Lack of WCAG 2.0 a concern for education websites: report

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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 15:16pm

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework has released a report on the potential implications of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 for the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

The report raised a number of online accessibility concerns facing the VET sector, including the lack of WCAG-related resources, a lack of awareness by web developers and a lack of access training for teachers. One of the biggest concerns, however, was the legal implications of the Australian Government continuing to stay with the 11-year-old WCAG 1.0 standard.

The report stated that “continued use of WCAG 1.0 will increasingly leave the VET sector open to complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act (1992)  as more sophisticated interactive materials are prepared for which it is not possible to provide an HTML alternative that is equivalent in terms of functionality”.

This view is shared by Media Access Australia, which recently raised the need for minimal WCAG 2.0 compliance as part of its submission to the Australian Government’s Media Access Review.

Further information is also available in Media Access Australia’s submission to the Media Access Review.


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