Half of Australian managers and HR executives say they have never hired or worked with a person with a disability, despite 2.1 million Australians with disability being of working age.

Paul Brown, chief executive of disability employment organisation Jigsaw, says in the tight labour market, it’s time for a “seismic shift in how employers engage with the disability workforce”.

The Jigsaw research comes as big firms including Westpac and Allianz urge employers facing staff shortages to recruit applicants with a disability.