Legal Requirements

National Transition Strategy

The Australian Government in 2010 set out a pathway for accessibility through the establishment of the National Transition Strategy (NTS).

The NTS mandated that all Government websites must comply to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, compliance Level AA by 2014. This level of WCAG compliance is still endorsed by the Australian Government.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) are an internationally recognised benchmark for accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Learn more on WCAG 2.0.

Digital Transformation Office

The Digital Transformation Office (DTO) was set-up in 2015 and is part of the Prime Minister’s portfolio.

WCAG 2.0

The DTO state that Australian Government department and agency websites should be designed to be WCAG 2.0 level AA compliant, that WCAG 2.0 techniques need to be incorporated into each development stage of the website e.g. the design, development and production.

The bedrock of achieving the DTO’s goal of simpler, clearer and faster services is the creation of the Digital Service Standard (the DSS or the ‘Standard’) that Government agencies are expected to meet.

User Testing

The Standard covers the full spectrum of a project design life cycle, however, the overarching theme is the focus on making services user centric - for all users. In essence, designing a service that meets and exceeds the user's expectations.

The DTO expect Government agencies to undertake user testing with users with a disability, as well as gather their feedback and inputs at other junctures in the development process.

Learn more about the DTO and DSS.

Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes disability discrimination unlawful and promotes equal rights, equal opportunity and equal access for people with disabilities.

Online content and services provided through the web are covered under the Act. Equal access to information is a right.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (HRC) released a set of Advisory Notes regarding digital content (World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes). Adhering to the Advisory Notes will help reduce the risk of a disability discrimination complaint.

The HRC endorses the use of WCAG 2.0 and states that all Government and non-Government websites should comply with Level AA as a minimum.

Furthermore, the HRC, similar to the DTO, advocate the involvement of users with a disability when designing and developing a website (e.g. user testing and evaluation that includes people with a disability).

ICT Public Procurement Standard

In August 2016, the Minister for Finance confirmed that Australia will adopt an internationally aligned standard for the procurement of accessible ICT (EN 301 549).

The Australian standard will be known as Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services.

It requires that minimum standards will apply to ensure that websites, software and digital devices are accessible for all Australians to use.

It can be used by all levels of government when determining technical specifications for the procurement of accessible ICT products and services.

Regarding website accessibility, the European standard is defined by WCAG 2.0 - Level AA.

View the current European Standard on 'Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe' - PDF format.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Australia ratified the UN Convention on CRPD in 2008, and therefore has obligations to implement policies and practices that are in line with it.

Accessibility (Article 9) is a fundamental part of the Convention and requires countries to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers and ensure that people with disabilities can access information and communications technologies, including digital content and services, and the internet.