“We've seen in our own impact measurements and in plenty of academic research, that there is a really strong correlation between a person’s mental health, confidence, sense of self-worth, and their employability.”—Rick Cohen, Founder & CEO, Worthy Cause
Key points
- Vulnerable, disadvantaged Australians are often the most impacted by long term unemployment and face impassable and invisible barriers to accessing secure employment.
- Worthy Cause empowers people affected by these issues by setting participants up with the skills, confidence, experience and support they need to find and keep employment.
- Australian Unity backs Worthy Cause by providing a three-year enduring grant which will allow them to provide thousands of hours of support to those who need it.
Unemployment isn’t just a financial issue, it’s a wellbeing issue. The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has consistently found that Australians experiencing unemployment report below average levels of wellbeing.
Of the estimated 7.7 million unemployed Australians in 2025, 1.7 million wanted to work. So, what’s preventing these Australians from finding jobs?
While many of us may have experienced unemployment at some point or another, it’s vulnerable people who are overrepresented in Australia’s unemployed statistics. Disability, mental health conditions, caring responsibilities, housing instability, criminal records and domestic violence are common obstacles to securing employment.
And while people facing these “invisible barriers” are often portrayed as the problem, Rick Cohen, CEO & Founder of Worthy Cause, says it’s structural failures, not individual shortcomings which prevent them from finding work.
“These are the most deserving, most vulnerable, most hard done by people in the community in Australia. The biggest issue they face is a lack of opportunity,” says Rick.
The invisible barriers to employment
Rick understands what it’s like to face barriers to employment, because he’s lived it. During his time in a psychiatric hospital while being treated for PTSD and depression, he noticed one common thread connecting the people there: a lack of support and opportunity once leaving the structured hospital environment.
He says this lack of opportunity is an issue for many people, not just those with mental health conditions.
“You can't put on your resume that you spent two and a half years going through psychiatric and mental health issues, that would be considered a red flag. You can't put that you weren’t looking for work, because then you’re considered lazy. You can't put that you were in prison, because that will instantly disqualify you. You can't put that you were surviving family or domestic violence, because then you'd be considered high risk,” says Rick.
“When you look into the root causes of how that person ended up in that situation, it's almost entirely never their fault, and yet they're blamed.”
And the issue just continues to worsen. The longer someone is unemployed, the harder it is for them to find employment as they face compounding disadvantages.
Why businesses struggle to help
Just as people facing employment barriers aren’t to blame, Rick says many businesses also face constraints.
Most businesses simply don’t have the time, money or resources to employ or support disadvantaged people, he says.
“Those employers might say ‘I’m really sorry but it’s not my responsibility to teach you how to do this job, you should be learning those skills in TAFE or uni or high school’.”
But for people who are facing disadvantage, upskilling can be unachievable. Take becoming a chef as an example—this would require undertaking a two year unpaid TAFE course.
For people getting by on Centrelink payments, who can’t find a job to pay for their expenses and who don’t have parents they can live with to support them, this simply isn’t achievable.
“It’s not a lack of care or desire or passion. It’s an inability to turn the want into the have,” says Rick.
That’s where Worthy Cause comes in.
How Worthy Cause provides support
Worthy Cause is a social enterprise that empowers young, vulnerable people who have barriers to employment due to severe hardship, disability and disadvantage.
It was born from a combination of Rick’s skills learnt in psychiatric programs and his passion for providing equitable opportunity.
Worthy Cause runs an employment program that equips vulnerable people with the skills they need most but often don’t have. The program involves wrap-around support including mentoring, job-readiness training and skills development to help participants learn not just how to have a job, but to keep that job.
“These are people who have spent years applying for hundreds of jobs—who have been asking for help and support, but haven’t received what they need from other programs or the government,” says Rick.
“Of all the people who enter our program, who are unemployed and considered unemployable, 90% of them move into an apprenticeship, higher education or other employment. They’ve been able to find and build the life that they deserve through our program, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Employment & wellbeing
The wellbeing benefits of having a job are abundant. Employment provides financial security, purpose, a sense of community, improved self-esteem and transferrable skills to name a few. Findings from the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index report a significant divide between the wellbeing of employed and unemployed Australians.
“There is a really strong correlation between a person’s mental health, confidence, sense of self-worth, and their employability. It’s not necessarily about having a job, but it’s about turning up and feeling fulfilled—I’m doing something, I’m contributing, I’m part of a team.”
Employment isn’t a substitute for psychiatric care, but when complemented with counselling, mentoring, community and a regular routine, Rick says it can have a life-changing impact on a person’s life. And the benefits continue to compound for the better.
The long term benefits and societal impact
It’s not just the immediate wellbeing benefits of employment that have an impact. Employment can continue to have positive knock-on effects on a person’s life, and the lives of those around them.
“That person’s kids might go to university when before they weren’t going to. They might be able to afford to eat healthier at home and have better health outcomes. They might be able to support the people around them to make better choices in their own lives as well,” says Rick.
And what about the benefits for the community and society as a whole?
“If that person earns $60,000 a year, the net benefit is $15,000 in income tax, about $20,000 in Centrelink payments they’re no longer receiving and about $30,000 in not administering the Centrelink payments. That will continue to compound as they grow in their career and earn more income,” says Rick.
“We know the financial benefits, we know the socioeconomic benefits, but how will that continue to grow and develop and compound for other people? That’s what I'm really keen to see.”
How Australian Unity supports the cause
Australian Unity’s three-year grant to Worthy Cause demonstrates a commitment to making a positive impact on the wellbeing of Australian communities.
For Rick, the grant provides confidence: “Having multi-year sustained, forecastable, budgetable funding is really critical for programs like ours. It is crucial to the success of our program, and we're going to be able to provide 1000s of hours over multiple years of our program thanks to the support.”
It means Worthy Cause can not only continue to exist, but also to grow, thrive and help more vulnerable Australians.
