Find out which Aussie companies score high for access and inclusion

The inaugural Disability Confidence Awards has celebrated organisations improving employment opportunities for Australians. See who makes the list.

Westpac and Australia Post have been recognised for making systemic changes to improve employment opportunities for people living with disabilities.

They were among some of Australia’s biggest employers – including the Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian Taxation Office – honoured at the inaugural Disability Confidence Awards in Melbourne on Wednesday night.

Beth McFarlane is sight-impaired and works at Coles Lutwyche in QLD with the support of her guide dog Pookie. Coles is ranked third overall in the Access and Inclusion Index 2021. Picture: Supplied

Awards sponsor Coles, meanwhile, ranked number one in the Australian Network on Disability’s Access and Inclusion Index 2021 for recruitment and selection and number two for career and development, suppliers and partners. The supermarket also ranked number three overall – a jump of five places in just two years.

Coles GM people and culture central Tammy Ryder, Coles GM meat Martin Smithson and GM organisation effectiveness Josie Fakira at the Disability Confidence Awards. Picture: Martin Keep/Coles

Network on Disability CEO Corene Strauss said the index was corporate Australia’s benchmarking tool for inclusion of people with disability.

“The results provide organisations with a road-map for improvement and a national benchmark by which to measure and progress their maturity on accessibility and disability inclusion,” she said.

Westpac, Australia Post, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian Taxation Office were among Australian organisations recognised at the inaugural Picture: NCA/NewsWire/John Gass

According to the network, the country’s peak body for workplace inclusivity, more than two million Australians of working age have a disability, however only 48 per cent are employed.

The unemployment rate for people with a disability has risen from eight per cent in 2003 to 10 per cent in 2018, more than double the unemployment rate among people without disability.

Australian Network on Disability CEO Corene Strauss. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

New initiatives – addressing issues like access – include embedded inclusion recruitment specialists, who hired an additional 1011 employees with a disability, compared to an increase of 281 at the same time last year.

Coles Group chief marketing officer and co-chair of the accessibility committee, Lisa Ronson, said the company aimed to recruit more Australians living with a disability.

Coles chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

“Our vision for diversity is to foster a safe, inclusive and diverse workplace that is reflective of the community and customers we serve,” she said.

“We know there are so many more positive outcomes we can achieve for those living with a disability and we will use the findings of the index to help guide future initiatives in this space.”

Towards a Better Future, in conjunction with Coles’ Better Together strategy, shares stories on farming, local communities, health & wellbeing, and sustainability/food waste to shine a light on the people, charities and organisations that are helping make our country a better place.