Bupa has 22,000 employees across Australia and New Zealand, serving 4.3 million Australian customers with no centralised digital accessibility governance.
Problem statement
How might we support Bupa to become the most customer centric health care company by delivering truly equitable digital experiences?
The why
Disability prevalence
In 2018, an estimated 1 in 6 (18%) of people in Australia had a disability. That’s about 4.4 million.
Health and disability
People with a health condition are more likely to develop disability and vice versa.
Health care assistance
About 23% of people with disability aged 5-64 need assistance with health care.
We know that seeking health support can be stressful. Customers interacting with Bupa are often doing so during very vulnerable periods in their lives. On top of contextual illness or injury, people may also have a temporary or permanent disability that can create digital access challenges. This intersectionality of needs is a reality for a great number of Bupa’s customers. That’s why it’s critical for Bupa to ensure inclusive digital experiences that are accessible to the widest possible audience.
As a leading provider of health insurance and health services in Australia, accessibility is also a matter of compliance. Legal obligations exist under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992 requiring all commercial entities to ensure products and services are usable and accessible by people with disability.
A maturity assessment was undertaken, which surfaced the following observations:
No existing enterprise governance frameworks
Low executive sponsorship
No established accessibility business objectives
Scattered pockets of competency and undefined processes across the enterprise
Insufficient centralised knowledge and resource repositories
No clear compliance baseline
The idea
Bupa Digital Accessibility Uplift Program
A comprehensive 18 month enterprise-wide strategy to build long term accessibility uplift at scale across all Bupa APAC digital assets.
Our mission
🎯 To make Bupa's digital experiences more inclusive for all customers.
Our vision
🚀 Uplift the digital accessibility standards of all digital assets towards Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA.
The impact
So, what will this program do?
Minimise and mitigate legal, brand and financial risk
Extend market and expand customer base
Genuinely enhance brand reputation
The 5 Pillars of Change
Program Activities
1. Governance
• Maturity assessment
• Competitor analysis
• Internal policy
• External commitment
• Legal stance
• Risk management and escalation
• Procurement standards
2. Process
• Regular external audits
• Remediation backlogs
• Embedded build requirements for delivery in Acceptance Criteria
• Internal Quality Assurance testing
• Inclusive research practice
3. Knowledge
• Skills assessments
• Instructor-led training
• Online self paced learning portal
• Role based checklists
• Mentoring to support ongoing learning
4. Culture
• Senior executive sponsorship
• Accessibility Champion Network
• Support for continuous improvement
• Meet-ups
• Guest Speakers
5. Support
• Multiple ways of contact for help
• Complaints escalation process
• Reasonable adjustment process
• Front line call centre support
Delivery Milestones
Internal Skills Assessment
Surveys and interviews undertaken to understand knowledge gaps across the business.
Accessibility Checklists Socialisation
Specific role based guidance created and socialised.
Audits Commence
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA audits of all digital assets begins.
Usability Testing Underway
Usability testing of the Paralympic website campaign with people with disability.
Training Program Launch
18 course training series for over 580 employees.
Public Commitment Release
Commitment towards WCAG 2.2 AA is released publicly in Bupa’s first 3 year Access and Inclusion Plan 2024 -2027.
Internal Policy Draft
Bupa’s first Digital Accessibility Policy v1.0 drafted.
A11y Champions Network Launch
A network of members brought together to share knowledge, provide support and expert guidance.