Contact information

Government websites and mobile apps need to provide clear and accessible ways for people to contact the organisation responsible. People should be able to ask for accessibility help or give feedback in the way that works best for them.

Government organisations should offer more than one way for people to communicate so people can choose the option that is most useful for them.

Question 1

How do you prefer to contact a government organisation? (Let us know all that apply and why you prefer those options.)

• Phone call
• Email
• Seeflow
• Relay service
• Online form
• Video call
• Text message SMS
• Chatbot
• Other (please specify)

Organisation Accessibility Plans

This section is about a government organisation’s Accessibility Plan. If you do not work for the government, you can choose to skip this question. But if you have thoughts, we would like you to share them.

All government organisations should explain how they will find, fix, and prevent accessibility issues. They should also explain how they will manage any claimed exceptions to the DAS.

This information will form the organisation’s Accessibility Plan.

Question 2

How would an Accessibility Plan help embed accessibility into a government organisation’s culture? (Let us know all that apply and why you chose those options.)

• Confirm leadership’s expectations for and commitment to accessibility
• Plan how to identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers and issues by meeting the DAS
• Explain how exceptions to the DAS will be managed
• Set out principles and plans for supporting disabled customers and staff
• Improve recruitment and hiring processes so they’re more accessible for disabled people
• Other (please specify)

Question 3

Would it be useful for a government organisation to commit to a formal Accessibility Plan to publicly share and track improvements?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Question 4

What help does a government organisation need most to build or deliver on an Accessibility Plan? (Let us know which 3 are the most important and why you chose those options.)

• An Accessibility Plan template or step-by-step guide
• Workshops on how to create a plan
• Clear business case for accessibility
• Training for leaders
• Real examples explaining why accessibility matters
• Case studies from disabled people and communities
• Help to get support from leadership
• Clear official requirement to comply with the DAS
• Support for agencies to build their plans
• Signing up to the Accessibility Charter
• A consistent way to collect feedback across agencies
• Tools to measure and report performance
• Other (please specify)

Question 5

Should Accessibility Plans follow a standard template?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Question 6

Organisations should meet their Accessibility Plan. What is the best way to do that? (Let us know all that apply and why you chose those options.)

• Regular reporting to the Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO)
• Publishing the plan publicly
• Having an open and accessible feedback channel
• Other (please specify)

Accessibility Statements

Government websites and mobile apps for the public need to describe how accessible they are. This information must be clear, current, and easy to find. It must identify:

• known accessibility issues
• when they might be fixed
• what the alternative options are
• how to give accessibility feedback or request support.

Question 7

Should all public websites and mobile apps have an Accessibility Statement?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Question 8

What should be included in an Accessibility Statement? (Let us know all that apply and why you chose those options.)

• A reference to the DAS
• A link to the organisation’s Accessibility Plan
• Known accessibility issues, including documents or third-party tools
• Any approved exceptions, including why they were granted and other ways to access the information
• Contact details for giving accessibility feedback or asking for help
• Information about how feedback and requests will be responded to
• Other (please specify)

Question 9

Should Accessibility Statements follow a standard template?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Question 10

Where would you expect to find an Accessibility Statement?

• One central Accessibility Statement for each government agency, covering all its websites and mobile apps
• A separate Accessibility Statement for each website or mobile app
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Expanding the scope of the DAS

The current Web Accessibility Standard only covers websites and web apps.

The DAS could limit its scope to just websites, mobile apps and non-web documents, like PDFs, spreadsheets, and emails.

Or it could include all information and communication technology (ICT) used by government. This would mean all websites, mobile apps, non-web documents, software and hardware, would need to meet the DAS.

Question 11

How much should the DAS expand its scope?

• Expand to include websites, mobile apps, and non-web documents. Software and hardware are not included but could be added later. This approach gives government organisations more time to prepare, focus on getting the basics right, and means less exceptions.
• Expand to cover all ICT. This includes websites, mobile apps, non-web documents, software, and hardware. Any new or upgraded technology would need to meet the standard straight away. Existing mobile apps and documents would have 1 year to meet the standard. Existing software would have 3 years, and existing hardware 5 years. This approach aligns with international standards, but it may mean government organisations cannot meet all the requirements on time and would need to report many exceptions.
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Name of the standard

It’s important that the name of the standard represents what it does and makes sense for the people that use it.

Question 12

What name best describes the standard and indicates to users that it is for them?

• Digital Accessibility Standard
• ICT Accessibility Standard
• Digital and Technology Accessibility Standard
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Exceptions to compliance

Sometimes a government organisation cannot meet accessibility requirements. This could be because of technical limits or lack of time and resources.

Here are 2 simple examples:

• Technology limits: Some tools, like 3D maps, are purely visual. Right now, the tool can’t make a 3D experience work for someone who is blind.
• Cost limits: A small agency has millions of old paper documents scanned as PDFs. Making them all readable by a screen reader might cost more money than the agency has for the entire year.

In these situations, the organisation still needs to provide accessible alternatives where possible and what options people have. This process must be clear and work well for everyone.

Question 13

Government organisations can get an exception to an accessibility requirement. They must show that meeting the requirement is technically not possible or would put an undue burden on the organisation.

Do you:

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Undecided
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Question 14

If a government organisation claims an exception, it should keep a record explaining why, with evidence to support it. This information should be available to the public.

Do you:

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Undecided
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree
• Other (please specify)

Please tell us why you chose this option.

Providing support

Government organisations and the people that deliver digital services and information need the right tools, knowledge, and support to make it accessible.

Question 15

What parts of the current Web Accessibility Standard do you find hard to understand, or causes problems, and why?

Question 16

What would help New Zealand Government organisations meet the new DAS? (Let us know which 3 are the most important and why you chose those options.)

• Alignment with the Accessibility Charter
• Strong support from leadership and decision makers
• Targeted training for teams
• Access to an accessibility team for advice and support
• Making accessibility knowledge a required job skill
• Case studies to help explain and promote accessibility
• Publishing organisation accessibility scores
• A central place for accessibility tools, resources, and training
• Clear guidance on how to embed accessibility
• Sharing knowledge and experience across agencies
• Ways for disabled people to give feedback about services
• Including accessibility requirements in procurement processes
• Other (please specify)

Other feedback

You can read the draft DAS and give feedback.

Read the draft Digital Accessibility Standard (DAS)

Question 17

Are there any changes would you like in this draft DAS, and why?

We may not be able to make all the changes suggested, but your feedback will help shape future decisions about the DAS.

About you

To help us understand the survey results, please let us know which of the following groups you identify with.

Your answers will be anonymous.

Question 18

Which of the following apply to you? (Let us know all that apply.)

If you are answering for someone else, please choose the options that describe them.

• Government employee
• Supplier or vendor
• Digital practitioner — for example, designer, developer, tester
• Leader or decision-maker
• Disabled person
• Disability advocate
• Other (please specify)

Alternate formats

All the information about the DAS consultation is available in the following formats:

• Large print (PDF 193KB)
• Large print (DOCX 593KB)
• Braille (BRF 16KB)
• Easy Read (PDF 2MB)
• Easy Read (DOCX 8.5MB)
• New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) — YouTube
• Audio — coming soon