Web Accessibility in New Zealand

Hearing the name New Zealand may often conjure up thoughts of beautiful scenery and highly developed cities. However, New Zealand is also a country of equal opportunity and equal access. And this is best shown by its efforts to make the World Wide Web accessible to everyone including persons with disabilities.

Here, we will take a look at how New Zealand works to improve the accessibility of its web sites. We will talk about legislation and standards made by the New Zealand government to ensure that its sites are as accessible and as visitor-friendly as its top destinations.

Human Rights Act 1993: Legislation Related to Web Accessibility

Let us first start with New Zealand’s law concerning web accessibility. The primary legislation that governs over accessibility is the Human Rights Act 1993. This is an act by the Parliament of New Zealand that focuses on discrimination. It protects people in New Zealand from discrimination in several areas of life. Under the Human Rights Act, government agencies are required to give reasonable accommodation to disabled people. This includes providing web sites that are accessible to persons with disabilities.

This act was amended by the Parliament in December 2001. The changes made by the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 included the joining of offices and the government's involvement in human rights standards compliance.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

New Zealand ratified the UN CRPD in September 2008. Under the CRPD, New Zealand is required to improve and monitor the accessibility of its web sites. Courts in New Zealand can use the UN CRPD in discrimination cases involving agencies that fail to do any reasonable efforts to make their website accessible.

New Zealand’s Web Accessibility Standards

So now we know New Zealand’s legislation on web accessibility. How then, you may ask, would web developers know exactly how to make their sites accessible? This can be done by referring to the New Zealand Government Web Standards 2.0.

What is the New Zealand Government Web Standards 2.0?

The New Zealand Government Web Standards (NZGWS) 2.0 was designed to set the accessibility and policy-compliance procedures for public sector web sites in the country. The main focus of NZGWS is to aid site owners and web developers in enhancing online access through accessibility.

NZGWS 2.0 was created by the web standards team of the government of New Zealand. It replaced the New Zealand Government Web Standards 1.0, and was released in March 2009. NZGWS 2.0 has been in effect since March 18, 2009. All applicable sites have to follow this set of standards on or before July 1, 2010.

Who are Required to Follow NZGWS 2.0?

NZGWS 2.0 is mandatory for websites made by:

• Public Service departments
• the New Zealand Police
• the New Zealand Defense Force
• the Parliamentary Counsel Office
• the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service

The New Zealand government encourages other State sector agencies to follow the standards.

What is Included in the NZGWS 2.0?

NZGWS 2.0 consists of 4 sections:

1. Strategy and operations
2. Technical
3. Content and design
4. Legal and policy

Adoption of WCAG 2.0

NZGWS 2.0 uses the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (level AA) as the main component of its technical standards. This enables web developers in New Zealand to tap into the resources and pool of international expertise offered by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It also allows NZGWS to coincide well with international standards.

The New Zealand Layer

NZGWS 2.0 also includes the "New Zealand-specific requirements" in its technical standards. The New Zealand-specific requirements are also known as the "new Zealand layer". This document is not separate to WCAG 2.0. The New Zealand Layer only modifies WCAG 2.0 for use in the government environment of the country. This layer enumerates the technologies developers must use and technologies they must not use. It also lists down technologies that developers can use but must not rely on.