Accessibility of websites to support students with disabilities

CUTSD supports website provision for students with disabilities. As Dr Barrie O'Connor of the Tertiary Education Disability Council (Australia) states "Both website content matter and website design features need to be considered in the creation of accessible sites. Websites should deliver content in accessible formats, so that students may download data, for example, that can be read by voice synthesisers or translated into Braille or large print. Sites that have high dependence on visual matter need to address ways of making that information available to people who are blind or have a vision impairment. In some cases, providing a descriptive caption may suffice; in others, it may be possible for the end user to develop thermoform (tactile) images.

Website design features should incorporate instructions and actions that are readily interpreted and easily manipulated. I am sure you would be familiar with some sites that are visually cluttered and include an overload of buttons, "bells and whistles"."

Website accessibility on disability related issues

• Making Websites Accessible for People with Disabilities
  www.w3.org/WAI/References/HTML4-access

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/
  Gives guidelines for creating accessible pages

• Centre for Applied Special Technology
  www.cast.org/

• Bobby check tool
  www.cast.org/bobby/
  Scans a given website to assess accessibility to non-print format users

• HREOC (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) Advisory Notes
  www.hreoc.gov.au/disabil/webguide.htm

• Website Standards for Accessibility
  /www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink.nsf/pages/aus_standards

Students with disabilities in tertiary education

• Students with Disabilities: Code of Practice for Australian Tertiary Institutions
  www.qut.edu.au/pubs/disabilities/national_code/code.html
  This document outlines the legislative and policy contexts influencing tertiary education and indicates principles, minimum standards, operating guidelines and good practice examples for institutional responses to students who have a disability.

• Regional Disability Liaison Unit, Victoria
  www.deakin.edu.au/extern/rdlu/

• Gateways Tasmania
  www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/gateways/index.htm
  Gateways to post secondary education, training and employment in Tasmania

HREOC DDA Cases Summary

www.austlii.edu.au/hreoc/disabil/compsum.htm

Other

Another resource CUTSD has been made aware of is a CD developed at RMIT. The CD contains resources demonstrating the importance of the issue of accessible websites for all. The CD contains guides for making universally accessible websites, tutorials for writers of HTML code, a small collection of websites, video and browser information. The CD costs $20 (postage included) and is available from the RMIT Disability Liaison Unit. More information can be found at: http://purl.nla.gov.au/sunrise/ozewai

CUTSD Home     Top of Page

Any comments or queries should be sent to: highered@dest.gov.au

This page was last updated on Tuesday, 28 May 2002
Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia
DEST Web Site Privacy Statement
Disclaimer