live with hearing loss, and that this is projected to reach 7.8 million by 2060. If your recruitment is not reaching them, you are competing for a smaller pool of candidates than you need to be.
Deaf and hard of hearing employees also bring communication habits that tend to improve a team, including clearer meeting structure and written follow-up. Employers who recruit inclusively also reduce the risk of discrimination complaints that come with inaccessible recruitment processes.
Will This Work in Our Workplace? Common Concerns, Answered
| Concern | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Communication will be difficult" | Deaf and hard of hearing people have communicated in hearing environments their whole lives, using Auslan, lipreading, speech, writing and everyday technology. Most employers find it far more straightforward than expected. |
| "We would all have to learn sign language" | No. Where Auslan is the employee's preferred method, interpreting can be funded through the Employment Assistance Fund. The same fund can also help co-workers learn to sign if you want to go further. |
| "How would audible alarms and safety procedures work?" | Visual and vibrating alert systems cover alarms and emergency procedures, and may be funded through the Employment Assistance Fund. A consultant reviews your site before the start date so arrangements are in place from day one. |
| "It will cost us money" | The service is free, a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) may apply depending on hours worked, and modifications may be funded separately. |
| "What if it does not work out?" | A consultant stays involved to support both you and your employee. |
How Hiring Through Sign for Work Works
Six steps, from your first call to long after your new employee starts.
- Register your vacancy using the form on this page, or call 1300 350 560.
- We scope the role. A consultant learns your business, your team and what the job actually requires.
- We shortlist pre-screened candidates and arrange interviews, with an Auslan interpreter where one is needed.
- We handle the paperwork, including wage subsidy eligibility, modification funding and onboarding.
- Your employee starts, with any adjustments already in place.
- We stay involved, providing ongoing in-work support.
Communication and Workplace Adjustments in Practice
Adjustments for deaf and hard of hearing employees are usually smaller, cheaper and more familiar than employers expect. Much of it is technology you already have.
- Communication: a mix of Auslan, lipreading, speech, writing and messaging apps, chosen by the employee
- Meetings: captioning, agendas circulated in advance, and clear turn-taking so one person speaks at a time
- Training and inductions: written materials, captioned video, or an interpreter for longer sessions
- Safety: visual and vibrating alerts for alarms, machinery and emergency procedures
- Everyday tools: video calls, group chats and shared documents that most workplaces already run on
We work out the right combination with you and your employee before the start date, rather than leaving it to be solved on the job.
Your Obligations as an Employer
Deafness and hearing loss are disabilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. That means the same obligations apply as for any other employee covered by the Act. You must also make reasonable adjustments so an employee can perform their role.
An adjustment is considered reasonable unless it would cause unjustifiable hardship. That is a high threshold, and it takes your organisation’s size and resources into account, so what is expected of a national employer is not what is expected of a small business. In practice, most adjustments are inexpensive, and funding is available for many of them.
We help you meet these obligations at no cost, as part of the service. This page is general information and not legal advice.
Already Have an Employee Losing Their Hearing?
Hearing changes at any age, and it often happens to someone who is already good at their job. If an existing employee is struggling with communication, missing information in meetings, or finding safety alerts harder to catch, you do not have to work it out on your own.
Our Work Assist program supports you and your employee to keep the role working. That can include workplace modifications, assistive equipment, communication strategies and training for the wider team. It is available whether or not the employee came to you through us.
Talk to us about an employee who needs support to stay in their role.
Deaf Awareness Training for Your Team
Deaf awareness training gives your team the practical basics: how to get someone’s attention, how to run a meeting that works for everyone, when an interpreter is needed and how to book one. It is short, and it removes most of the awkwardness that stops teams from getting it right.
Training is delivered through Deaf Children Australia, and the cost may be covered by the Employment Assistance Fund where it supports a deaf or hard of hearing employee. Many employers start here before they hire, which is a sensible way in.
Where We Operate
Sign for Work has 19 offices across four states. Each state has a main hub, with other offices open by appointment.
| State | Office Locations |
|---|---|
| Victoria | Melbourne (main hub), Moonee Ponds, Preston, Dandenong, Sunshine |
| Queensland | Toowong (main hub), Southport, Slacks Creek, Caboolture, Eight Mile Plains |
| New South Wales | Bankstown (main hub), Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool, Campbelltown |
| South Australia | Norwood (main hub), Salisbury, Port Adelaide, Noarlunga Centre |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Sign for Work is funded by the Australian Government under the Inclusive Employment Australia program, and there are no recruitment fees, placement fees or ongoing charges.
That covers understanding your role, shortlisting pre-screened candidates, arranging interviews with an Auslan interpreter where needed, supporting induction, and in-work support after your employee starts. Depending on eligibility, you may also access a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) and reimbursement for workplace modifications, so hiring through us can reduce your costs rather than add to them.
Employers hiring an eligible candidate through Inclusive Employment Australia may access a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive). The subsidy amount varies with the hours worked. The role generally needs to be at least 8 hours per week and be maintained over 26 weeks.
Separately, the Employment Assistance Fund available through JobAccess may reimburse the cost of workplace modifications, assistive equipment, Auslan interpreting services and deaf awareness training. Conditions apply to both. Your consultant identifies which apply in your situation and manages the paperwork with you.
Yes, and the clearest argument is the size of the talent pool. The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care reports that one in six Australians, more than 3.6 million people, live with hearing loss, projected to reach 7.8 million by 2060. A recruitment process that is not reaching them is drawing from a smaller pool than it needs to.
Hiring deaf and hard of hearing candidates also tends to sharpen how a team communicates, and it reduces the risk of discrimination complaints that come with inaccessible recruitment.
Our service is free, and eligible hires may attract a wage subsidy, so the commercial case does not rest on goodwill alone.
Deaf and hard of hearing people have communicated in hearing environments their whole lives and arrive with well-developed strategies. Most use a combination of Auslan, lipreading, speech, writing, visual cues and everyday technology such as messaging apps.
The right approach depends on the individual, which is why we discuss it with both you and the employee before they start. Most employers find it far more straightforward than they expected.
No. Most workplaces adapt successfully using written communication, visual cues and technology they already have.
Where Auslan is the employee’s preferred method, interpreting can be funded through the Employment Assistance Fund rather than paid for by your business. If you would like to go further, the same fund can cover assistance for co-workers to learn to sign, and deaf awareness training for your team.
Where a role involves audible alarms, visual and vibrating alert systems cover them, and those modifications may be funded through the Employment Assistance Fund.
Before your employee starts, a consultant reviews the workplace with you, walks through your emergency procedures and makes sure arrangements are in place from day one rather than being worked out later.
Deafness and hearing loss are disabilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, so the Act applies in full. Employers must not discriminate in recruitment, employment terms, promotion, training or dismissal, and must make reasonable adjustments so an employee can perform their role.
An adjustment is reasonable unless it would cause unjustifiable hardship, a high threshold that takes account of your organisation’s size and resources. In practice, most adjustments are inexpensive, and funding is available. This is general information, not legal advice.
You are not left to manage it alone. Post-placement support is part of the service, and your consultant stays involved, checking in with you and your employee, resolving issues and arranging further training or adjustments where useful.
Most difficulties are practical and solvable. Early specialist involvement is usually what prevents a placement from failing.
Our deaf and hard of hearing candidates work across the full range of Australian industries, including administration, retail, hospitality, warehousing, trades, manufacturing, aged care and professional roles, with qualifications from trade certificates to tertiary degrees.
Rather than working from a fixed list, we start with your vacancy and match against the skills you need. We accept single vacancies and bulk recruitment of five or more roles.
Sign for Work has 19 offices across four states. In Victoria: Melbourne, Moonee Ponds, Preston, Dandenong and Sunshine. In Queensland: Toowong, Southport, Slacks Creek, Caboolture and Eight Mile Plains.
In New South Wales: Bankstown, Blacktown, Parramatta, Liverpool and Campbelltown. In South Australia: Norwood, Salisbury, Port Adelaide and Noarlunga Centre. Each state has a main hub, with other offices open by appointment.