Conference Recap: Australian Network on Disability

On the 10th of June 2021, TTC was a Brand Sponsor for the Australian Network on Disability Conference held at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. The conference gave attendees the exclusive insight into ways they can deliver sustainable access and inclusion outcomes. Incorporating the model of inclusivity for all allows an organisation to create new ideas that empowers not only employees with disability, but also organisations as a whole.

Looking back at the success of the Conference, it makes us be proud to be part of change. The organisations who form part of The Value 500 have stepped up and committed at board level to making people with disability feel included. This is an incredible achievement as we need organisations to take the first step and prove to every other organisation how prioritizing inclusivity has taken their company to the next level.

There were several organisations and individuals who made an impact at the Conference. For example, Susan Scott Parker from Business Disability International made a call out to stop buying inaccessible tech. Matt Hawkins from ANZ spoke about a new procurement tool, which will assist organisations to make more inclusive decisions when procuring technology, software or even partnering with providers.

PurpleSpace and Suncorp Group brought ERGs front and centre through an insightful panel discussion about the Power of Language, which highlighted that our words have a huge impact on our community, colleagues, customers and service users.

Lastly, Sharon Carroll from Australia Post did a presentation about their achievements with attaining Disability Confident Recruiter status through AND. They wanted to ensure accessible recruitment practices, including making sure their online recruitment process are accessible to candidates with disability. As a result, she stated that they have had an increase in the number of people applying for roles.

Additionally, we want to congratulate the top performers in the Access and Inclusion Index: NDIA, Medibank, RMIT, ANZ and IBM. This demonstrates the progression of maturity in relation to the inclusion of people with disability across the whole of their businesses, including ICT. Thank you to the organisations who spoke on the day and acknowledged that they have more work to do on this journey.

We are all on this journey to make change, and we know it can be a daunting experience. If you have any questions or even just want to have a discussion, we are here to make this experience feel attainable and rewarding at the same time. At the end of the day, the AND Conference has given us the opportunity to make change happen, and we cannot wait to see how companies thrive when including accessibility in their organisations.