WCAG 2.0 AA for Schools – A Plain‑English Guide

Who this is for: Principals, business managers, ICT and admin staff.

What is WCAG 2.0 AA?

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

“2.0 AA” is the minimum standard Australian governments use for accessible websites.

In simple terms, WCAG 2.0 AA is a set of rules to make sure:

• People with low vision can still read and navigate your site
• People using screen readers can access information
• People who cannot use a mouse can still move around the site
• Content is clear, consistent and works on different devices

Government policies and disability discrimination law expect public sector websites, including schools, to meet at least WCAG 2.0 AA.

The four big ideas

WCAG is organised around four principles. Your website must be:

1. Perceivable
   People can see or hear your content in at least one way.
   • Images have text alternatives
   • Text is large enough and has good colour contrast
   • Captions or transcripts are available for important audio/video

2. Operable
   People can move around and use it.
   • Menus and links can be used with a keyboard
   • There is enough time to read content
   • No flashing content that could trigger seizures

3. Understandable
   People can follow and predict how things work.
   • Navigation is consistent
   • Plain language where possible
   • Forms clearly explain what to do and show errors in a helpful way
4. Robust
   The website works with different devices and assistive technologies.
   • Clean, standards‑based code
   • Tested with common screen readers and browsers

A simple WCAG 2.0 AA checklist for your school site

For a school website, WCAG 2.0 AA usually looks like:

• Text & contrast
  • Body text is a readable size
  • Text and background colours have strong contrast
• Images
  • Important images (e.g. banners, diagrams) have alt text
• Navigation
  • Clear menu structure
  • A visible “focus” indicator around links when you tab through the page
• Forms
  • Labels for each field
  • Clear error messages if something is missing
• Documents
  • Key information is on web pages, not only in PDFs
• Mobile
  • Pages are easy to read and use on phones
• Assistive tools
  • Options like larger text or high‑contrast modes to support different needs

What EDU Net does for you

When we build a site, we:

• Use an accessibility‑focused framework built to meet WCAG 2.0 AA
• Include tools such as adjustable text size and colour contrast options
• Review structure, content and layout with accessibility in mind
• Host and maintain the site so updates don’t accidentally break compliance

Your team still plays a part: writing clear content, checking documents, and letting us know when things change. But you are not left alone to interpret technical guidelines.

Next step

If you’re unsure where your current site stands:

Start a free website & accessibility review

We’ll run a quick WCAG 2.0 AA check on your site and explain the findings in plain English.