Independent accessibility consulting for Australian government

Three programme shapes, tailored per agency

Scope and effort are confirmed in writing before any work begins. Most engagements run inside an existing panel arrangement, with a fixed-price scope returned within 48 hours of the initial scoping call.

What we understand about government

• The DTA framework and Digital Service Standard

  What is required, what is evidence-worthy and how accessibility sits within the broader service-design and assurance picture.

• Investment oversight and reporting

  Accessibility position statements written for the audience that actually reads them. Clear conformance language, known issues stated honestly and remediation plans dated.

• Procurement and panels

  We work through the panels and procurement pathways your team already uses. We also advise on accessibility language in RFX, supplier scoring rubrics and how to evaluate ACR and VPAT claims with appropriate scrutiny.

• Whole-of-government publishing

  Remediating document estates to PDF/UA in batches, with sign-off workflows and accessible Word, PowerPoint and InDesign templates that author teams will actually use.

• The Disability Discrimination Act and AHRC complaints

  Independent audit evidence written to a standard suitable for compliance review, public reporting and the scrutiny that follows a formal complaint.

• State and territory context

  We track state-specific accessibility policies including the NSW Government Digital Service Toolkit, Victorian digital standards and the Queensland framework, so federal-style answers do not get bolted onto state programmes that need a different approach.

Standards we work to

Government accessibility intelligence

We publish two free datasets that government teams and central agencies use to benchmark themselves and their portfolios:

• Australian Government Accessibility Index: privacy, security and accessibility statement tracking across 198 federal, state and territory departments, ranked by compliance score.
• NSW Government Accessibility Intelligence: indicative WCAG 2.1 AA scores, common issues and priority remediation focus across 15 NSW Government agencies and 7 clusters.

A practical Word on accessibility overlays

Accessibility overlays and widgets (UserWay, accessiBe, AudioEye and similar) appear on many Australian federal and state government websites. They do not, on their own, make a site WCAG-conformant or satisfy the Digital Service Standard. In 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission fined accessiBe one million dollars for marketing claims that an automated widget could deliver WCAG compliance. If your agency is relying on an overlay, we can show you what the underlying conformance position actually looks like, and what it would take to fix it.

Read: Why accessibility overlays will not make your website compliant →

Deadlines that matter

The headline dates were 1 January 2025 for new digital services and 1 January 2026 for all existing services. Both have now passed. The realistic timeline question is no longer "when does the standard apply" but "how do we get to a credible, evidenced position and stay there?"

Agencies that finish on time start scoping 9 to 12 months before any internal reporting cycle, whether that is an annual report, an investment oversight review or a ministerial briefing. The same logic applies to any panel-procured engagement: panel cycles, contract execution and security clearance can add weeks before delivery actually starts.