ACCESS AND INCLUSION INDEX

BENCHMARK REPORT

2017-18MAY 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The development and implementation of the Access and Inclusion Index was made possible by the funding and in-kind support of the NSW Department of Family and Community Services (NSW FACS), the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the Department of Defence, IBM and Westpac Group. We sincerely thank the Development Partner Working Group for their time and valuable feedback in contributing to the design and implementation of the Access and Inclusion Index.

Inside cover - The Federal Department of Human Services (DHS), International Day of People with Disability Expo event.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2

MESSAGE FROM CEO 4

INTRODUCTION 5

About the Access and Inclusion Index 5

Methodology 6

Advancing careers to build workforce capability 7

KEY FINDINGS 8

Leading organisations 8

Key Areas and goals 10

Maturity levels 11, 12

Realising inclusion through adjustments 13

Cross section of results 14

Framework, Implementation and Review 16

Accessibility and inclusion – more than talking 19

WHAT’S NEXT? 22

TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1 9 Distribution of Access and Inclusion Index scores

FIGURE 2 11 Index average maturity level by Key Area

FIGURE 3 14 Number of organisations in each maturity level (by Key Area)

FIGURE 4 16 Average maturity level in Framework, Implementation and Review by Key Area

TABLE OF TABLES

TABLE 1 9 Distribution of Access and Inclusion Index scores (data)

TABLE 2 12 Index average maturity level by Key Area (data)

TABLE 3 15 Number of organisations by maturity band and Key Area (data)

TABLE 4 17 Average maturity level in Framework, Implementation and Review by Key Area (data)

TABLE 5 21 Number of organisations in each maturity level for innovation of employees and customers, clients or service users

2 3

MESSAGE FROM CEO

I’m pleased to present the 2017-18 Benchmark Report that provides valuable insight into accessibility and inclusion practices of Australian Network on Disability members.

I sincerely thank the 28 organisations that used the Access and Inclusion Index to build understanding, check progress and benchmark performance.

Many organisations are committed to improving accessibility and inclusion for people with disability but are unsure how to start, how to set their priorities and how to measure their progress.

The Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index builds understanding, checks progress and benchmarks performance across 10 Key Areas or business domains.

The Benchmark Report announces the three top performers annually. I’m pleased to announce that this years’ leading organisations are the Federal Department of Human Services, the Australian Taxation Office and ANZ.

These three organisations have demonstrated their long-term commitment, and investment, in access and inclusion for people with disability as customers, employees and stakeholders.

I sincerely commend their employees with disability, diversity and inclusion teams, executive sponsors and the leadership of these three leading organisations.

Of the 28 organisations contributing to the Benchmark Report this year, eight completed for a second time and on average and increased their maturity scores by almost 20%.

Six out of seven of the top scorers were organisations that completed the Index for the second time. They systematically followed the roadmap provided in their previous Evaluation Reports and leveraged engagement with colleagues to make further progress inclusion of people with disability in their organisations.

I encourage you to read the Good Practice case studies in this report and I thank ANZ, the Federal Department of Human Services and Medibank for sharing their initiatives.

This year’s Benchmark Report shows that many organisations see value in using the Index as a snapshot of current performance and a great way to measure their progress over time. The Index is an equally powerful tool for organisations starting out as it is for organisations that have been investing in inclusion of people with disability for a decade or more.

I strongly encourage you embrace the tool and participate in the Benchmarking process and show Australians with disability that we’re committed to access and inclusion and to building a disability confident Australia.

Regards

Suzanne Colbert AM CEO

INTRODUCTION

The Access and Inclusion Index Benchmark Report assists organisations in understanding the current level of maturity for access and inclusion practices across businesses. This year, 28 Australian Network on Disability members embarked on the journey and showed their commitment to assessing their disability confidence and using the Index to gain a roadmap to make further progress within their organisations. This commitment is a bold step towards a systematic way to measure and monitor progress and provides an opportunity to influence tangible change to advance the equitable inclusion of people with disability in business.

Members that took part in the Evaluation and Benchmarking process are from public, private and for-purpose sectors and in a wide range of industries, such as finance, insurance, technology, healthcare, education, transport and government.

The size of these organisations ranges from multinational to smaller Australian enterprises and combined, they employ approximately 470,000 people across all States and Territories.

Eight Members completed the Index for a second year time, providing them with their own year on year progress as well as the Evaluation and benchmark data for 2017-18.

ABOUT THE ACCESS & INCLUSION INDEX

The Access and Inclusion Index is an online tool for Australian organisations to use to understand, assess, benchmark and improve their disability confidence to meet the needs of their customers and employees with disability.

The Index helps organisations review their policies, procedures and practices and establishes their progress on accessibility and inclusion for people with disability. It increases understanding of access and inclusion and provides opportunities to receive guidance on welcoming to people with disability across their businesses.

The ten Key Areas assessed by the tool are:

1. Commitment2. Premises3. Workplace Adjustments4. Communication and Marketing5. Products and Services6. Information and Communication

Technology (ICT)7. Recruitment and Selection8. Career Development9. Suppliers and Partners10. Innovation

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METHODOLOGY

Questions within each of the Key Areas of the Index are in three sections:

• Framework: relates to organisationalcommitment, policies, procedures andguidelines.

• Implementation: relates to actions,programs and initiatives that theorganisation has taken to deliver oncommitments.

• Review: relates to monitoring andreviewing progress and using data toimprove processes and outcomes.

Responses to all questions are assessed at four levels of maturity:

• Level 1: Not participating - this is thelevel where an organisation may nothave yet considered its position and isstill planning their path.

• Level 2: Basic - the organisation isoperating in a way which reflects acompliance focus or is reactive toissues.

• Level 3: Programmatic - theorganisation has developed tactics,programs, policies or proceduresto address some issues, or focusesonly on some parts of its business oroperations.

• Level 4: Strategic - business processand practices are designed to delivera consistently accessible and inclusiveexperience for employees, customersand stakeholders. Access and inclusionactivities are across the organisationand are sustainable.

The Access and Inclusion Index weights the Key Areas and the questions according to their relative importance and impact on access and inclusion for people with disability and produces a total Index score out of 100.

This scoring methodology is applied consistently across all organisations that have submitted for Evaluation. The assessment, maturity model, scoring and weighting have been validated by the Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne.

ADVANCING CAREERS TO BUILD WORKFORCE CAPABILITY

All employees are entitled to be considered for and participate in learning and career development opportunities. Career development improves engagement and encourages thought leadership. It can be an effective retention strategy and helps build workforce capability.

In this case study, Meg Dalling, ANZ’s Accessibility and Inclusion Plan Lead, discusses some of the initiatives that underpin their approach to career development.

According to Ms Dalling, ANZ is actively making sure that career development opportunities are inclusive of people with disability. “All of our mentoring, secondments and training opportunities are accessible. Adjustments might be as simple as supplying materials in an individual’s preferred format or checking that training venues are accessible,” she said.

“We also request evidence from external training providers to ensure they provide equal access for people with disability. Our procurement team and individual business units work closely to make sure our technology accessibility standards are met by the vendor,” said Ms Dalling.

To support future progress, ANZ recognises that having accurate and meaningful data will help it to better track retention, engagement and career progression and identify areas for improvement.

“Understanding the diversity of our workforce helps us to make informed decisions, to more effectively support our employees to develop their careers, and to address barriers. It presents a real opportunity for ANZ,” said Ms Dalling.

The bank’s Abilities Network, a collection of volunteer employees with or interested in disability, can support employees with disability with their career development and other issues related to their employment.

They aim to foster inclusiveness and diversity, raise awareness of disability and accessibility and represent employees on issues relating to disability. They also run the annual Star Awards, a grass roots program that recognises and celebrates employees for their outstanding contribution to making ANZ more accessible.

Hosted by the CEO, the Star Awards event is high profile and helps to increase awareness of inclusive work practices across the whole of the business.

“Our 10th anniversary was a particularly big event with the launch of a report that we commissioned from RMIT University that looked at MoneyMinded, ANZ’s flagship financial literacy program, within a disability context,” said Ms Dalling.

This is the first year that ANZ has participated in the Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index. They wanted to take part to check their progress, learn where there are gaps and identify areas where they are performing well.

“It was a comprehensive and worthwhile exercise that required us to find hard evidence to support all the things we thought we were doing. It raised awareness in our Accessibility and Inclusion Plan (AIP) steering committee about what is being done across the whole-of-business, and it has provided concrete suggestions for progress,” said Ms Dalling.

“Overall it is an excellent vehicle for internal engagement. It helps raise awareness of access and inclusion at the highest level of the organisation. It celebrates what we are doing well and highlights where we should be focusing effort. It is independent and comes from a credible organisation. I’d definitely encourage other organisations to participate. While it takes a lot of work, there is a lot to be gained regardless of where you are on the maturity scale,” said Ms Dalling.

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE

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KEY FINDINGS

LEADING ORGANISATIONS

Australian Network on Disability is pleased to announce the 2017-18 leading organisations are:

1. Federal Department of Human Services

2. Australian Taxation Office

3. ANZ

Congratulations to the top three organisations who scored over 80% and demonstrated their clear commitment to accessible and inclusive practices across their organisations.

2017-18 Results

The wide range of scores in the 2017-18 Index demonstrates that members that are relatively new on their journey towards disability confidence will benefit from being able to systematically measure their progress. Members that have had a sustained approach over several years are benefiting from the comprehensive information in the Evaluation Report while developing leading practices that can be shared with others.

The average score across the 28 members was 38/100 with seven organisations scoring over 61 and 14 organisations using the tool as a roadmap and scoring between seven and 30. The Australian Network on Disability considers the distribution of scores and the varying levels of maturity, shown in Figure 1 and Table 1, as a good representation of the current access and inclusion practices in Australia.

• Nine organisations from government,banking, education and for-purposeconsistently scored highly in the topthree in different Key Areas of theAccess and Inclusion Index.

• 14 different organisations wererepresented in the top five scoresacross Key Areas.

• Commitment was the strongestarea in the Index, with membersdemonstrating this by having writtenaccess and inclusion strategies andplans in place and senior leadershipengagement.

• Suppliers and Partners and CareerDevelopment were the lowest scoringKey Areas.

Year on Year Progress

There were eight organisations that completed the Index for a second time. All of them improved their score, with the average improvement of 18 points - almost 20% increase in maturity. Of the top seven scorers in the 2017-18 Index, six were organisations that took part in the 2016-17 Evaluation and Benchmark process. This shows significant benefits and outcomes from measuring policies and practices and using the Evaluation Report to plan and make further progress.

There were year on year improvements across all ten areas, with five organisations improving in at least six of the ten Key Areas. Premises, Recruitment and Selection, Products and Services and Workplace Adjustments had the most consistent progress across the eight organisations.

Improvements were also made across the three categories of Framework, Implementation and Review.

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

41-50

31-40

21-30

11-20

10 2 3 4 5 6 7

0-10

DISTRIBUTION OF INDEX SCORES

NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS

0

3

1

3

0

4

3

7

5

2

Figure 1 Distribution of Access and Inclusion Index scores

ACCESS AND INCLUSION SCORE RANGE

NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS

91-100 0

81-90 3

71-80 1

61-70 3

51-60 0

41-50 4

31-40 3

21-30 7

11-20 5

0-10 2

TOTAL 28

Table 1 Distribution

of Access and Inclusion Index

scores (data)

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KEY AREAS

The ten Key Areas in the Access and Inclusion Index represent the ‘whole-of-organisation’ approach to ensuring access and inclusion for all stakeholders with disability. Some of these areas, such as Commitment, Workplace Adjustments, Recruitment and Selection, and Premises have been the focus of organisations for many years as primary enablers of access and inclusion. Other areas, such as Products and Services, Marketing and Communications and ICT, have had more recent focus as organisations have developed a better understanding of the needs of people with disability as employees, customers and

stakeholders. In addition, the opportunity to develop innovative solutions is now receiving increased attention as leading organisations seek to be more universally accessible and inclusive.

Areas that have received less attention within organisations are Suppliers and Partners and Career Development. These are areas for development for many organisations and will add to a more systematic approach with long term outcomes for both employees and customers. These areas also offer many potential business benefits.

KEY AREAS & GOALS

The ten Key Areas and goals are listed below.

1. Commitment: We commit to bestpractice on access and inclusion forpeople with disability as employees,customers and stakeholders.

2. Premises: Our premises are accessibleto people with disability and whenevernecessary we adjust for individuals.

3. Workplace Adjustments: We anticipatethe needs of people with disability andhave a robust process for making anyadjustments which might be needed byindividuals.

4. Communication and Marketing: Ourcommunication and marketing channelsare accessible to people with disabilityand whenever necessary we makereasonable adjustments for individuals.

5. Products and Services: We valuepeople with disability as customers,clients and service users and addresstheir needs when developing anddelivering our products and services.

6. ICT: Our ICT is accessible and usable bypeople with disability, and we also makereasonable adjustments for individuals.

7. Recruitment and Selection: We attractand recruit people with disability, whichgives us access to the widest talent poolat every level.

8. Career Development: We value allour employees, including those whoexperience disability and are committedto their retention and development.

9. Suppliers and Partners: We expectour suppliers and corporate partnersto reflect and enable us to meet ourcommitment to best practice.

10. Innovation: We pride ourselves on ourinnovative practices and continuallystrive to do better.

MATURITY LEVELS

Figure 2 and table 2 below show the average maturity level across all Index participants for each Key Area. The maturity levels are:

• Level 1 (1.0) - Not participating

• Level 2 (2.0) - Basic

• Level 3 (3.0) - Programmatic, and

• Level 4 (4.0) - Strategic.

Commitment

ICT

Premises

Products and ServicesRecruitment

and Selection

CareerDevelopment

Suppliersand Partners

Innovation

WorkplaceAdjustment

Communicationand Marketing

MATURITY LEVEL FOR EACH KEY AREA

0.0

1.0

3.0

4.0

2.0

AVERAGE MATURITY LEVEL

Figure 2 Index average maturity level by Key Area

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OVERALL MATURITY BY KEY AREA

AVERAGE MATURITY LEVEL (/4)

Commitment 3.0

Premises 2.5

Workplace Adjustments 2.5

Communication and Marketing 2.0

Products and Services 2.0

ICT 2.0

Recruitment and Selection 2.0

Career Development 2.0

Suppliers and Partners 2.0

Innovation 2.0

Table 2 Index average maturity level by Key Area (data)

STRATEGIC

There was no Key Area in which the average maturity level of all participating organisations was at the Strategic level.

PROGRAMMATIC TO STRATEGIC

The area of Commitment showed the highest level of maturity across the participating organisations with 61% achieving the Programmatic level. This level is demonstrated by having a Disability Champion and a written plan in place to address some issues or have a focus on some parts of their business or operations.

None of the organisations achieved a strategic maturity level in commitment however the Access and Inclusion Index provides guidance on how to make these practices systematic and truly embed the commitment across organisations to progress to the strategic level.

BASIC TO PROGRAMMATIC

The average score across organisations for Workplace Adjustments and Premises was between the Basic and Programmatic level, demonstrating frameworks or practices in place to meet compliance or take a reactive approach to access and inclusion. There were a range in scores in both areas with three organisations achieving Strategic level in Workplace Adjustments and one in Premises, while ten organisations were ‘not participating’ in either area.

NOT PARTICIPATING TO BASIC

The average maturity level for Communication and Marketing, Products and Services, ICT, Recruitment and Selection, Career Development, Suppliers and Partners and Innovation was Basic.

A third of the participating organisations achieved Programmatic in Products and Services, ICT and Recruitment and Selection which is encouraging. As well as three organisations achieving Strategic level in Innovation.

REALISING INCLUSION THROUGH ADJUSTMENTS

The Federal Department of Human Services (DHS) has a number of workplace accessibility policies, programs and initiatives which have been designed to realise the principles of access and inclusion and provide recruitment, retention and career development opportunities for people with disability. Workplace adjustments have been a key focus area and have been effective in supporting employees with disability in DHS and across the Australian Public Service via inter-agency shared service arrangements.

Clayton Trevilyan, Assistant Director of the Access and Inclusion Unit reflects on the department’s participation in the 2017 Access and Inclusion Index.

“The Index has helped us prioritise some areas where we could make some real difference”, says Mr Trevilyan. “One of the initiatives we’re really proud of is realising the implementation of a Workplace Adjustment Passport. The Passport has provided staff with more confidence to identify any accessibility requirements they may have or adjustments they need to actively participate in all aspects of the workplace.”

“The Index also provided the opportunity to evaluate the department’s workplace accessibility programs and services provided to ensure staff were aware of the adjustments available and could access them immediately,” said Mr Trevilyan.

Mr Trevilyan said it was not just about implementing new initiatives, but looking at what was already being done, and to look at the opportunities to improve.

“The department already had a number of access and inclusion programs and services to assist staff throughout all stages of the workplace adjustment process including advice regarding availability and suitability, sourcing and procurement, software installation and support and training,” he said.

“One of the easier changes we made was improving awareness of other initiatives that relate to the workplace adjustment process. This included better visibility of our National Disability Access Coordinator, and the advice and support available to both staff, their managers and HR Practitioners of the policies, programs and information available to support people with disability.”

Mr Trevilyan said the Index also identified the opportunity to empower people with disability. The SES Changing Mindsets: Direct Experiences Programme is an immersive cultural program where staff with disability can share their experiences, including the importance of making workplace adjustments.

“Some of the other measures that we have taken to foster a culture of trust and inclusion include International Day of People with Disability Expo event, where we held stalls showcasing services and support available to people with disability. The Expo event incorporated a formal ceremony, highlighting the good work the department has done to support staff with disability.”

DHS has also developed an Access and Inclusion Video series to showcase the real experiences of staff with disability. The current “Our staff, our stories” videos tell the stories of Julie, Craig, Patsy and Christine, and highlight the importance on realising inclusion through workplace adjustments, particularly in the areas of awareness, contribution, empowerment and sharing.

Craig, whose video focuses on the empowerment that effective workplace adjustments provide for people with disability, says “The department is growing all the time in the area of empowering people with disabilities by providing adjustments in their workplace.”

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE

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CROSS SECTION OF RESULTS

The maturity level for each organisation in each Key Area is shown in Figure 3 and Table 3. This shows how many organisations are within each maturity level for each Key Area and provides clarity on overall progress with respect to all ten Areas of access and inclusion.

Workplace Adjustments

Communicationand Marketing

Product and Services

Information Communication Technology (ICT)Recruitment and

Selection

Career Development

Suppliers and Partners

Innovation

Premises

Commitment

NUMBER OF ORGANISATIONS IN EACH MATURITY LEVEL(BY KEY AREA)

8 3 17

Level 1 - Not participating Level 2 - Basic

Level 3 - Programmatic Level 4 - Strategic

10 10 7 1

11 4 10 3

12 10 6

10 10 8

11 10 7

11 8 9

16 5 7

17 8 3

15 4 6 3

Figure 3 Number of organisations in each maturity level (by Key Area)

KEY AREASNO. OF ORGS

AT LEVEL 1

NO. OF ORGS

AT LEVEL 2

NO. OF ORGS

AT LEVEL 3

NO. OF ORGS

AT LEVEL 4Commitment 8 3 17 0

Premises 10 10 7 1

Workplace Adjustments 11 4 10 3

Communication and Marketing 12 10 6 0

Products and Services 10 10 8 0

ICT 11 10 7 0

Recruitment and Selection 11 8 9 0

Career Development 16 5 7 0

Suppliers and Partners 17 8 3 0

Innovation 15 4 6 3

Table 3 Number of organisations by maturity band and Key Area (data)

The spread of scores across maturity levels were similar to the results from the 2016-17 Index Report. There was a strong maturity in Commitment with 17 out of 28 organisations performing at a Programmatic level.

The area of Workplace Adjustments identified excellent examples of good practice, with three organisations scoring top marks. A Strategic approach is shown by having a clear and communicated policy and procedure in place, adjustments are implemented on request and there is a systematic approach to reviewing and gaining feedback from employees. The Australian Network on Disability regards Workplace Adjustments as a foundation piece to an inclusive workplace.

The Index found most organisations achieved a Basic to Programmatic level of maturity in Premises, Communication and Marketing, Products and Services, ICT and Recruitment and Selection.

For the areas of Career Development and Suppliers and Partners, our findings indicate a relatively less mature approach to proactively improving access and inclusion in the organisation.

The next steps for organisations performing at Basic level is to leverage the momentum gained from completing the Index and build on the current frameworks, moving from a ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ approach. The Access and Inclusion Index provides the information and direction for organisations to adapt and adopt proven best practice to advance their maturity in access and inclusion.

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FRAMEWORK, IMPLEMENTATION AND REVIEW

The organisations across Access and Inclusion Index questions in three areas. These are:

• Framework: relates to organisational commitment, policies, procedures and guidelines.

• Implementation: relates to actions, programs and initiatives that the organisation has taken to deliver on commitments.

• Review: relates to monitoring and reviewing progress and using data to improve processes and outcomes for people with disability.

An additional Key Area titled Innovation is included in the Access and Inclusion Index and is measured separately from these three categories (see page 20).

Figure 4 and Table 4 below show the average

maturity level for questions relating to Framework, Implementation, and Review. These results show the maturity level of organisations from policy development through to monitoring and continuous improvement in each Key Area. The trend is for organisations to score as mature in Framework, less mature in Implementation and least mature in Review.

There is a general trend for organisations that score well in Framework to have Basic level of maturity in Implementation and Review.

Across the three categories the Index tool helps organisations identify areas of their current good practice and build on these to develop a more systematic approach which significantly increases their maturity. Recognising current good practice is encouraging and motivating and makes it easier for consistent delivery across the organisation.

Commitment

ICT

Premises

Products and Services

Recruitmentand Selection

CareerDevelopment

Suppliersand Partners

WorkplaceAdjustment

Communicationand Marketing

AVERAGE MATURITY LEVEL

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

Framework Implementation Review and OutcomesFigure 4 Average maturity level in Framework, Implementation and Review by Key Area

KEY AREAS FRAMEWORK IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW

Commitment 3.0 3.0 2.5

Premises 2.5 2.0 2.5

Workplace Adjustments 2.5 3.0 2.0

Communication and Marketing 2.0 2.0 1.5

Products and Services 2.5 2.5 2.0

ICT 2.0 2.0 2.0

Recruitment and Selection 2.5 2.5 1.5

Career Development 2.0 1.5 2.0

Suppliers and Partners 1.5 1.5 1.5

Table 4 Average maturity level in Framework, Implementation and Review by Key Area (data)

FRAMEWORK

Organisational commitment, policies, procedures and guidelines.

Organisations had slightly stronger results for their Access and Inclusion Frameworks than Implementation and Review. Commitment rated the highest, closely followed by Premises, Workplace Adjustments, Products and Services and Recruitment and Selection.

It was expected that the areas of Commitment, Workplace Adjustments and Recruitment would see more examples of good frameworks in place, as there has been focus over recent years for organisations to develop foundation pieces that create and support inclusive workplaces. To increase the level of maturity from Basic to Programmatic or Strategic, organisations need to ensure that their policies and procedures are known across the organisation and are easily accessible to all employees.

This Benchmark Report shows that organisations have increased their focus on Products and Services and have created policies and procedures that will provide better experiences to customers, clients and stakeholders.

The average score for Communication and Marketing, ICT and Career Development showed that although there is Commitment, practices were limited in scope and not consistent across the organisation and were at the Basic level.

As in the 2016-17 Benchmark Report, the lowest area of maturity was Suppliers and Partners. The average score being below Basic level. Little or no attention has been given to this area which has the potential to have a hugely beneficial impact on employees and customers with disability. Only one organisation achieved Programmatic maturity level in this area.

16 17

IMPLEMENTATION

Actions, programs and initiatives that the organisation has taken to deliver on commitments.

Commitment and Workplace Adjustments were the areas of highest performance when it came to the actions, programs and initiatives to deliver on the frameworks developed by organisations. The average maturity level across organisations for these Key Areas is Programmatic.

For the area of Workplace Adjustments, the average maturity level for Implementation was higher than the maturity level for Framework. This could be due to the increased practices for flexible working across Australian businesses, which leads to a more confident approach to implementing adjustments. Several organisations, have also introduced Workplace Adjustment Passports which make it easier for employees to personalise their work environment particularly during a period of change, whether that be a new job role or line manager.

The average maturity level across organisations for Products and Services and Recruitment and Selection was between Basic and Programmatic. More members of the Australian Network on Disability are implementing targeted employment programs and internship programs, which are beneficial, but there’s more work to be done to ensure inclusive recruitment and selection is applied across all roles.

Premises, Communication and Marketing and ICT achieved a Basic level and to progress to the Programmatic level, training and resourcing is required for teams to implement the organisations’ commitments in these Key Areas.

Suppliers and Partners and Career Development were the lowest rating with average maturity level of below Basic. There was a lack of policies, procedures or programs in place for many organisations. Mature organisations have implemented mentoring programs or other initiatives that supports employees to progress their careers.

REVIEW AND OUTCOMES

Monitoring and reviewing progress and using data to improve processes and outcomes for people with disability.

Tracking and monitoring initiatives and formalised mechanisms to seek feedback from stakeholders with disability was, on average, the least mature area of the Index with no Key Area achieving higher than the Basic. Commitment and Premises performed the best with an average score between Basic and Programmatic.

The five organisations operating at a Strategic level in Premises had knowledge of the accessibility of their property portfolio and were tracking progress towards their goal of full accessibility.

Employees with disability would experience a more inclusive culture and retention would improves with better monitoring and review of Workplace Adjustments and Career Development approaches. Products and Services and ICT achieved on average a Basic level of maturity, with only one organisation scoring Strategic level in review for both areas. The gap is in seeking feedback and proactively reviewing products, services, websites and intranets to ensure they meet the organisations commitment to accessibility.

Most organisations that took part in Evaluation and Benchmarking are operating at a Basic level to reviewing accessibility for Communication and Marketing, Recruitment and Selection and Suppliers and Partners. Four organisations are demonstrating a Programmatic to Strategic approach with reviewing Communication and Marketing and two organisations for Suppliers and Partners.

Organisations need to gain insights and understanding of the experience of candidates and new employees through the Recruitment and Selection processes so that they can better identify and remove system barriers.

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION – MORE THAN TALKING

Medibank has provided the 1800RESPECT service on behalf of the Australian Government since 2010. A confidential information, referral and counselling service for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, 1800RESPECT is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

According to 1800RESPECT General Manager Nicole McMahon, it’s vital that this important service is accessible to everyone.

“We want to make sure that all women regardless of where they live, their level of mobility, the language they speak or if they have a physical or intellectual disability get the support they need in an easy and timely way,” said Ms McMahon.

To do this, 1800RESPECT commissioned Women with Disability Australia to conduct a full-scale audit of the 1800RESPECT service, across phone, online and email.

“We wanted to create an inclusive space where women with a disability could have the same access as everyone else. We created an advisory panel and a user testing group to help us with the redesign of the website,” Ms McMahon said.

To ensure the website met Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Medibank consulted the Centre for Inclusive

Design and the developers and designers were given accessibility training to help them design the most accessible website possible.

“The website is available in different formats and written in Easy or Plain English. Minimal file size is used to reduce download time and promote accessibility and usability. It has been created so people with a disability can easily access the support that best suits them,” Ms McMahon said.

This initiative supported Medibank to score highly in the Innovation area as part of the Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index.

Medibank’s Organisational and Sustainable Development Lead Nigel Davis said: “The Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index, is a valuable tool that we use across the whole of business. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to use last year’s report as a roadmap to make good progress against our access and inclusion goals.”

Research shows that Women with a disability are incredibly over-represented in the statistics around sexual assault, domestic and family violence. In fact, 1 in 5 women with disability have experienced sexual violence and girls with disability are 3-4 times more likely to experience violence than their friends without disability.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.

In an emergency, call 000.

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE

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INNOVATION

For the Key Area of Innovation, the style of questions was different to other areas and only two questions were asked. One question on innovation for employees with disability and the second was on innovation for customers, clients or service users. Both innovation and measurement were considered during assessment.

Innovation for employees

We have implemented an innovative policy and/or practice to support employees with disability in any of the nine Key Areas covered in the Access and Inclusion Index.

Innovation for customers, clients or service users

We have implemented an innovative policy and/or practice to support customers, clients or service users with disability in any of the nine Key Areas covered in the Access and Inclusion Index.

The response options and maturity levels for innovation were referred to as:

• Level 1 (Not participating): No - We have not implemented an innovative policy or practice

• Level 2 (Basic) - Yes, but the impact of the measure has not yet been measured

• Level 3 (Programmatic) - Yes, and the impact has been measured or is in the process of being measured for the lessons learnt from this innovation, or the innovation is currently running successfully but is too early to be formally measured

• Level 4 (Strategic) - Yes, we have measured the success of the innovation and it is part of, or is in the process of being made part of, our standard business practices

Table 5 shows how many organisations are within each maturity level for innovation for employees and for innovation for customers, clients or service users.

INNOVATION ORGS NOT PARTICIPATING ORGS AT BASIC ORGS AT

PROGRAMMATICORGS AT

STRATEGIC

For employees 18 4 3 3

For customers, clients or service users

11 6 4 7

Table 5 Number of organisations in each maturity level for innovation of employees and customers, clients or service users

The 2017-18 Index showed there has been a strong focus on seeking innovative solutions and practices for customers, clients and service users with disability. This is not surprising with many of the organisations involved servicing customers nationally with significant opportunity for impact.

Most of the employee related Innovation focused on improved workplace adjustments and considered the whole work environment rather than only the individual needs, asking questions such as ‘how can we remove barriers or design work environments that are flexible and accessible for all from the beginning?’

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WHAT’S NEXT?

The 2017-18 Access and Inclusion Benchmark Report provides important insights into the practices and maturity of the 28 participating organisations. The Report shows Key Areas of relative strength and Key Areas for development.

The results reinforce the value of organisations’ commitment, policy frameworks and programs that advance access and inclusion for people with disability in large organisations.

Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index, Evaluation Reports and Benchmarking Reports are valuable tools that engage and motivate members to invest in progress.

The 2017-18 Benchmark Report showed significant progress for those organisations who participated in Evaluation and Benchmarking for the second time. This was demonstrated by two of the three leading organisations.

It’s our hope that the competitive spirit generated by the Benchmarking Report will give the impetus to organisations to create impact by mobilising their commitments and developing successful practices and programs.

The good practice examples in this Report make it easier for other organisations to generate ideas and replicate processes. We need good practice examples for Communication and Marketing, Products and Services, and ICT.

The most significant areas for development are Suppliers and Partners and Career Development. There is a significant opportunity to leverage the buying power of organisations and reward providers of goods and services that are accessible and inclusive for people with disability. This will have a large impact for both employee, customers and partner relationships as well as have ripple effects across markets.

Action on Career Development is required to reap the benefits of workplace inclusion and improve retention.

At the Australian Network on Disability we continue to support our members to build their expertise to confidently welcome, employ and do business with people with disability. The Access and Inclusion Index, Evaluation Reports and Benchmark Reports are important steps toward measuring organisations’ progress. We look forward to growing the number of organisations that participate and share their good practices so that together, we can enable better lives for customers and employees with disability.

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HOW TO CONNECT WITH US

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@ANDisability www.linkedin.com/company/ANDisability/

www.and.org.au | info@and.org.au

AUSTRALIAN NETWORK ON DISABILITY Level 3, 80 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000

1300 363 645

While every effort has been made to ensure that this report is accurate, the Australian Network on Disability makes no warranty about its accuracy or completeness. To the extent permitted by law, the Australian Network on Disability, its directors, officers, employees and agents exclude all liability (whether in negligence or otherwise) for any error or inaccuracy in, or omission from, the report; and any loss or damage suffered by any person, directly or indirectly, through use of the report, including reliance upon the information contained in the report, and any decisions made on the basis of its content.Copyright Australian Network on Disability 2018.ACN 605 683 645 | ABN 924 564 573 35