Blueline honour for breaking down barriers

By Wendy Shaw

Blueline Laundry cleaned up at this year’s Tasmanian Community Achievement Awards.

The laundry, which operates from sites in Launceston and Hobart, won the APM Sustainable Disability Employment Award at a ceremony at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart on 28 October.

The award focuses on excellence in providing support for job placements, work experience, skills, training and education.

It is a new award category, recognising the role that organisations play in the disability sector.

Blueline’s CEO, Michael Sylvester, said: “We were naturally very honoured to receive the award, as it speaks to the professionalism of our commercial operation that drives the sustainability of the business, whilst recognising our purpose in the role we play in reducing barriers to employment for people of diverse abilities, backgrounds and cultures.”

APM said in a Facebook post that it was honoured to be part of the awards, while praising Blueline for breaking down barriers in the workforce.

The post said: “Blueline Laundry have shown true dedication to building a more inclusive workforce and ensuring people with disability have access to equal opportunities.

“Of their 240 employees, 35 per cent are people with disability, 35 per cent are culturally and linguistically diverse, and 51 per cent are female.”

Blueline Laundry is a certified social enterprise and registered charity, operating under the auspices of the Catholic Church in Tasmania.  

It is a multi award-winning employer, having received the Cultural Diversity in the Workplace award from the Multicultural Council of Tasmania 2022; Excellence in Response to COVID-19 (Large business) award from Worksafe Tasmania 2021; the Business Innovation award from the TCAA 2021, Creating Inclusive Environments award from the Tasmanian Disability Festival 2021 and the Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative at the TasICT Excellence Awards 2020.