How long can we ignore website accessibility?

There is a legal precedence in Australia (Maguire Vs

. SOCOG). In 2001The Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) was fined $20,000 for its failure to provide anaccessible website.This means their website was rendered inaccessible to persons with certain disabilities. That in itself may seem like a small price tag for a large organisation, but what are the related costs and risks?

Not important to some,discriminatoryto others

Many large organisations todayplace themselvesat risk of similar legal actions by puttingwebsite accessibility in the too hard basket or theydeem it asnot important enough as it only affects a very small percentage of the population and/or their users. Put simply, this is discrimination. It is often seen as too hard because the guidelinesarenot clearly understood. A professional website accessibility consultant can helpclarify this for you.

Australian Government adoptsWCAG 2.0

The Australian Government understands theimportance of website accessibility and in July 2010 began their threephase, four year National Transition Strategy. This raises the bar away from the old WCAG 1.0 requirements and sets the national standardforall Australian organisations operating a website to get up to speed withthe newWCAG 2.0 websiteaccessibility requirements.

What about the risk to your brand and reputation?

If weconsider the value of our relatedassets like brand, public relationsandreputation and the potential impact a high profile court case with a negative outcome could have onthese, we can begin to see the value in getting website accessibility right.Potential impacts to;

Brand most company charters promote themselves as a; trusted, respectful, caring, equal opportunity employer. But all these values could go straight out the window if a company was found to be (or even rumoured to be) negligent with website accessibility as it sends a message of discrimination and inequality.Consider how muchyour company has invested in time and money to build your brand. A proactive, pre-emptive accessibility audit can help protect thisprimary asset.

Reputation Any organisation today perceivedto be uncaring or tolerant of inequalitycould find themselveswith a lot more angry and unforgivingcustomers or worse, no customers. Your reputation as a genuine, caring organisationofintegrity and one that is supportive of yourcommunity maybe at risk if you fail to address website accessibility because societyis demanding moreintegrity and responsibility from their business leaders today than ever before. Responsible leaders know this and go to great expense to protect their reputation in the community. The community after all, is generally thelifeblood of your organisation, and some people within yourcommunityhave disabilities. These peoplehave aright to expect the websites they visit to be accessible to them and they nowhave a legal precedence in Australia toempower them to act, should they find a site that is notaccessibleto them.Make sure your organisation is aware of this and knows how to respond if challenged.See below for professional adviceand more information.

What's the best protection? Be proactive,not reactive

The best advice -and protection is to be proactive with website accessibility. Consider engaginga website accessibilityexpertwho can provide you with a clear strategyto meet all your web accessibilty obligationsand protect your organisationnow and into the future.

Useful resources on website accessibility:

Australian Government WCAG 2.0 national transition strategy

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How long can we ignore website accessibility?

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