Accessibility
Standards
Accessibility Standards
These guidelines establish a high-level framework to ensure that all government websites are accessible, user friendly, and fully compliant with WCAG 2.2 standards. They should be used alongside our detailed supplementary documentation, which outlines every technical implementation and audit procedure in depth.
Guidelines
- All websites must meet or exceed the WCAG 2.2 guidelines.
- Implement semantic HTML and appropriate ARIA roles to clearly define page structure and support assistive technologies.
- Maintain sufficient color contrast between text and backgrounds for readability.
- Provide descriptive alternative text for all non-text content such as images and icons.
- Ensure that all multimedia elements include captions, transcripts, or audio descriptions.
- Ensure accessibility features work seamlessly across all devices and screen sizes.
- Regularly review and update accessibility implementations through scheduled audits.
- Refer to the Accessibility Guideline and Accessibility Audit Process for detailed recommendations and audit procedures.
Keyboard Navigation
Guidelines
- Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms, menus) are fully accessible via keyboard using standard navigation keys (Tab, Enter, Space, and Arrow keys).
- Avoid keyboard traps by ensuring users can easily exit modals, dropdowns, or other interactive elements.
- Provide clear, visible focus states (e.g., outlines or highlights) on all elements when they receive keyboard focus.
- Use ARIA to announce changes to assistive technologies.
- Refer to the Accessibility Guideline for detailed recommendations