Australian policy & practice in ICT accessibility

1. Australian policy & practice in ICT accessibility Gunela Astbrink, Internet Society of Australia ASEAN-ITU Seminar, August 2014

2. Background • Australia has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities • Telecommunications legislation refers to Disability Discrimination Act 1992 • Well-developed regulatory processes

3. Policies and practices • National Disability Insurance Scheme • National Disability Strategy • Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy • Captioning on TV

4. Policies and practice • Complexity of implementing policy • Sometimes, practice takes longer than policies indicate • Very important that policies become practice • Guidelines to assist implementation

5. National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 • Vision: An inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fullfill their potential as equal citizens • Strategy 1: Inclusive and accessible communities • Relevant areas for future action: • 1.7 Promote universal design principles in procurement • 1.8 All governments adopted the mandated conformance levels for web accessibility as a baseline requirement to ensure more people with disability have access to online information and services • Brings together many planned priorities or activities in the early implementation stage • No specific resources allocated

6. Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy • Mandatory for federal government web sites to be accessible to Level AA of WCAG 2.0 by 2014 • Web Policy team in Australian Government Information Office (Department of Finance) – web accessibility part of whole of government procurement & strategy approach • 2010 baseline survey of accessibility on government websites • Training and liaison with government agencies • Web auditing • However, under-resourced in meeting people’s expectations

7. Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy • Report on progress 2010-2012 (Report released December 2013) • Over 1300 websites • 26% of government websites meet Level A – up from 5% • 46% of sites non-conforming moving directly to Level AA by Dec. 2014 • 73% of agencies have re-evaluated their web publishing processes • 58% have changed their content management systems • 97% of agencies are doing an ICT procurement review

8. Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy • Expectation that many agencies will meet Level AA by December 2014 • Will not be 100% • Difficulty of legacy content • Final accessibility survey late 2014 • Inclusion is priority beyond 2014

9. Digital Service Standard • Current Government’s ICT election policy includes: “Convenient service anytime, anywhere” • Digital Service Standard is planned • Adhering to Standard at design stage rather than remediation • Moving away from checkbox mentality and shifting paradigm to user perspective • Building tools around user needs • Self-assessment but new service cannot be launched without meeting Standard (includes WCAG 2.0)

10. Digital Service Standard • Skills development is precursor of Standard • Government employees need to acquire digital skills including accessibility to underpin productivity • Standard will lead to a Digital Design Guide • Accessibility will be included – mainstream inclusion approach

11. National Disability Insurance Scheme • Very large Government program for community linking and individualised support • 3 Tiers • Information & referral • Support to access services • Individualisedcare plan for people with significant disability in all facets of person’s life

12. National Disability Insurance Scheme • Key principle: Consumer control and choice • Support and equipment for education, transport, employment • Includes support workers and home modifications • ARATA assistive technology policy papers: http://www.arata.org.au/home/disability-care-australia/

13. Accessibility criteria in ICT public procurement • Public procurement = Government purchasing • USA apply accessibility criteria when procuring ICT to improve access to their services and employment opportunities for people with disabilities • This may have a flow-on effect of greater availability of affordable and accessible ICT

14. Accessibility criteria in ICT public procurement • Significant impact seen in USA through Section 508 eg Apple, Microsoft • Completion of European Guidelines to harmonise with Section 508 • Research into policy & practice in OECD countries (Astbrink & Tibben) • http://telsoc.org/tja/2013-05-v63-n2/a412 • Governments sometimes already use suppliers that provide accessible hardware and software but need to specify to acquire accessible sub-sets • Australian Government review of Section 508 in terms of its procurement of mobile phones and desktop hardware

15. Accessibility criteria in ICT public procurement • Governments sometimes already use suppliers that provide accessible hardware and software but need to specify to acquire accessible sub-sets • Australian Government review of Section 508 in terms of its procurement of mobile phones and desktop hardware

16. Captioning on TV • Broadcasting Services Amendment (Improved Access to Television Services) Act 2012 • new captioning targets for commercial and national television broadcasters • new captioning obligations and targets for subscription television broadcasters and narrowcasters • a requirement that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) develop standard(s) on captioning quality

17. Captioning on TV • Broadcasting Services Amendment (Improved Access to Television Services) Act 2012 • broadcasters transmit emergency warnings in the form of text and speech, and caption those warnings where practicable • new annual compliance reporting and record keeping requirements to support new captioning obligations • making compliance with the captioning obligations under Part 9D a licence condition

18. Captioning & audio description on TV • At least 85% of programs from 6.00 am to midnight have closed captions • Audio description trialled on ABC (public broadcaster) for 13 weeks in 2012 • Successful trial • No follow-up service launched

19. Conclusion • Overview of some Australian policies and practices • Inclusion is key component • Consumers have important role to play to ensure that Government programs remain relevant to their needs

20. Thank you! Gunela Astbrink Internet Society of Australia g.astbrink@gsa.com.au