Internships with leading Australian organisations

Young lady wearing a backpack and carrying a laptop smiles as she walks

  • Paid work experience while you study
  • Build your skills and confidence in a professional environment
  • Leading employers committed to diversity and inclusion
  • Enhance your CV and stand out in a competitive job market

Stepping Into is a paid internship program that connects talented university students with disability to roles in leading Australian organisations.

Since Stepping Into started in 2005, more than 1200 students have gained internships with over 110 organisations across Australia.

This program launches careers! Four months after graduating, 80% of students who’d completed a Stepping Into internship had gained employment, compared to only 58% of students who hadn’t completed an internship.

Program eligibility

You’re a university student in your second-last or final year of undergraduate or postgraduate study, who has full working rights in Australia.

You have a visible or invisible disability. This includes:

  • Physical – affects someone’s mobility or dexterity
  • Intellectual – affects someone’s ability to learn
  • Mental Illness – affects thought processes
  • Sensory – may affect someone’s ability to hear or see
  • Neurological – affects someone’s brain and central nervous system, e.g. brain tumours, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease
  • Learning disability – affects the way a person learns
  • Physical disfigurement
  • Immunological – the presence of organisms causing disease in the body, e.g. arthritis, MS, IBD, lupus, diabetes

You’re registered with Disability Services at your university or, alternatively, can provide valid medical information.

About you

As someone looking towards your future outside of university, you’re keen to gain real-world, practical experience that you can add to your resume. You’re eager to give yourself a competitive advantage by gaining valuable work experience while you study. You see this as a chance to learn from seasoned professionals, enhance your skills, grow your confidence and start building your professional network. You can’t wait to get a foot in the door of an organisation that is actively committed to inclusion of people with disability at work.

About the program

Stepping Into is a national internship program that connects talented university students with disability to roles in leading Australian organisations. Placements are for a minimum 152 hours, which can be worked as a four-week block or flexibly across a semester of study. Internship opportunities are available across several disciplines, industries and locations. By applying for the Stepping Into program, you have the chance to be considered for a range of internships related to your studies.

For more details, including frequently asked questions and a list of current opportunities, go to our information for students.

About us

Stepping Into is run by the Australian Network on Disability (AND). We have more than 250 member organisations from the private, public and for-purpose sectors that are actively committed to inclusion of people with disability in business.

We work closely with our members to identify internship opportunities. We then find talented, eligible students with disability and evaluate their suitability for available positions. Suitable candidates are shortlisted and put forward to the organisation that will host the internship. The host organisation will then offer the position to the candidate they deem most suitable.

How to apply

We’re currently accepting applications for internship placements in summer 2019-20. Organisations hosting internships this season include ANZ, Attorney General’s Department, Barwon Health, BHP, Department of Education and Training, IAG, Telstra, University of Sydney, Victoria Police, Westpac and more.

Applications must be submitted via the Australian Network on Disability website by 4 October 2019. Before applying, please make sure you have the following documents ready to submit:

  • Resume
  • Cover letter
  • University transcript
  • Proof of eligibility (Disability Access Plan or relevant medical documentation)

Click here to go straight to the online application form.

Good luck!

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