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

👤 Investigator

• Prof Charmine Härtel – 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

📝 Publications

• Not applicable

🔍 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.

💰 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

• This stage established the design requirements for inclusive VR employment modules. The work drew on input from supported employees, support staff, disability professionals, caregivers, health professionals, and Wallara stakeholders.
• 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: VRelovate module development and pilot evaluation

• The project has developed two VRelovate modules focused on hospitality and land management. VRelovate is 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: Evaluation, evidence building, and scale-up

• The evaluation examines how VR affects participants’ confidence, job-role understanding, workplace readiness, and open-employment interest.
• Assess perceived preparedness for open-employment environments and identify barriers/facilitators to adoption.
• Use evaluation findings to guide future module refinement, implementation planning, and scale-up conversations with partners and stakeholders.

📌 Current research status

The SAF project has moved from setup into active development, evaluation, and translation. The team has co-designed two VRelovate modules with Wallara Australia: hospitality and land management. These modules are being used to explore how virtual reality can help people with intellectual disabilities understand work environments, practise job-related situations, and make more informed decisions about open-employment pathways.

Recent project activity has focused on:

• refining the two VR modules with input from supported employees, support staff, caregivers, health professionals, and industry partners;
• evaluating how the modules affect confidence, job-role understanding, workplace readiness, and career-pathway clarity;
• identifying where VR helps participants explore whether a job pathway feels suitable, including when the answer is “yes” and when the answer is “not for me”;
• preparing project evidence, media material, and demonstration workflows for partner engagement, the Impact Labs Showcase, and disability-sector audiences.

Early project feedback suggests that the VR modules are useful not only as workplace demonstrations, but as accessible career-exploration environments. They give participants a safer and more repeatable way to experience unfamiliar work tasks before entering open-employment settings.

🌱 Translation and external engagement

The SAF/VRelovate work is now being prepared for broader translation beyond the initial project setting. The team has briefed Department of Social Services stakeholders on the project’s co-design process, accessibility features, early evaluation findings, and potential scale-up pathways.

The project is also being developed into partner-facing showcase material, including a Wallara use-case video and live demonstration setup. These materials will support conversations with disability employment providers, government stakeholders, funders, community partners, and future implementation sites.

This translation work is important because the disability employment sector is changing. Providers need practical, evidence-informed tools that can support people with disability to explore work choices, understand job pathways, and make supported decisions about employment.

📰 Media coverage

• 7 News segment on virtual reality work with Wallara Australia

📝 Outputs and timeline

• Co-design and requirements: completed with input from supported employees, support staff, disability professionals, caregivers, health professionals, and Wallara stakeholders.
• VR module development: hospitality and land-management modules developed using VRelovate.
• Pilot and larger-scale evaluation: evaluation activities examine confidence, learning, job-role understanding, and workplace-readiness outcomes.
• Translation and showcase: project evidence, media material, and live demonstration workflows are being prepared for external engagement, including Impact Labs and disability-sector audiences.
• Scale-up planning: the team is exploring future funding, provider networks, and broader implementation pathways with government, industry, and community stakeholders.

📚 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