The Dylan Alcott Foundation via BWM Dentsu Melbourne and Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has launched Remove the Barrier, a new campaign asking Australians to remove the invisible barriers that prevent people with disability finding work.

Remove the barrier addresses a problem facing one in five Australians, 4.3 million people, someone who is a person with a disability.

Dylan Alcott explained that despite being willing and able workers, people with disability struggle to find jobs.

He said: “The unemployment rate for people with a disability is twice that of the general population and that’s shameful.

“The Dylan Alcott Foundation decided it was time to raise awareness of this issue and change perceptions of what employees with disability can achieve.”

The integrated campaign is led by an emotive film created by Tom Campbell and Glendyn Ivin from Exit Films.

The film aims to highlight that people with disabilities spend their whole lives overcoming barriers, but there is one barrier which we can’t see, unconscious bias, that is often the biggest hurdle when trying to find employment.

One of the stars of the campaign is 24-year-old, university-educated, Oliver Hunter who uses a wheelchair and has encountered unconscious bias, lack of opportunities and accessibility issues in his hunt for fulfilling work.

“I’d happily go into an interview and get knocked back for my lack of skills, but I’ve always felt that my disability has been the sole reason for employers turning me down,” Hunter said.

BWM ECD Phil van Bruchem said: “In a country that prides itself on giving people a fair go, it’s a shame that there’s an unconscious bias towards people with disabilities in the workforce. This campaign is the first step in raising awareness for this issue and for us to start removing these barriers for good.”

Supporting collaborators include 2019 Grammy Award nominee and APRA Music Songwriter of the year, Sarah Aarons, who produced the campaign backing track named ‘Invisible’. Born in Melbourne, Aarons is one of the country’s leading talents and a disability advocate after undergoing a recent amputation.

The campaign has already gained support from some of the country’s leading companies with Nike, ANZ, NEC, Medibank and QT Melbourne throwing their support behind its initiative.

The campaign features out of home, social and digital elements featuring portraits of real Australians with a disability who have experienced their own barriers to employment.

BWM Dentsu Melbourne, Haystac and Cox Inall Change worked in partnership with DAN agencies Isobar, dentsuX and Posterscope to bring the project to life.

Credits

Creative Agency: BWM Dentsu Melbourne

Chief Creative Officer: Rob Belgiovane

Associate ECD: Phil van Bruchem

Managing Director: Belinda Murray

Associate Creative Directors: Tim Smith and Giles Watson

Creative: Corey Thorn

Designer: Caitlin Moloney

Agency Executive Producer: Sonia Mclaverty

Agency Producer: Kirja Parcell

Agency Integrated Project Manager: Nadia Samat

Account Manager: Sylvia Jahn

Production Company: Exit

Director: Tom Campbell

Production Consultant: Glendyn Ivin

Production Consultant: Alice Grant

Executive Producer: Declan Cahill and Leah Churchill-Brown

Producer: Alexandra George

Cinematographer: Sam Chiplin

Art Director: Asia Swida

Post Production: The Editors

Editor: Grace Eyre

Post Producer: Charlotte Griffiths

Music: Sarah Aarons

Producer: Mark Landon (M-Phazes)

Photography: Josh Robenstone

Producer: Chris Hemmings

Retouching: Ross Goddard

PR: Cox Inall Change and Haystac

General Manager – Justine Sywak

Senior Account Manager – Molly Bruce

Senior Account Executive – Lauren Everett

Senior Account Manager – Charlotte Jover

Senior Account Executive –  Emma Schwarer

Client: Dylan Alcott Foundation

Founder: Dylan Alcott

Board Member: Zack Alcott

General Manager: Georgie Saggers

Marketing & Partnership Advisor: Spencer Ratcliff

Creative Collaborators: Oli Stratford, Ashley Jamieson, Zander Fraillon, Alexandra Sayers