Disability Action Plan

The Group first lodged a Disability Action Plan (DAP) with the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2004, in recognition of the diverse needs of the communities in which we operate.

We value, respect and leverage the unique contributions of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, to provide exceptional customer service to an equally diverse community.

At Commonwealth Bank, our DAP has been developed to provide structures for improving customer access to our services and an accessible and inclusive work environment for people with disability.

To ensure its success, it has been developed in consultation with community and disability groups and a broad representation of internal stakeholders to obtain input and provide feedback.

The DAP is implemented by a group of subject matter experts and business leaders, who have responsibility and accountability for the implementation of the actions and projects.

We focused on three strategic areas over the past two years:

• Customer service
• Employment practices
• Community engagement

We are pleased to share the following outcomes and achievements attained and we are looking forward to continuing work on these areas to improve equity and access for people with a disability:

• The ATM Refresh plan has upgraded all ATMs screens. Improved features include better contrast and larger, clearer fonts. Phase two of the project will continue and will be complete by end 2014, ensuring 100 percent of terminals are audio enabled
• Developed a series of resources including fact sheets, guides and training to ensure customer service staff are aware of support services for people with disabilities.
• Reviewed and streamlined processes for providing bank statements to people who are blind or who have low vision. Improvements included extending formats to include e-text and developing a new process to incorporate production of other documentation such as contracts or terms and conditions.
• Developed a partnership with Work Focus Australia and the National Disability Recruitment Coordinator to create new recruitment opportunities to tap into talent pools within the disability sector.
• Developed and piloted a diversity support mentoring program for job seekers with disability. This program is now scheduled to run twice yearly in partnership with Australian Network on disability and our internal Volunteering Team.
• Worked with the Australian Human Rights Commission and numerous disability organisations and networks to develop our Disability Action Plan and to provide specialist support and expertise to develop new strategies.

Through the DAP, we have a clear plan to continue raising awareness, improving access to financial services and employment opportunities and tapping into our networks and partnerships to support our work. 

View the Group's Disability Action Plan:

• PDF version (1.1mb)
• Accessible word version (10.9mb)