Accessibility Action Plan 2022–2024

Adjust job adverts template to cater for candidates who may need different communication options:

Ensure all online job advertisements have screen reader capability

Add a standard paragraph to all job advertisements

‘If you have any accessibility requirements or require an alternative format of the application, please feel free to reach out to us on (phone number) or (email) to discuss’. Guidance on the template should also ensure acronyms are described.

Check all job advertisements and position descriptions with the MS Word ‘Accessibility Checker’ tool to analyse accessibility of the content before promoting.

Targeted awareness training to all departments via town hall presentations, lunch and learn sessions etc.

Periodic refresher training plan implemented to capture new starters and information updates.

All Managers to complete training.

Increased confidence of Managers in dealing with disability related enquiries in the workplace.

Create a page on the Bank's intranet about inclusive meetings and presentations and information on how to be inclusive accessible in the workplace.

Run regular information sessions with key departments that assist with implementing workplace adjustment solutions.

Work with communities of practice.

Work with Enterprise Portfolio Management Office to develop compliance plans to ensure accessibility considerations are embedded in business cases.

Work with Project Managers to ensure accessibility considerations are made early in projects.

Hold regular information sessions.

Develop a list of accessibility stakeholders.

Mobilise a community of practice for inclusive communications.

Communicate responsibilities to the Champions and provide resources.

Engage Champions in ERG led initiatives across the Bank.

Establish reporting rhythm for Champions to advise on progress, challenges or suggestions.

Develop and implement a communications strategy and roadmap.

Increase awareness and understanding regarding accessibility in the office.

Commit the Governor to two updates in weekly email per year.

In early 2019, the Bank's Accessibility ERG held a workshop to determine and agree the areas of focus for our first Plan. We enlisted the help of the Australian Network on Disability (AND) who facilitated our workshop and assisted in summarising our outcomes.

In December 2019, we officially launched our Plan on the Bank's internet site. We also internally launched and promoted the Plan at our International Day for People with Disability celebratory event in December 2019.

To date, we have conducted an elementary review of the Bank's online recruitment application processes and made some minor adjustments such as adding an option to request reasonable adjustments in the online application and interview processes.

We are in the process of conducting a Recruitment Self-Assessment through AND. This Assessment will cover the end-to-end recruitment process – from advertising to induction and ongoing support – and identify any gaps and unintended barriers for applicants to the Bank. AND will review the self-assessment and provide a report of their findings with recommendations and guidance which we will implement.

We have selected a core group of senior managers to be ‘Ability Champions’ in relevant business areas to actively champion accessibility and disability inclusion across the Bank.

Our Ability Champions will:

• provide high level support for the Bank's disability initiatives, including support for practical solutions identified
• help to spread awareness of disability-related employment initiatives (eg. workplace adjustments or assistive technologies) and organisational change to create workplaces that value and support people with a disability
• help to educate staff across the Bank in relation to disability and inclusion to improve disability confidence across the Bank
• champion equal access and inclusion for people with a disability at the Bank
• advocate good practice relating to employment policies and processes
• be a point of reference for people with a disability at the Bank.

We have engaged with the Bank's Procurement Community of Practice and wider Procurement team to implement accessibility considerations across the procurement process.

The Bank's Procurement Policy and Guidelines were reviewed in 2019 and, as part of this review, were updated to reference the Bank's stance against disability discrimination, ensuring the Bank's services comply with the Australian Standard for Accessibility.

The Bank now makes explicit reference to the Accessibility Standard in tender documents in order to ensure suppliers consider this in their response. This standard encourages applicants to use the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

We also provided feedback into the forthcoming Procurement Digital application to maximise the accessibility of the application.

We will continue to work with the Procurement team and Procurement Community of Practice to review, update and improve accessibility in Procurement across the Bank.

We have promoted our workplace adjustment guidelines in multiple ways across the Bank. This has included mention at Accessibility ERG events, emails from our Governor, news stories on the intranet and word of mouth by our ERG members.

Due to the pandemic, flexible working has become usual practice and has helped to promote accessible practices for all staff across the Bank. Staff are asking questions about how they get assistive equipment to perform at their best and we are extremely pleased these conversations are happening.

Our future plans include improving the workplace adjustment process using our HR tools so that the request, approval and transfer processes are streamlined for staff that choose to move roles within the Bank.

We created an ‘Accessible Events Checklist’ that includes considerations that should be made to accommodate people with disability. This Checklist has been circulated to staff that regularly arrange events across the Bank, in particular our catering team and external events team.

We intend to conduct annual refresher sessions to ensure accessibility and inclusion remains at the forefront of all Bank events.

Whilst we did not rollout an online training module for Workplace Adjustments, the launch of our Guideline demonstrates the Bank's support of this practice. The pandemic has also encouraged staff to ask for adjustments as we work flexibly from home. The Bank has been accommodating in the delivery of office equipment to employee's homes to ensure the safety and comfort of staff.

We will revisit the need for a training module when we look at disability confidence training for Bank staff.

The Bank is committed to ensuring that all digital products built, acquired, and operated by the Bank conform to accessibility standards set by the Australian Government. These standards focus on ensuring inclusiveness for all users regardless of their ability and environment.

Our intranet accessibility page sets out guidance, resources, and frequently asked questions, supporting project teams as they integrate accessibility into projects.

Accessibility Threshold Assessment is mandatory for Business cases. This assessment provides an early indicator of how Bank accessibility experts will need to support projects throughout their delivery lifecycle and informs project stakeholders of potential accessibility-related risks that should be addressed.

We have implemented multiple checkpoints for digital products.

• We verify Accessibility Conformance report obtained from suppliers during procurement
• We review internal product development practices for accessibility during design and development
• Our centralised accessibility experts audit applications as part of IT go-live certification.

We are in the process of aligning our accessibility health check and IT product health check to promote ongoing maintenance of accessibility in digital products over their lifecycle.

In the Bank's anonymous bi-annual employee engagement survey, we ask staff to disclose if they have a disability'. This is an optional question and the rate of disclosure is generally low. We encourage a safe working environment in the hope that staff feel comfortable to disclose their disability and we can implement tailored support and processes.

We will work with HR in the future to define metrics on recruitment of people with disability at the Bank. This will form part of our 2022-2024 Action Plan.

We are working with the Bank's external communication team and service desk team to build analytical data on accessibility related enquiries