Victoria Police have joined the ranks of the Australian Network On Disability (AND), Disability Confident Recruiter (DCR) program. The program is intended to open the organisation to a wider talent pool, ensuring candidates with disability are not exempt from applying by removing systemic barriers within the recruitment process.
The goal of the AND program is to educate organisations on achieving inclusive and accessible recruitment.
By completing the program, the Victoria Police recruitment team was able to shift their mindset to include diversity and inclusion as part of their business-as-usual approach. According to the AND the team are now well-versed in the workplace adjustments they can offer to assist applicants and future employees of Victoria Police.
After completion of the program practical changes were made to email templates and website updates to ensure accessibility with the following:
- Updated the Victoria Police website to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (with plans to follow up to meet 2.1 WCAG standards)
- Ensured copy on the website was people-first (‘people with disability’)
- Ensured PDFs were available in an accessible format.
The DCR program also inspired the introduction of training, education and engagement with hiring managers revolving around disability confident recruitment.
Long-term, Victoria Police are including Disability Confident Recruiter training in the online induction for new recruiters as well as potentially running more recruitment events based around DCR.
Through DCR, Victoria Police are aiming to become an employer of choice, ensuring that they are hiring the right people for the right roles.