Public Sector web and mobile app accessibility to become law in Europe

This will happen within the next two years and will require website developers to include alternative text for images, captioning (known as captioning in Australia) and the opportunity to browse a website without a mouse.  Older content will be available to citizens in accessible form on demand with a clear statement on the website to explain if a part of the website is not accessible.

With new web accessibility now becoming mandatory in Europe, this provides a big step towards equality and inclusion. Over 80 million people in the EU are affected by a disability and this is expected to increase, due to an aging population.  This does not include the many individuals who over the course of their lives may temporarily have a physical impairment.  The internet is fast expanding and has become an essential method of communication and access to information. This makes it more important than ever for public sector websites to become accessible.