Linking research & learning technologies through standards

After considerable deliberation the Australian Government has endorsed adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0 (WCAG  2.0) for all government websites. This decision supersedes the previous mandate for compliance with WCAG 1.0 Level A checkpoints. The initial announcement came via ministerial press release on February 23, 2010 and the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), who’ve been managing the WCAG 2.0 evaluation and transition planning, amended the accessibility section of the Web Publishing Guide the following day:

Government agencies will transition to WCAG 2.0 over a four year period, reaching level Single A within two years, and Double A within four years. A Transition Strategy will outline the process for implementation, and will address scope and inclusion issues. The Transition Strategy will be made available on the Web Publishing Guide in July 2010.

Agencies are reminded that it is still a requirement to publish an alternative to all PDF documents (preference for HTML or RTF). Advice on the accessibility support of PDF documents will be made available at the conclusion of the PDF Accessibility Review Project, due early 2010.”

AGIMO’s announcement brings some clarity to the application of WCAG 2.0 for government materials and mandates a higher level of adherence than the government was previously mooted to be considering (and in doing so is likely to benefit a greater number of users) but a number of questions remain in terms of the breadth of the AGIMO transition strategy, who they’ll consult and the position of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

We’re still in a situation where we need to predict the actions of AHRC, but as the AGIMO WCAG 2.0 position is closer in spirit to the interim WCAG 1.0 position of AHRC, it’s reasonable to assume that the level of conformance advocated by AHRC is not likely to be any less than that endorsed by AGIMO. The forthcoming completion of the PDF review and the Web Publishing Guide update provide a basis upon which to anticipate that AHRC will make a statement about WCAG 2.0 in the near future, so the next few months will be a key time for interested parties to participate in transition discussions and look out for announcements.