First Anniversary of SA Accessibility Policy
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of SA Accessibility Policy. A year ago, on May 16th 2019, the South Australian Government released the Online Accessibility Policy and Toolkit.
A year on, it is clear that this policy is setting the benchmark for government agencies when it comes to producing accessible public-facing digital resources.
Now, under the leadership of Nick Condon, Cliff Edwards and the technical expertise of Raphael Segal, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet has launched the Website Design System (WDS). The WDS aims to deliver accessible, secure, modern, cost effective and user-friendly websites.
Working alongside the DPC team, I am honoured and proud to have contributed to its development. The WDS is the first of its kind, not only in Australia, but also internationally. Now, as a result, web accessibility can be achieved with greater ease and faster.
Thanks to my involvement in the system’s development, I’m have gained invaluable experience and am now positioned to apply similar features and elements to the School Website Development Framework. This means that the Department for Education schools of South Australia can be assured that they will receive a world-class product, as it will be developed with similar criteria as the WDS. In the end, we will be developing accessible, secure, modern, cost effective and user-friendly websites. Private schools are welcome too.
The first anniversary of SA Accessibility Policy is cause for celebration, especially for those who aim to make the website available to all.
I can safely say again that South Australia is leading the way in digital accessibility nation wide! This policy is paving the way for accessible websites to be the norm. Do we have to wait for a lawsuit to make our school websites accessible?
I believe we need to be proactive. Digital accessibility should be a core part of web design; excessive animation and bright colours must not.
Written by Kirio Crespo