<p>A 40% increase in the wages of supported employees would see 85% of&nbsp;Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) in deficit, with four in 10 ADEs making losses above $250,000.&nbsp;This is a key finding of a report which NDS commissioned from KPMG.</p><p>The report, 'Assessing the impact of increasing wage costs on Australian Disability Enterprises', stress tests ADEs in relation to a range of wage cost increases - from 20% to 100%. It&nbsp;shows that many ADEs&nbsp;currently struggle to be financially viable and that imposing higher wage costs would tip them over the edge.&nbsp;The project&nbsp;collected&nbsp;data from 85 organisations operating ADEs (44% of ADEs nationally employing 57% of supported employees) ensuring a representative sample.</p><p>The report effectively confirms that ADEs could not absorb higher wage costs without the loss of a large number of jobs. If wage costs increased by 40%, the jobs of 10,800 supported employees would potentially be at risk. </p><p>NDS will provide the report to the Fair Work Commission to help inform negotiations about a new wage assessment method. We shall also provide the report to the Australian Human Rights Commission in support of extending the time available for ADEs to adopt a wage assessment tool other than the BSWAT.</p><p>NDS is seeking a wage assessment mechanism that delivers fair wages, is legally secure and is affordable for ADEs. The KPMG report makes clear that imposing wage increases on ADEs without a means of funding the increases will cost jobs.</p>