Office Document Accessibility for the Australian Government

Andrew ArchA/g Director, Web Advice and PolicyAustralian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)

24 May 2012 University of Canberra

Inclusive and Accessible CommunitiesOur policy goal:

People with a disability have equal access to the information they need to make informed choices about all aspects of their lives and equal opportunities to access all means of communication.

Disability Statistics in Australia• 1 in 5 Australians have a disability (4

million)• 54% of people over 65 years• 15% of people under 65 years

Online Accessibility: Why must we?

Legislation and government policy• Disability Discrimination Act 1992• Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights

of Persons with Disabilities• Mandate for Australian Government (FMA Act)

agencies to comply with WCAG 2.0• CAC Act agencies encouraged to opt-in• States and Territories also require WCAG 2.0

WCAG 2.0 Endorsement

OCC endorsed WCAG 2.0 for federal, state and local government in November 2009,SIGB extended mandate for FMA Act agencies

Conformance required at: •Level A by 31 December 2012 •Level AA by 31 December 2014 (FMA Act agencies only, others by opt-in)

AGIMO’s Role

• Develop a National Transition Strategy for the implementation of WCAG 2.0

• Establish Communities of Expertise to collaborate and educate web managers

• Develop supporting projects to resolve common issues = Mitigation Projects

• Aim: unified, consistent and cost effective implementation of updated web standard

Process to upgrade to WCAG 2.0

Enabling Project: Accessibility Education

Why focus on Office document creation?• Third most popular format on government

websites (following HTML & PDF)• DOC is:

• most commonly requested alternative format

• most common format on many intranets

• Assists the creation of accessible HTML pages and PDF files• Early incorporation of accessibility is the easiest

• Office docs are the lingua franca of agencies

Disability and public sector employmentState of the Service Report (APSC)• Ongoing Staff with disabilities

– 5.5% in 1996

– 4.3% in 2001

– 3.6% in 2006

– 3.0% in 2011

What now?

• Create more accessible Office documents

• Provide multiple accessible formats whenever WCAG 2.0 conformance is not claimed

• Be responsive to requests for alternative formats

• Consider why you use ANY format – how will users consume and share this information? Will the formats used enable or hinder access?

Resources

• Web Guide: Accessibility Mandate and Advice• http://webguide.gov.au/

• WCAG 2.0 Community of Expertise (CoE)• http://agimo.govspace.gov.au/category/accessibility/

• National Transition Strategy (NTS)• http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/

wcag-2-implementation/

• State of the Service reports• http://www.apsc.gov.au/stateoftheservice/

Contacts

AGIMO Accessibility Team:• Phone: 02 6215 1653

• Email: wcag2@finance.gov.au