Supported Employment
Based in North East Victoria, Merriwa is recognised as one of Australia’s leading supported employment enterprises. We employ in excess of 140 supported employees within a team of over 300 employees, across our 5 business divisions; contract packaging, contract processing and packaging, engineered wood products, park lane nursery and garden centre, and child, youth and family services.
Our Dream is to be part of a future where people of all abilities reach their potential and feel respected, happy and confident.
We provide opportunities for all current and new employees to participate in training. These are either created by Merriwa for our employees and are related to the work they do each day or are provided by an accredited trainer. These programs allow employees to gain certificate level qualifications.
We pride ourselves on creating a supportive and inclusive environment for our teams across each Business Division. We are proud that all our businesses are quality endorsed companies and meet all requirements of the Disability Service Standards. We seek and acknowledge the potential and ability in each of our team members and provide opportunities for personal and professional development, training and upskilling.
Supported employment is available for people with an NDIS Plan that includes Core Funding – Assistance with Social, Economic and Community participation. We provide support through Supports in Employment. Merriwa is proud to offer employment in inclusive settings, where employees of all abilities work as a team. Merriwa’s supported employees develop many skills and are employed in all our Divisions, where training is provided to increase skills and competencies and ensure ongoing personal and professional development.
Each Division of Merriwa has a Engagement and Development Leaders providing workplace support to all abilities employees and our teams, as well as facilitating the achievement of goals in alignment with each individual’s NDIS plan. Our Engagement and Development Leaders are located onsite and can assist with;
- Support with your NDIS plan, including achievement of your employment goals
- Discussions about work
- Workplace advocacy
- Access to counselling (including our Employee Assistance Program)
- Setting up salary packaging with Access Pay
- A friendly face to talk to
Each year, nominations are open to join SEAC, which gives our supported employees the opportunity to give feedback to the Senior Management Team on a monthly basis.
SEAC members represent the Business Divisions, make suggestions and ideas for improvements in work areas, and are leaders within their teams. SEAC also plays a key role in Merriwa’s Annual Awards Night, a pivotal night on the Merriwa calendar, celebrating Merriwa’s employees and their achievements.
SEAC is one of the many channels Merriwa employs to foster inclusion, integration and celebration of workplace diversity within the workplace. SEAC members are supported in their professional development journey.
The health and wellbeing of our team is a priority at Merriwa, and the Merriwa Health and Wellbeing Plan has been developed and implemented based on employee feedback, highlighting areas of importance to our teams. We have introduced the following at Merriwa:
- Healthy Eating Program: Fresh fruit is available at each Division daily for everyone to access
- Breakfast Program at Timbers: Employees have access to cereal, toast, fruit, tea and coffee at work each morning
- Dental Access: In partnership with Northeast Health, we arrange scheduled onsite Dental Van appointments at Merriwa for eligible employees, which can then be referred on for further appointments for employees if required.
Mental Health Awareness and Support: Merriwa partners with Gateway Health and other relevant service providers to create conversations around mental health and build understanding in our workplace and community.
In 2018, we partnered with Gateway Health to host the production ‘Listening to Voices’ at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre as a free community event, which received outstanding feedback and encouraged conversations in our workplace around mental health.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Merriwa provides confidential counselling services which can be accessed by all employees.
- Movember: Each year, our team participates to raise funds for men’s health and to encourage conversations around mental health.
