Wei Wang

Research Fellow

β€œWe feel and know that we are eternal”

Baruch Spinoza

Co-Designing Virtual Reality Pathways to Open Employment for People with Intellectual Disabilities

πŸ‘€ Investigator

  • Prof Charmine HΓ€rtel – Monash University, Melbourne, AU
  • Wei Wang – Monash University, Melbourne, AU
  • Prof Kristian Rotaru – Monash University, Melbourne, AU
  • Mr. Tanner Person – Monash University, Melbourne, AU
  • A/Prof Libby Callaway – Monash University, Melbourne, AU
  • Mr. Phil Hayes-Brown – CEO, Wallara Australia
  • Mr. Jonny Lee – CFO, Wallara Australia
  • Dr. Lars Kooijman – Opportunity Tech Lab, Monash University, AU

πŸ“ Publications

  • Not applicable

πŸ” Background

Employment pathways for people with intellectual disabilities remain a major inclusion challenge in Australia. National data indicate that around 5.5 million Australians (21.4%) live with disability, while approximately 160 ADEs currently support about 16,000 workers with disability [1,2]. Although ADEs provide important supported employment, transition into open employment is still difficult for many people with ID due to communication barriers, limited workplace exposure, and anxiety in unfamiliar settings.

This project addresses that gap by co-designing inclusive VR job modules with Wallara Australia and multidisciplinary partners at Monash University. VR provides a safe, repeatable, and engaging way to practice work tasks and social interactions before entering mainstream workplaces, and current evidence suggests XR approaches can support psychosocial rehabilitation and functional skills development for neurodivergent populations [3].

The SAF project is therefore important for two systemic reasons:

  1. It creates practical transition tools for people with ID and their support networks.
  2. It produces a scalable model for ADE-to-open-employment pathways that can be adopted across other disability employment contexts in Australia.

πŸ’° Funding support

  • Funding body: Department of Social Services (DSS), Structural Adjustment Fund
  • Grant amount: AUD $1,000,000
  • Industry partner: Wallara Australia Ltd

🎯 Project targets

  • Place 20 participants into sustainable open employment.
  • Co-design and deliver 2 VR modules:
    • Land management
    • Hospitality

🧩 Subprojects and detailed milestones

Subproject 1: Inclusive co-design and requirements (Milestone 1)

  • Co-design and storyboard VR job scenarios with supported employees, support staff, disability professionals, and partner stakeholders.
  • Capture realistic job tasks, work environments, communication situations, and interpersonal interactions required in open employment contexts.
  • Produce design requirements and practical recommendations for inclusive VR training modules.

Subproject 2: Module development and pilot evaluation using VRelovate (Milestone 2)

  • Develop the two VR modules using VRelovate, OTL’s inclusive VR framework for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
  • Apply accessibility supports, including simplified navigation, multimodal prompts (visual/audio/symbolic), and adaptive pacing.
  • Conduct pilot testing with supported employees, support staff, caregivers, and health professionals to refine usability, accessibility, and practical relevance.

Subproject 3: Large-scale effectiveness evaluation and scale-up (Milestone 3)

  • Evaluate confidence, learning outcomes, and workplace readiness across broader participants and partner settings.
  • Assess perceived preparedness for open-employment environments and identify barriers/facilitators to adoption.
  • Consolidate scale-up guidance for deployment across additional ADE and disability-employment contexts.

πŸ“Œ Current progress

Project has recently commenced and is currently in setup and planning stage.

πŸ“ Outputs and timeline

  • Milestone 1 (Oct 2025): Co-design report and inclusive design recommendations/requirements for open-employment transition support.
  • Milestone 2 (Dec 2025): Two VR modules developed and pilot evaluation findings.
  • Milestone 3 (Jun 2026): Large-scale evaluation results and scale-up recommendations.

πŸ“š References

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics. Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings (2022). https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/latest-release

[2] Department of Social Services (Australia). Future Supported Employment Discussion Paper (2023). https://engage.dss.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/future-supported-employment-discussion-paper-2023.pdf

[3] Tan, B. L., Shi, J., Yang, S., Loh, H., Ng, D., Choo, C., & Medalia, A. (2022). The use of virtual reality and augmented reality in psychosocial rehabilitation for adults with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1055204. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1055204