Enhanced BuyAbility Impact Tool released

The revamped tool will help members of the BuyAbility Campaign network measure and demonstrate their economic and social impact, including the ways disability enterprises improve the lives of supported employees.

The enhancements to the tool include:

• Third-party verification of the tool by ACIL Allen Consultants
• An inbuilt ‘Help’ function, with access to the tool’s manual and a frequently asked questions document
• Provision for the entry of data for multiple financial years
• Greater flexibility for entering and managing organisation data
• Expanded data entry options for disability type, support funding and wage tool/industrial instrument
• Flexible data entry options for supported employee satisfaction data
• Significantly expanded reporting options, including greater flexibility when designing reports and the ability to tailor reports for different audiences
• An updated economic impact formula and return on funding ratio

The enhancements to the tool are set out in further detail in an updated user manual. The only additional data required for calculation of the economic benefit under the new formula is the enterprise’s operating costs. 

80 Disability Enterprises, employing almost 12,300 people with disability - or around 60 per cent of the supported workforce nationally - have joined the BuyAbility Campaign. With Over 50 per cent of organisations now inputting data to the tool, NDS has been able to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the economic and social impact of supported employment. This data has been presented to the Fair Work Commission as evidence in the Supported Employment Services Award review to demonstrate the budgetary savings that accrue from people with disability working in disability enterprises compared to accessing non-vocational day supports. 

NDS and the BuyAbility Team strongly encourage disability enterprises to join the BuyAbility Campaign and gain access to this valuable tool.

Campaign members can contact Liz Cranfield or Paul Musso should they be interested in receiving a demonstration of the tool’s new features.