Australians who are blind or vision impaired face significant barriers and issues when accessing banking and financial institutions and products in Australia, primarily resulting in complete inaccessibility to these institutions and products.
This post is taken from a report by Blind Citizens Australia. It was originally published on 15th July, 2022.
In a new report, Blind Citizens Australia, a national representative organisation of Australians who are blind or vision impaired, calls on Australian banks and institutions, under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (1992) and as a signatory under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) (2008) to:
- Implement staff training for frontline staff assisting consumers with disability, with specific information on how to support people who are blind or vision impaired
- Provide accessible format information access when requested including braille, paper copy large print, audio/telephone banking or electronic access that is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. compliant for banking statements and bills
- Provide alternative access methods for withdrawing cash with Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) or making purchases using Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) devices which do not use touchscreen, and
- Provide alternate methods for paying BPAY or other financial bills and accessing digital identity checks.
Read the full report.
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