Australia Post 
Accessibility Action Plan 

2012 - 2015

Contents
Disability definition
Disability and Australia Post
Ahmed Fahour, Managing Director & CEO
Suzanne Colbert AM,  CEO Australian Network on Disability
People with disability at Australia Post – snapshot
Fast facts – people with disability
Our vision
Building on a strong foundation
Employer of Choice
Improving our technology
Work experience for adults with disability
Improving accessibility through “Delivery Choices”
Accessibility Action Plan
Our people: actions
Diversity awareness: Continue to build an inclusive culture by enhancing our people’s level of disability awareness.
Talent sourcing and recruitment: Attract and recruit candidates from a diverse talent pool and improve the accessibility of our end-to-end recruitment process.
Learning and development: Ensure our learning and development programs / activities are accessible to people with disability.
Internal communication: Enhance our internal communications to ensure that they are accessible to all employees.
From manager to champion: Embedding a culture of inclusion at Kingsgrove Business Hub
Our customers: actions
Product and service development: Australia Post will consider the voice of the customer and the accessibility requirements of people with disability in the design of our product and services.
Property: All new facilities to be accessible for our customers and people and upgrading of older facilities where feasible.
Website and digital assets:  Enhance our corporate internet site and other digital assets to make them more accessible.
Parcel delivery: Improve our parcel delivery services for people with disability and their carers.
Marketing material:  Improve the accessibility of our marketing material.
Providing our customers with greater access, convenience and choice in the way they transact with Australia Post
Our community: actions
Engagement:  Broaden our community feedback in relation to disability.
Procurement: Influence the employment of people with disability through our procurement decisions.
Partnerships:  Strengthen partnerships to promote greater accessibility, disability awareness and community cohesion.
Bindi Inc. – community partnership
Governance
Responding to our stakeholders

Disability definition 
The Disability Discrimination Act (1992) uses a very broad definition of “disability” to identify discriminatory practices. A disability is any condition that restricts a person's mental, sensory or mobility functions. It could be caused by accident, trauma, genetics or disease. A disability may be temporary or permanent, total or partial, lifelong or acquired, visible or invisible. Through this Accessibility Action Plan, Australia Post seeks to eliminate disability discrimination in accordance with the Act. 

Disability and Australia Post
Ahmed Fahour, Managing Director & CEO 

As one of Australia’s largest community based organisations, we provide essential services for all Australians everyday. We take this responsibility very seriously as we recognise that people put their trust in our ability to deliver.

This means, as a business we need to continually adapt and evolve to provide secure products and services that are relevant to how people live and work and importantly, are accessible in both the physical and digital worlds.

With approximately one in five Australians having a disability, Australia Post understands disability touches all aspects of our business – our people, our customers, our suppliers, and the community in which we operate.

Our Accessibility Action Plan is our proactive and public commitment to taking a lead role in improving accessibility for all Australians with disability and their carers.

Our Plan aims to improve the overall quality of life for people with disability by contributing to greater workforce participation and making accessible, our products and services that play a vital role in people’s everyday lives.

I am proud of Australia Post’s long-standing commitment to providing equal employment opportunities for people with disability. I strongly believe a diverse and inclusive workforce, in which the unique contributions of our people are leveraged, is critical to our success as an organisation, and more broadly, improving Australia’s economy and living standards.

Australia Post’s first Accessibility Action Plan further advances our commitment and marks an important time in our history. As part of our Future Ready program we are making significant investments in our business so we are more innovative, agile and responsive. 

Never before have we been in a better position to support the building of more inclusive and vibrant communities, offering our customers more accessible options to meet their varied needs.

I am pleased to present our first Accessibility Action Plan, which has been endorsed by the Australia Post Board of Directors. I see it as setting a benchmark for us, as a modern and sustainable organisation that makes a positive contribution to Australian communities.

Suzanne Colbert AM, 
CEO Australian Network on Disability 

The Australian Network on Disability seeks to promote the equitable inclusion of people with disability in all aspects of business.  We welcome Australia Post’s commitments to people with disability which includes employees, customers and the broader community.  This Accessibility Action Plan reviews Australia Post’s existing business practices, but also seeks to build a more cohesive community through greater disability and accessibility awareness and engagement.  

Businesses that have the vision to welcome people with disability in their day-to-day operations have a powerful impact on the whole of society. In Australia this will help to create a level playing field for people with disability and boost the competitiveness of our economy. 

In Australia 15 per cent of the working-age population has disability.  As a significant employer of people with disability, it is pleasing to see that Australia Post is improving strategies to attract, recruit and retain skilled and talented people with disability.  We also applaud Australia Post’s efforts to leverage increased opportunities for people with disability in the broader community through its supplier network and procurement decisions.
    
Australia Post has undertaken significant work to identify opportunities for improving the accessibility of its products, services and facilities.  We welcome this approach and the actions that Australia Post is taking across all aspects of its customer service.

The Australian Network on Disability looks forward to supporting Australia Post and other leading Australian organisations as they implement their Accessibility Action Plans.

People with disability at Australia Post – snapshot

At Australia Post, a diverse and inclusive workforce makes sense for our people, for our customers and for our community. As one of Australia’s largest employers, a diverse and inclusive workforce means we have a wider range of skills, views and ideas. This not only promotes greater employee engagement and innovation, it also puts us in a stronger position to understand our customers and meet their needs. 

Australia Post has long recognised the untapped potential of quality candidates and is committed to leading the way in providing sustainable employment opportunities for people with disability.

As at June 2012, Australia Post employed 2,398 people who have a disclosed disability, representing 7.3 per cent of our total workforce. Despite our business undergoing tremendous change, our representation has remained relatively stable over the past several years and compares strongly against that of the Australian Public Service Agencies at 3 per cent. 

“Australia Post is seen as an employer of choice by many people with disability. Our experience working with the team at Australia Post has been extremely positive. The organisation encourages disclosure and is totally committed to ensuring it welcomes employees with disability through its proactive and confident approach to reasonable adjustments and inclusion.” 

Lucy Macali, 
Manager National Disability Recruitment Coordinator, Workfocus Australia

Fast facts – people with disability 
•	7.3 per cent (2,398) of people within our workforce have a disability
•	Over 4 million Australians have a disability - that's 1 in 5 people
•	2.6 million unpaid family carers
•	2.1 million Australians of working age (15-64yrs) have a disability
•	Almost 90 per cent of disabilities are not visible
Our vision 

As a diverse and inclusive organisation, Australia Post aspires to improve the employment experience for people with disability and better connect with our customers and the community who have disabilities through accessibility of all our products, services and facilities.
Building on a strong foundation 

While this is Australia Post’s first Accessibility Action Plan, our vision under the Plan has very much been a part of how we operate as an organisation for many years. As a trusted services provider, we have continually strived to improve the accessibility of our workplace, outlets, products and services for people with disability. Some of our highlights and achievements over the past several years include:

Employer of Choice
Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Disability Recruitment Coordinator (NDRC) and Workfocus. The partnership has increased employment opportunities for people with disability at Australia Post and has provided work-related equipment and services so they can perform their work as independently and productively as possible.
Improving our technology 
Our new intranet, Pogo now offers greater accessibility for our employees with vision and motor disabilities. Pogo complies with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and has been built to the international standard of WCAG priority level AA.
Work experience for adults with disability
Over the past 6 years the Hervey Bay delivery centre has achieved great success through its disability work experience and employment program, run with the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service (CRS). The program allows participants to learn new skills and gain confidence. The manager, Vicki Eichholzer, was the winner of the CRS State Queensland Employer Awards 2011 “Hall of Fame” in recognition of her outstanding continued support in providing employment opportunities and advocacy for people with disability.
Improving accessibility through “Delivery Choices” 
We are making it easier for our customers and their carers by increasing choice and convenience through “Delivery Choices” – a new accessibility service offering. Customers can now select when, where and how their parcel is delivered – a morning or afternoon or on particular day or date.  

Accessibility Action Plan 
2012 – 2015
Our Accessibility Action Plan focuses on improving accessibility for our three core stakeholder groups:

•	Our people: enhance our attraction, recruitment and retention of people with disability by proactively improving access to employment and ongoing development opportunities within an inclusive work environment.

•	Our customers: better connect with our customers through providing accessible products, services and facilities both physically and digitally. 

•	Our community: support the building of more inclusive and vibrant communities by creating opportunities for greater participation for people with a disability and their carers.
In developing the three-year plan, Australia Post established a formal working party and engaged a number of internal and external stakeholders through a consultation and review process to ensure a best practice approach. 
Australia Post would like to acknowledge the contributions made by the following networks and organisations to our Accessibility Action Plan:
•	Australia Post employees with disability 
•	The Australian Network on Disability
•	Vision Australia
•	Blind Citizens Australia
•	VicDeaf
•	Physical Disability Council of Victoria
•	SANE Australia
•	National Disability Recruitment Coordinator 
The actions within the Plan are a consolidation of the successful initiatives already established at Australia Post and feedback from our stakeholder groups that informed key opportunities for improvement.
The actions, accompanied by clear timing, accountability and success measures will be implemented over the next three years in a commercially and financially sound manner. 
Our Plan, launched on 3 December 2012, to coincide with International Day of People with Disability has been prepared for lodgement with the Australian Human Rights Commission. 

Our people: actions 

Our objective: To enhance our attraction, recruitment and retention of people with disability by proactively improving access to employment and ongoing development opportunities within an inclusive work environment. 
Diversity awareness: Continue to build an inclusive culture by enhancing our people’s level of disability awareness.
1.1	Measure engagement of employees with disability to understand what we are doing well and opportunities for improvement. May-13
1.2	Build disability awareness by promoting success stories, events and initiatives. Ongoing
1.3	Participate in a corporate forum with other organisations to share experiences and promote ongoing progress in removing employment barriers for people with disability. Ongoing
1.4	Implement disability awareness training for our people. From July 13
Talent sourcing and recruitment: Attract and recruit candidates from a diverse talent pool and improve the accessibility of our end-to-end recruitment process. 
2.1	Review and enhance our Equal Employment Opportunity policy, value proposition and recruitment process to promote Australia Post as an accessible employer for people with disability. Mar-13
2.2	Explore options to expand our work experience/internship program to build skills and employability of people with disability. Sep-13
2.3	Ensure all psychometric and / or pre-employment testing practices are accessible for people with disability. Mar-13
2.4	Review and enhance our reasonable adjustments process to create visibility for potential candidates and ensure a standard enterprise approach is adopted. Mar-13
2.5	Partner with our recruitment agencies (for professional and management roles) to identify and report on actions to source candidates from diverse talent pool of candidates. Mar-13
Learning and development: Ensure our learning and development programs / activities are accessible to people with disability. 
3.1	Establish a learning and accessibility standard for Australia Post. Jun-13
3.2	Training and event invitations to include question on accessibility.	Jan-13

Internal communication: Enhance our internal communications to ensure that they are accessible to all employees.  
4.1	Ensure new internal videos and key external audiovisual marketing are accompanied by an accessible transcript or captioning.  Jun-13
4.2	Annually review and confirm the current WCAG 2.0 AA certification for intranet (Pogo). 30 Dec Annually
4.3	Establish and promote a central intranet location for information on accessibility support and services (such as AUSLAN services, JobAccess, internal fact sheets and manager guidelines).	Mar-13

From manager to champion: Embedding a culture of inclusion at Kingsgrove Business Hub 

With a combined tenure of 20 years service at Australia Post, Caroline, Greg and David, share two things in common – firstly they all agree that their managers and team leaders have a huge impact on their quality of work life and secondly, they are deaf.
When interviewed recently to gain their feedback on life with Australia Post, their most glowing comments were reserved for their manager Adrian Jones and team leader, Beau Keegan.  
Adrian’s ability to create an inclusive work environment at Kingsgrove Business Hub has resulted in the employment of deaf staff increase to seven. Several of the key initiatives that have successfully supported the ongoing recruitment and engagement of deaf staff include:
•	providing deaf awareness training for managers and staff to break down stereotypes and barriers. 
•	providing development opportunities to build the confidence level of staff to broaden their horizons and apply for more senior roles in the organisation.
•	organising an Auslan interpreter on a regular basis to ensure staff are kept informed and key messages are understood.
“We still have plenty of work to do to,” Adrian says, “and I am very excited about our Accessibility Action Plan which will significantly improve communication in the workplace for of all our staff including our deaf employees.”
Through his commitment to diversity and inclusion, Adrian is attracting and retaining committed, hard working employees to the Kingsgrove Business Hub, which was recognised as a finalist in the ASLIA Fair Go: Employer Awards in April 2012.

“Deaf people love to work for Australia Post because of the ‘fair go’ attitude demonstrated by managers. Deaf people at Australia Post are very happy that they receive the services of interpreters, which helps to create equity in the workplace.” 

Sean Sweeney, 
contract Auslan interpreter for Kingsgrove Business Hub for the last 4 years 
Our customers: actions 

Our objective: to better connect with our customers through providing accessible products, services and facilities both physically and digitally.
Product and service development: Australia Post will consider the voice of the customer and the accessibility requirements of people with disability in the design of our product and services.	
1.1	All new products and services Australia Post develops will be assessed for accessibility requirements. Mar-13
1.2	Review our “Voice of the Customer” feedback for systemic accessibility issues and report to the Australia Post Accessibility Ambassador. Jun -13/ Dec -13
1.3	Roll out of the Australia Post Digital MailBox – an online complement to the physical letterbox that will enhance the accessibility of our people with disability to send and receive their mail. 
Property: All new facilities to be accessible for our customers and people and upgrading of older facilities where feasible.
2.1	All new sites will meet the Building Code of Australia requirements including accessibility standards. Where we refurbish part of a site, we will make that part, affected areas and the path of travel to that place accessible. Throughout the Plan period
2.2	Commence remediation of remaining sites based on internal accessibility analysis and according to financial and strategic priorities. We seek to preserve the heritage value of our sites and work hard to ensure that they are accessible.  Where this is not possible we will seek alternative solutions that meet the needs of the community and Australia Post. Jul-14
Website and digital assets:  Enhance our corporate internet site and other digital assets to make them more accessible.
3.1	Improve the Australia Post corporate internet site to WCAG 2.0 AA compliance, and identify any WCAG 2.0 AAA requirements that could be cost-effectively implemented. Dec-13
3.2	Undertake a review of all digital assets to assess accessibility status for WCAG 2.0 AA compliance - this will include tools, microsites, forms, and third party arrangements. Mar-13
Parcel delivery: Improve our parcel delivery services for people with disability and their carers.	
4.1	Australia Post will investigate, and where appropriate, communicate the range of options that improve the accessibility of our parcel delivery service.	Mar-13
Marketing material:  Improve the accessibility of our marketing material.	
5.1	Marketing collateral and information about our products and services will be made more accessible by delivering content via appropriate digital channels and utilising audio and video where possible.	Mar-13

Providing our customers with greater access, convenience and choice in the way they transact with Australia Post 

The Australia Post Digital MailBox is an innovative new product, free for all Australians, that will revolutionise the way consumers send and receive their mail and manage their information. 

Using the Australia Post Digital MailBox, our customers can easily and conveniently connect with their service providers such as banks, telecommunication and utility providers, and government bodies. Available 24/7, customers will be able to receive statements, bills and other important communications; set reminders, manage their budget and make payments online; and store documents delivered via the Digital Mailbox or uploaded directly by users.

Australia Post has consulted with Vision Australia to ensure the Digital MailBox is accessible for people with disability. 

Our community: actions 

Our objective: support the building of more inclusive, vibrant communities through creating opportunities for greater participation for people with a disability and their carers.

Engagement:  Broaden our community feedback in relation to disability.
1.1	Include a representative from a disability-related organisation on the Australia Post Stakeholder Council. Mar-13
1.2	Engage key disability stakeholder groups in line with our annual Accessibility Action Plan review. From Dec 2013
Procurement: Influence the employment of people with disability through our procurement decisions.	
2.1	In line with Australia Post’s Community Strategy, broaden our Supplier Diversity Strategy to include disability enterprises or suppliers who sponsor or support disability. Sep-13
Partnerships:  Strengthen partnerships to promote greater accessibility, disability awareness and community cohesion.	
3.1	Develop and include an event accessibility checklist in our partnership agreements.  Jun-13
3.2	Encourage employees, as part of our Community Giving Program, to make contributions to disability-related charities. Jun-13
3.3	Develop new community initiatives that support socially-inclusive communities that include people with disability. Jun-13
Bindi Inc. – community partnership 
Australia Post formed a partnership with Bindi Inc. in the Northern Territory. Bindi Inc. is a not-for-profit, locally run organisation that supports disabled and disadvantaged people by offering creative and interactive programs.  The partnership means that, as well as helping Alice Springs town camp community members communicate with their family and friends, Australia Post is offering meaningful work to disabled and disadvantaged community members, in rural and remote locations.

Brian Garrihy, manager of Northern Territory Mail Services, says, “Our valued Bindi Inc. team members allow us to deliver mail and reach members of our community to whom we otherwise would not have access. When the people delivering the mail are just as excited as those who are receiving it – you know this is something special”.
“Bindi is very excited to be partnering with Australia Post and we are keen for the role to expand in time,” says Bindi Inc.’s CEO Stephen Waterbury.
Governance 

Australia Post has established an Accessibility Working Party and has appointed an ambassador – Christine Corbett, Executive General Manager, Retail Services.

The Accessibility Working Party, who are accountable for the implementation and monitoring of the key actions, will meet on a monthly basis to review progress. 

The Project Review Team, consisting of the ambassador, General Manager Culture & Communications and Head of Diversity & Inclusion, will meet on a quarterly basis to review progress and provide feedback to the working party.

A formal, annual review will be conducted, with key findings presented to Australia Post’s executive committee. As part of the annual review, various disability stakeholder groups will be engaged to provide comment and feedback. 

Outcomes from the Accessibility Action Plan will be outlined in our annual equal employment opportunity report in October each year. 

Responding to our stakeholders 
As part of our continuous improvement processes at Australia Post, we welcome feedback regarding accessibility issues to help Australia Post better connect with our people, customers and the community. Feedback can be made in several ways: 
•	online
 www.auspost.com.au 

•	telephone 
to the customer relations centre on 13 POST (13 7678)

•	in writing
Australia Post
Customer Contact Channels
GPO Box 9911
Melbourne VIC 3001