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Accessibility Standard

Whole of Victorian Government ICT Standard: Accessibility

Website Management Framework

Short Description

Provides for websites to be accessible for:

• people with disabilities;
• people using older technology; and
• people with poor telecommunications infrastructure, often in regional and remote areas.

Identifier: WEB/STD/05
Version No.: 2.0
Status: Approved
Date of effect: 7 August 2009
Next review date: 8 February 2010

Owner: Information Victoria, Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development

Issuing authority: Government Services Group, Department of Treasury and Finance, Victorian Government

Standard: Accessibility - WEB/STD/05

Requirement

All websites must be Level AA compliant (W3C Guidelines – WCAG 1.0).

Where audience needs are specific, websites should become Level AAA as appropriate.

All new, non-HTML content items must be in an accessible format or have an alternative, accessible format provided online from the date of effect of this standard.

Overview

Accessible websites provide a range of benefits for both users and government.  Broadly, accessible websites:

• assist people with disabilities to fully interact with the features and content of websites;
• assist people that may have impeded access to the web, reducing the complexity of sites and/or providing usable alternatives;
• increase the usability of a site by including features that make finding, using and interacting with a site easier;
• are cost-effective, reducing the need to provide information in alternative (hard copy) formats;
• provide best practice examples for other Australian websites to emulate;
• improve public perception of government by providing services to a larger number of people;
• serve the government’s duty to its citizens by facilitating and distributing communication to all members of the public; and
• comply with the law and the requirement that information be provided to all people without discrimination on the basis of disability. (1)

Rationale

To give citizens ready access to government websites, without discrimination.

Derivation

W3C Guidelines – WCAG 1.0 (See Guidelines, toolkits and references)

Related principles/ objectives

• Citizens can enjoy a consistent and high quality user experience and complete desired tasks.
• Operational risks are managed.

In scope

• All departments and four inner budget agencies (VicRoads, Victoria Police, Environmental Protection Agency and State Revenue Office).
• All internet sites including channels, portals and sub-domains.

Audience

Departmental/agency Website Management Taskforce Coordinators, Website managers, developers and/or anyone responsible for the management of a website.

Compliance Date

• Compliance is mandatory from this standard’s date of effect for:
  • all new non-HTML content items created after the date of effect; and
  • all websites commissioned after the date of effect.
• Existing websites must comply with this standard within 12 months from the date of effect.

Reporting requirements

Department/agency – annual reporting, using the GSG WMF template (under development).

Guidelines, toolkits and references

Existing

• Accessibility Toolkit  (under review)
• W3C Guidelines – Web Accessibility Initiative
• Office of Disability fact sheets for the Victorian Government:
  • Flash and accessibility;
  • JavaScript and accessibility;
  • PDFs and accessibility;
  • Videos and accessibility;
  • WCAG 2.0;
  • Web 2.0;
  • Web Developers Checklist; and
  • Web Managers Checklist.

Further Information

For further information please contact web.standards@dtf.vic.gov.au

Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Accessibility - The level to which websites and website content can be accessed by users with a disability, older technology or impeded infrastructure.

W3C - World Wide Web Consortium

WCAG - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

WMF - Website Management Framework

WoVG - Whole of Victorian Government

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Footnotes

(1) Including – but not necessarily limited to – the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) and the Intellectually Disabled Persons’ Services Act 1986 (Vic).

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Alternative Formats:

The standard is available from the Government Services Group in pdf format (177kb). (This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). You can also convert PDF documents into alternative formats.

 

Last updated: 13 November 2009

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