How to Ask for Reasonable Adjustments at Work in Australia

To ask for reasonable adjustments at work, put the request in writing to your manager or HR. Say what your role is, describe the barrier you face at work, list the specific changes you are asking for, and ask to meet about it. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), an employer may need to make reasonable adjustments for a worker with disability, unless the change would cause unjustifiable hardship.

Claim Done drafts a reasonable adjustments request letter from your answers for a flat A$49. You download it straight away and send it yourself.

Who can ask for reasonable adjustments

The Disability Discrimination Act (the DDA) makes it unlawful to treat you unfairly because of your disability. The Australian Human Rights Commission explains that the definition is broad. It covers physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological and learning disabilities.

According to the Commission’s guide to your rights as an employee under the DDA, you are also covered:

• if you had a disability in the past, or may develop one in the future
• if people think you have a disability
• even if people cannot tell you have a disability
• even if your disability does not affect you all of the time.

The protection applies at every stage of work, including who is offered a job and the terms of a job offer. So you can ask for adjustments as a job applicant as well as an employee.

What counts as a reasonable adjustment

The Commission describes reasonable adjustments as administrative, environmental or procedural changes at work, so that employees with disability can do their roles safely, effectively and without barriers. Its page on disability discrimination and the workplace gives examples like these:

• changes to job design, work schedules or work practices, such as swapping some duties among staff or regular meal breaks
• modified equipment, such as a lowered workbench or an enlarged computer screen
• changes to the premises, such as ramps or modified toilets.

The Commission also says that in most cases the person with disability can tell the employer what is needed. Many adjustments cost little or nothing, and the Australian Government’s Employment Assistance Fund can help with the cost of reasonable adjustments. The Commission points to the JobAccess website for details.

What your request should say

Keep it calm and practical. This is a request that opens a conversation, not a complaint. A good letter covers:

1. Who it is to: your manager or HR, by name and title.
2. Who you are: your role, or the role you applied for.
3. The barrier: how your condition affects your work, in your own words. You do not have to name a diagnosis. Describe what is hard to do, not your medical history.
4. The changes you want: a short, specific list, such as a later start time, a sit-stand desk, modified lifting duties or a graduated return to work.
5. Medical information: whether you can provide a doctor’s letter if it would help. Offering is your choice.
6. Earlier talks: if you raised this before, when and with whom, stated as plain fact.
7. What you are asking for next: a meeting, the changes put in place, or a written reply.

The structure of the letter

The Claim Done letter follows this outline. It is built only from what you tell it.

• Addressee and date. The person’s name and title, and your employer’s name.
• Purpose. One or two sentences: your role, and that you are writing to request reasonable adjustments.
• Your situation. The barrier you face at work, in your words, sharing only what you chose to share.
• Adjustments requested. A numbered list of the changes.
• Background. A measured line that, under the DDA, employers are expected to make reasonable adjustments unless that would be an unjustifiable hardship. It is stated as background, not as a claim that any change must be granted.
• Supporting information. An offer to provide medical information, only if you said you can.
• Next step. An invitation to discuss the request in good faith, and the outcome you asked for.
• Close. A line that you are open to discussing alternatives, then your name and a signature line.

If you also qualify for a flexible work request

If the change you need is about hours, work patterns or location, the Fair Work Act may also apply. The Fair Work Ombudsman says full-time and part-time employees who are a person with disability can request flexible working arrangements once they have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months. Casuals can too, if they have worked regularly and systematically for at least 12 months and expect that to continue.

That request must be in writing, explain the changes and explain the reasons. The employer must reply in writing within 21 days. It can only refuse on reasonable business grounds, after discussing the request and genuinely trying to agree on alternatives. If it refuses, or does not reply within 21 days, the Fair Work Commission can deal with the dispute.

The Claim Done letter is written, sets out the changes and gives your reasons. It does not check whether you meet the 12-month rule. If you do, you can say in your covering email that you also ask for it to be treated as a flexible working request.

How to send it and what to keep

• Email it to the person it is addressed to, with the PDF attached. Email gives you a dated record.
• Keep a copy of the letter, the email and any reply.
• Write a short note after every meeting: date, who was there, what was agreed.

What happens next, and if your employer says no

The DDA does not require changes that would cause major difficulties or unreasonable costs. This is called unjustifiable hardship. But before an employer claims it, the Commission says the employer needs to think properly about how an adjustment could be made, discuss it directly with you, and consult relevant sources of advice. If an employer says an adjustment would cause hardship, it is up to the employer to show that.

There is also an exception where a person cannot perform the inherent requirements of a job because of disability. Even then, the DDA says employers must consider how reasonable adjustments could help the person do the job.

If you get a no, ask for the reasons in writing and whether a different adjustment would work. The Commission suggests first raising concerns directly, or with a supervisor, manager or discrimination contact officer.

If that does not resolve it, you can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission. It is free, you do not need a lawyer, and complaints must be in writing on the Commission’s form, sent by email or post. Say what happened, when and where, and who was involved. The Commission is not a court. It tries to resolve complaints through conciliation, and it notes a significant delay in actioning complaints as at November 2026. If a complaint is terminated, you may be able to go to court, but you need to apply within 60 days.

Physical or mental disability is also a protected attribute under the Fair Work Act. Adverse action includes changing an employee’s job to their disadvantage, or not hiring someone.

Each State and Territory also has its own anti-discrimination body for complaints under local laws:

Check the process and any time limits with the body in your State or Territory before you choose where to go. Community legal services give free advice about discrimination.

Mistakes to avoid

• Only asking out loud. A corridor chat is easy to forget. Put it in writing.
• Being vague. “I need some support” gives your employer nothing to act on. Name the changes.
• Sharing more medical detail than you need. Focus on the barrier at work.
• Opening with accusations. A request that invites discussion is easier to say yes to.

If you are ready to put your request on the record, Claim Done can draft your reasonable adjustments request from your answers for A$49, ready to download and send.