Telstra

Telstra is a leading company in terms of improving access to digital technologies, with multiple programmes targeted at vulnerable groups across Australia. Its Access for Everyone programme helps low-income users access network services through discounted plans. Its Safe Connections programme helps women who have suffered domestic violence access safe and secure communications. It has worked with the Australian government to support vulnerable users with disabilities, by providing equipment to help them adapt to new technology when the government stopped supporting captioned telephone technology. In addition, Telstra reports its community investments.

Telstra demonstrates its support for digital skills development for vulnerable people across Australia. The company’s Deadly Digital Communities initiative provides digital skills training to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Its Tech Savvy Seniors programme supports digital literacy for seniors. Its partnership with the Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX) Initiative focuses on teaching advanced digital skills to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The IDX Initiative provides training and equipment for participants to develop apps that help preserve language and culture. In addition, Telstra has partnered with the South Australian government to connect more than 500 schools to a high-speed fibre network.

The company follows good practices in monitoring, responding to and reporting on security incidents. It also chaired the Australian government’s 2020 Cybersecurity Strategy Industry Advisory Panel. Furthermore, Telstra is a leader in child online safety, committing to international principles for child online protection and having a range of initiatives in this area.

Telstra demonstrates strong support for the tech innovation ecosystem through the Telstra Creator Space fabrication lab, and through investments in several start-up accelerators and incubators that support start-ups founded by people with disabilities and indigenous peoples as well as social enterprises. The company endorses the Australian Government’s AI Ethics Framework.

Telstra should consider carrying out third-party assessments for all of its programmes focused on increasing digital access. The company can also disclose the number of its employees with disabilities.

Telstra has several digital skills initiatives, covering basic and technical digital skills and school connectivity. However, in some cases, no third-party assessment has been conducted to gauge the impact of these programmes. Where a third-party assessment has been conducted, there is opportunity for the company to standardise the evaluation of such programmes. The company also has an opportunity to support programmes for intermediate digital skills.

Telstra can enhance transparency of its senior-level oversight of cybersecurity.

Telstra has an opportunity to contribute to big data by providing public data sets. The company can also disclose the number of women it employs in research and development (R&D) roles.

Telstra has a publicly available policy document wherein it commits to respecting human rights. However, the company’s commitment to respect the ILO core labour rights can be stronger. Telstra has a compliance programme regarding modern slavery risk, but it does not disclose a process to identify and assess the other salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships. Moreover, the company describes the stakeholders it engages with in general, but it does not specify if it engages with stakeholders whose human rights could be affected by its activities. Telstra has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

Telstra publicly commits to respecting the health and safety of workers, and it places health and safety expectations on its business relationships. Telstra also discloses the proportion of its workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. However, the company does not disclose a policy commitment stating that it does not require workers to work more than regular and overtime hours. It also does not explicitly state that it requires its business relationships to do make this commitment. Telstra is committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment and has time-bound targets on the subject. In relation to workforce diversity, the company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender. However, it does not disclose against any other indicators of diversity per employee category.

Telstra has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in contracts with its business relationships. It also has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints on the topic. The company has a global tax strategy, but it does not disclose income tax payments in its individual tax jurisdictions. Telstra also does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement. Specifically, the company has no publicly available statement indicating that it does not make political contributions, and it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures.

The below datasheet disaggregates scores within the three core social measurement areas and by specific indicators.