Melbourne's All Things Equal is a Social Enterprise and Cafe that Walks the Talk about Inclusivity in Food Service
An eatery designed to provide employment and hospitality training for people with disability while operating as a commercially viable business.
18 September 2025
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All Things Equal is a café creating opportunities for people with disabilities | Photo credit: All Things Equal
All Things Equal is a café creating opportunities for people with disabilities | Photo credit: All Things Equal
When Jonathan Wenig’s daughter Tali, who has autism, was preparing to leave her special needs school, he envisioned a future where she (and others like her) could thrive in meaningful work. Driven to create a pathway for more inclusive employment, Wenig established a charity, formed a board and raised nearly $200,000 through personal funds and philanthropic support.
Over four months, the board brainstormed how to make their business idea succeed in a café setting. On Carlisle Street in Balaclava, they found the perfect launchpad for All Things Equal– a café designed to provide employment and hospitality training for people with disability while operating as a commercially viable business serving up incredible food and coffee.
Since opening its doors in January 2021, All Things Equal has quickly become a beacon of inclusivity in Melbourne’s hospitality scene. Today, its impact is tangible, with more than 100 hopefuls on the waitlist, eager for the chance to join this thriving social enterprise.
Offering meaningful employment and training to people with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and ADHD | Photo credit: All Things Equal
Offering meaningful employment and training to people with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and ADHD | Photo credit: All Things Equal
From Flat Whites to Full Inclusion: All Things Equal Leads the Way
Dedicated to breaking barriers in the hospitality industry, All Things Equal offers meaningful employment and training to people with various disabilities from autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome to ADHD. Far from being a charity, it operates on a commercial business model, proving that inclusivity and profitability can go hand in hand.
Prospective employees participate in a full employment process-from submitting a CV to attending interviews. Hiring decisions are made based on merit, capability and attitude- the same criteria applied across the workforce.
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Staff are proudly paid an award-wage.
Trainees at the vibrant Balaclava café develop skills across every aspect of the business from taking orders, serving customers and making coffee to assisting in the kitchen with food preparation and dishwashing. Training is highly personalised, tailored to each person’s strengths and extends beyond hospitality skills to include communication, teamwork, punctuality and professionalism-transferable skills that open doors to mainstream employment. Through their work, employees gain purposeful opportunities to contribute to society, build their confidence and develop essential life skills. On-the-job training encourages learning through doing, and a range of workplace accommodations from visual resources and adjusted shifts to uniform accessibility, ensures every employee thrives.
In just four years, All Things Equal has paid over $500,000 in wages, created jobs for over 30 people with disability, helped nine trainees secure roles beyond the café and showcased its team’s talent on a national stage by running a food and beverage outlet at the Australian Open. The café’s success has sparked overwhelming demand. Their mission is simple but powerful: to create a framework for businesses to follow, one that proves inclusivity isn’t just possible, it’s essential.
The cafe’s menu is also inclusive, catering to various dietary needs with options for vegan as well as gluten, dairy and nut free meals
| Photo credit: All Things Equal
The cafe’s menu is also inclusive, catering to various dietary needs with options for vegan as well as gluten, dairy and nut free meals | Photo credit: All Things Equal
An Answer to Labour Shortages? How Inclusion can Bolster a Flailing Workforce
For Jess Colgan, CEO of All Things Equal and a vocal advocate for disability-inclusive employment, the numbers paint a confronting picture with 45% of people with disability living at or near the poverty line, more than double the rate of the general population. Within hospitality, 20% of businesses report workforce shortages. Yet despite widespread vacancies, a large pool of jobseekers with disability remains untapped. People with disability make up 23% of Australia’s population but remain vastly underrepresented in the workforce, giving the hospitality sector a unique chance to lead the way through more inclusive hiring and training.
At All Things Equal, a growing waitlist of people eager to join the café’s team is living proof of the untapped potential in an overlooked workforce and a sign that inclusive employment could be part of a solution to growing labour shortages in Australia and beyond. “We can continue to complain about staff shortages, or we can widen our hiring lens and future-proof our industry,” says HR Director David West at W Melbourne, an employment partner with
All Things Equal.
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Why Inclusive Hiring Is Smart Business
Research cited from the Australian Human Rights Commission shows companies with strong disability inclusion practices earn 28% higher revenue. Matching the disability employment rates of the world’s leading OECD nations could add nearly $80 billion to Australia’s GDP by 2050, according to data uncovered by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.
With the release of Equal Opportunity: A Blueprint for Disability Employment in Hospitality, All Things Equal has also created a comprehensive guide to fostering genuine career pathways for people with disability that benefit both workers and the industry. The report introduces a three-stage framework that builds on All Things Equal’s proven training and employment model, scaling its impact to place trainees in mainstream hospitality venues across Australia. Through this document, the social enterprise hopes to assess current challenges and provide practical, evidence-based solutions for businesses, creators of policy and leaders in industry, with a 10-year strategy and goal of creating 1,100 new jobs for people with disability by 2035. All Things Equal is committed to opening doors for more people with disability seeking meaningful employment, proving to businesses that diversifying their workforce is both easier and more rewarding than many realise.
Shifting Mindsets, Small Steps
All Things Equal challenges the myth that inclusive hiring is difficult or costly. In reality, the opposite is true. Businesses and trainees can access support from co-workers funded through Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and most workplace adjustments required are minimal.
Potential employers still, however, overestimate the challenges of inclusion. In practice, it can be as simple as asking employees what they need to thrive. For some employees with disability, the predictability of routine tasks can also be a strength, not a limitation- a particularly valuable trait in hospitality, where consistency is key.
For HR Director David West of W Melbourne, his answer has been to introduce accommodations from encouraging support people and redesigning job descriptions for shorter shifts. The results speak for themselves. Data has shown that inclusive workplaces have increased staff retention and in 2024, West found his labour turnover dropped from 52% to 33%.
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Paving the Way Forward
All Things Equal is more than a café- it’s a blueprint for how businesses can drive change when mindsets shift and space is made. “We want to show society that people with disability are ready, willing and absolutely capable of working,” says Bianca Stern, Head of Impact at All Things Equal. She believes workplaces that don’t employ people with disability are missing out on invaluable culture, strong work ethic and unique talent. Workplaces should be as diverse and representative as the communities they serve. Disability representation matters- in local communities, in workplaces and in leadership.
While the industry lacks clear goals for disability inclusion, All Things Equal is determined to channel its energy into setting aspirational standards. Their mission is to unlock one of society’s most underrepresented and untapped talent pools. They challenge long-held assumptions and prove that inclusion benefits everyone. Their vision is clear: to build a model that can be replicated across industries, making meaningful employment for people with disability the norm rather than the exception. All Things Equal isn’t just changing lives, it is redefining what a workplace can be.
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Photo credit: All Things Equal
Author: Natasha Beh Comerford
With over 15 years of experience in the food and beverage industry specialising in restaurant public relations, marketing and content creation, Natasha Beh Comerford eats and breathes all things culinary. When she’s not discovering Singapore’s hidden gems, you’ll find her experimenting at her stove or kicking back with a good recipe book or two.