La Trobe University and the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) rolled out the Neurodiversity Employment Toolkit across Victoria’s public sector in December 2024. It gives employers practical guidance on recruitment, onboarding, communication, workplace environments and responding to disclosure. But the materials available do not report an outcome evaluation of this specific toolkit, so its impact on hiring, retention or employee wellbeing has not been demonstrated.
What is the Neurodiversity Employment Toolkit?
La Trobe University announced the rollout on 5 December 2024, describing the resource as an Australian-first toolkit for the Victorian Public Sector. That “Australian-first” description is La Trobe’s characterization. Toolkit developers Dr Rebecca Flower and Ellen Richardson worked with a neurodiverse VPSC team; researchers Simon Bury and Jennifer Spoor of La Trobe’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre also contributed expertise. La Trobe says the toolkit was informed by peer-reviewed research and consultation with people with lived and professional experience.
La Trobe uses “neurodivergent” to include Autistic, ADHD, Dyspraxic, Dyscalculic, Dysgraphic and Dyslexic people. The resource addresses both employers and employees, including people who know they need support but are unsure what workplace changes to request or how to ask for them.
What can employers use it for?
Recruitment and onboarding
The toolkit suggests practical ways to reduce barriers in hiring and the transition into a role, including clearer position descriptions and more inclusive recruitment and onboarding practices.
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Disclosure and support conversations
It offers guidance on how to respond when an employee shares their neurodivergent identity. A supportive response matters: La Trobe researcher and toolkit co-developer Dr Rebecca Flower said many neurodivergent people fear stigma, discrimination or misunderstanding if they disclose at work.
Everyday communication and work environments
The resource also covers team communication and workplace environments. La Trobe says some changes can help employees even when an employer does not know whether a particular candidate or colleague is neurodivergent. The guidance is not a substitute for asking an individual what works for them; needs and useful adjustments differ from person to person.
Who can access it?
The VPSC hosts the toolkit as a free public resource, and La Trobe says any employer can use it. Its development for the Victorian Public Sector does not mean it is restricted to government employers. The cited materials establish its public hosting and free availability, but do not establish whether the hosting page or toolkit has changed since the rollout.
Has it been shown to work?
Not on the evidence reported for this specific toolkit. La Trobe’s Annual Research Impact Report 2024 says the resource had been accessed over 20,000 times. That figure shows reach, not that the toolkit changed recruitment, retention, wellbeing or whether employees felt safer disclosing their identity.
La Trobe’s account of peer-reviewed research and consultation describes how the toolkit was developed; it is not an evaluation of its results. The sources cited here do not report measured employment or wellbeing outcomes for the 2024 VPSC toolkit. Its practical approach may help employers identify and remove barriers, but whether it produces better outcomes remains unestablished.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse it with La Trobe’s other workplace toolkit
In April 2024, La Trobe described a separate mental-health toolkit for autistic employees. That project included a mental-health training program and job-customisation framework and was being trialled in organisations to evaluate effectiveness at the time. The trial concerned that distinct project; it does not show that the later VPSC Neurodiversity Employment Toolkit was evaluated.
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