Disability

The facts speak clearly – 71% of web users with a disability will simply leave a website that is not accessible to them, according to recent research from the US Government’s 'Section 508'. Not only is this bad for the business community, Government utilities, and society in general, digital inaccessibility is excluding millions of Australians from enjoying the positive interactions online that people without disability take for granted.

A pioneering smartphone accessibility app was recently updated and was designed to help orient and guide blind and vision impaired people through crowded indoor spaces, such as shopping malls, universities and hospitals.

The Draft Transport for NSW Disability Inclusion Action plan is now available for public comment, and you can help steer the discussion. Plus Transport for NSW is also seeking volunteers for research on accessibility at the new Sydney Metro Northwest Rail Stations, with the aim of trying to ensure they are as accessible and inclusive as possible, for people of all abilities.

Australians who are blind or vision-impaired won’t be able to vote unassisted in the upcoming same-sex marriage postal vote, because it will be conducted in a print-only format without an accessible voting option at the time this news piece was published.