Commonwealth Disability Strategy
During 2008-09, Finance continued to encourage an inclusive and diverse workplace in accordance with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. This appendix reports on the department’s performance in implementing the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. For the purposes of the strategy, Finance’s activities include the roles of “Employer”, “Policy Adviser”, “Regulator”, “Purchaser” and “Provider”. Finance reports on its Employer role through the Australian Public Service Commission's annual State of the Service agency survey.
Finance’s role as a Policy Adviser requires the department to work primarily with Australian Government agencies rather than the wider community. The department recognises that it needs to consider the impact a new or revised policy will have on the lives of people with disabilities, and when advising on the policies brought forward by other agencies for government consideration, Finance considers these issues.
Finance’s policy responsibilities include the Australian Government’s procurement policy framework. The Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines articulate the government’s expectations for all FMA Act agencies and their officials when performing duties related to procurement. Revised guidelines took effect on 1 December 2008, which included a new exemption from the mandatory procurement procedures for the procurement of property or services from businesses that primarily exist to support people with disabilities through the provision of their services.
Finance also publishes checklists and guides that promote better practice in using technology to deliver information and services to a diverse range of people, including people with disabilities. For example, the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide informs agencies about their legal obligations for online accessibility and provides practical guidance to help them meet or exceed these obligations. The guidelines mandate that government websites meet all the Priority 1 checkpoints, and recommend they also meet Priority 2 checkpoints of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 1 published by the World Wide Web Consortium. Meeting these checkpoints removes many barriers to accessing web documents for people with disabilities.
Finance’s own websites, including ‘finance.gov.au’ and ‘australia.gov.au’, provide access to information in a manner that complies with the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide. Finance has implemented quality control processes to ensure access and equity principles are taken into consideration during the web publishing process.
Finance’s role as a Regulator does not directly impact on the public and is limited to issues internal to the Australian Government. Information related to this role is accessible to people with disabilities from the Finance website.
Finance’s role as a Purchaser includes delivering specific construction projects for the government. The buildings for which Finance managed the planning and construction during 2008-09 complied with all relevant state, territory and Commonwealth legislation, including the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Finance’s role as a Provider includes supplying a range of support services to Ministers, Senators, Members and their staff, including electorate office facilities, motor vehicles and car-with-driver services. Finance makes adjustments in order to provide access to these services for clients with disabilities.