Winning big at the Australian Access Awards

Working together to build a world class accessible Design System

To celebrate International Day of People with Disability on 3 December, we’re delighted to announce that Telstra has won Corporate Website of the Year for telstra.com.au while our app, MyTelstra was nominated finalist for Corporate App of the Year at the Australian Access Awards last month.

Creating a fairer digital landscape 

image caption

The Australian Access Awards, run by the Centre for Accessibility, recognises individuals and organisations who demonstrate their commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes for Australians living with disability. Our Accessibility Action Plan and passionate team of over 40 people are testament to this.  

 
Every member of our dedicated Accessibility Team here at Telstra works closely with our digital production teams to build a world class, accessible Design System that delivers a truly accessible experience across our entire digital landscape.

Read our Accessibility Action Plan

Making our website accessible to 4.4M people in Australia 

Judging criteria for this award involved an independent panel of people with lived experience of disability. Specialists in the digital accessibility field assessed our website and app using the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to determine accessibility conformance and best practice.

What does this mean in human terms? That the 4.4 million people in this country (or 20% of our population) who are living with disability, can use our website and app independently, with their own technology to pick up on accessibility features that are designed and coded into our experiences. For example, someone who is blind or has low vision may not be able to see what is on screen. But now, they can use their own assistive technology - such as a screen reader - to read what is on the page in a meaningful, linear format.

For the 20% of our population who experience a range of hearing, sight, movement and cognitive abilities, this website is a game changer.

It removes barriers to communication and empowers social participation and independence. Telstra has an older customer demographic, and this will make a unique difference to over 50% of people are likely to experience disability by age 65. With Australia's ageing population, this demand will continue to increase.  

Shining bright amongst our industry peers 

Telstra recognises every person and organisation who won, was nominated or shortlisted for an award. Across every category, we thank you all for your ongoing commitment to making our digital world more accessible. 

We had some stiff competition from Coles, RAC, The Digital Picnic, Woolworths, My Emergency Doctor, Roof Top Movies and Grace Papers, so it’s wonderful to be recognised amongst so many bright lights in the industry. 

Thanks to the collective efforts of Telstra staff, the MyTelstra app was a finalist in the Corporate App category, up against BigW, Coles, DRN1, BindiMaps and Bendigo Bank who received the award.

Harnessing tech to foster change  

Congratulations to every person in Telstra who has contributed their hard work and ideas. Our awards represent teamwork from hundreds of people at Telstra who embrace accessibility as an integral part of their daily work. This award is more than a trophy, it's a celebration of change and belief in the power of technology to break down barriers. It motivates us to keep pushing boundaries and setting new standards for accessibility.