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The National Australia Bank is the first bank in Australia to create braille-encoded templates to assist vision-impaired customers to complete bank withdrawal slips, deposit slips and cheques.
The easy-to-use templates feature instructions in braille and were created by the bank with the assistance of Blind Citizens Australia and one of the National’s customers who is vision impaired, Rachel Walmsley.
Corporate Affairs Manager for the National’s Retail Financial Services, Andrew McConville, said the templates were another example of how the bank is changing to suit its customers.
“The templates were developed to better meet the needs of our customers with vision impairment and are another sign of our commitment to ensuring all of our customers have an optimal banking experience,” Andrew said.
“Prior to the launch of the templates, customers with vision impairment had to rely on another person to fill out their banking forms correctly and also had to divulge their banking details to this other person.
“This initiative, alongside our audio ATMs, means that all our customers enjoy the same level of service,” he said.
Rachel Walmsley, the customer who raised the issue with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), said that customers with vision impairment have the right to the same choices as people who can see.
“It is important that people have a choice of how to conduct their business, and also have the opportunity to exercise those choices,” Rachel said.
“Having choices means that people have freedom, and without these, society becomes inequitable.
“The National has been very helpful throughout the whole process, and I really feel proud that I have made a difference.”
Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) acted as advocacy support for Rachel Walmsley in her pursuit to make banking easier and more accessible for customers with vision impairment.
National Advocacy Officer for BCA, Aileen McFadzean, who helped Rachel in drafting and lodging materials with HREOC, was very happy with the National’s response.
“We were thrilled to be working with the bank on this very important issue, and found them to be very responsive,” Aileen said.
“The National, through the template development process, has come up with a very useable product that will make banking much easier for customers with vision impairment.”
Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner for the HREOC, Graeme Innes, said banks need to facilitate use of their forms for all of their customers.
“It is very important for banks to provide these services and make sure all members of the community can use their services adequately,” Graeme said.
“I think what the National has done is very important and a significant step in achieving this goal.”
The templates will be available at every National Australia Bank branch across Australia, and can also be requested through groups such as Blind Citizens Australia.
For further information, please contact:
Andrew McConville
Corporate Affairs Manager
Retail Financial Services
National Australia Bank
Phone: 03 8634 1567 Mobile: 0405 171 741
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