National Australia Bank: Governance, Ethics and Sustainability

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Governance, Ethics and
Sustainability

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NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK
OVERVIEW OF THE CODE
National Australia Bank (NAB) is a leading banking corporation in
Australia that is known for its commitment towards ethics and consumer
interest. This Code is implemented by the company to prioritise the
interest of its stakeholders and ensure that people that represent the
organisation such as employees, managers and the board of directors are
following similar principles that guide their operations towards the
creation of a just and fair society by increasing the positive impact of
NAB on the community (NAB, 2019). As per this Code, the company has
shown its commitment towards its customers and other stakeholders
such as employees to make sure that their interest is giving priority
before the objective of profit maximisation.
SCOPE OF THE CODE
This scope of this Code is wide which include the complete organisation
and all of its members. The branches of NAB which are situated inside
and outside Australia are bound by this Code, and its members that work
in domestic as well as overseas markets have to comply with these
guidelines as well (NAB, 2019a).
REGULATORY COMPLIANCES
This Code consists of compliances with regulatory policies along with
ethical principles that are implemented by the Australian Government.
The legislative framework is applied on NAB is giving priority in this
Code and actions are taken to incorporate these guidelines into the day-
to-day operations of the enterprise. The suggestions given by the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) are also incorporated into this

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Code to make sure that the company comply with these guidelines (NAB,
2019b). The incorporation of these policies can be highlighted under the
following policies formulated by NAB.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination is a major issue in Australia which is a multicultural
society; it is defined as treaty of a person or group of people unfairly or
different based on their personal characteristics (Dover, Major and
Kaiser, 2014). People can be discriminated based on the colour of their
skin, language, ethnic beliefs, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender,
age, caste, race and others. NAB has taken a strong action against
discrimination by incorporating the provisions implemented by the
Australian Government along with the policies of this Code. For example,
the company has implemented the guidelines given under the Racial
Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), the
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Age Discrimination Act
2004 (Cth) into the policies of this Code (Law Council, 2017). As per
these provisions, employees and managers are strictly prohibited from
engaging in practices that constitute as discriminatory. The company
promotes fairness and equality in the workplace by incorporating
diversity and inclusion policies in the organisation. It takes proactive
steps towards the promotion of diversity-related goals in the company to
make sure that common goals of eliminating discrimination can be
achieved d within a reasonable timeframe. Following are various policies
that are implemented by NAB under the Code to promote diversity.
1. The selection criteria of new employees are transparent to make
sure that managers did not choose a person based on specific
characteristics.
2. Similar policies are followed during the promotion of an employee
which is decided based on their skills and performance rather than
personal characteristics.