Office Document Accessibility for the
Australian Government
Andrew Arch
A/g Director, Web Advice and Policy
Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)
24 May 2012
University of Canberra
Inclusive and Accessible Communities
Our 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 employment
State 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