Better Practice Checklist - 19. Access and Equity Issues for Websites
Updated April 2008
Introduction
Australian Government departments and agencies use a range of new technologies for information provision and service delivery to diverse client groups. A key role of the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), Department of Finance and Deregulation is to identify and promote 'Better Practice'. This checklist has been created to help agencies to maximise their use of new technologies by ensuring that their websites address access and equity issues for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
This checklist suggests that a number of issues should be considered when designing and implementing online facilities consistent with the Australian Government's access and equity objectives. The items in the checklist are, however, not mandatory. The checklist has been provided as a guide to help agencies to consider the user's experience of their online resources and to enhance the effectiveness of these resources. This checklist focuses on non-technical issues.
The checklist is for staff responsible for websites, as well as for managers with access and equity responsibilities. Other IT managers may also find the checklist useful in dealing with contractors, or where this function is otherwise outsourced.
It should be noted that the checklist is not intended to be comprehensive. Rather, it highlights key issues for agencies. The checklist is iterative and draws on the expertise and experience of practitioners. The subject matter and issues are reviewed and updated to reflect developments.
Acknowledgments
This checklist was developed with the assistance of Australian Government agencies.
Why do online services need to consider access and equity issues?
The Australian Government aims to achieve fairer and more accessible government services and programs through its Access and Equity strategy. The strategy seeks to promote fairness and responsiveness in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of government services in a culturally diverse society.
The Government’s access and equity strategy is guided by the Access and Equity Framework (formerly known as the Accessible Government Services for All Framework). The Framework was developed in 2006 in consultation with Australian Government agencies, taking into account their ability to contribute both as separate portfolios and to whole-of government responses to the challenges faced by our culturally diverse nation. It replaced the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society (referred to in the 2004 (PDF) version of this Checklist).
The Access and Equity Framework's four principles, and the corresponding performance indicators, address key responsibilities of government:
Responsiveness – Extent to which programmes and services are accessible, fair and responsive to the individual needs of clients
Communication – Open and effective channels of communication with all stakeholders
Accountability – Effective and transparent reporting and review mechanisms
Leadership – A whole of government approach to management of issues arising from Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse society.
The framework suggests strategies for the implementation of these principles. It aims to assist agencies to analyse their performance and better share good practice responses to challenges and opportunities.
Progress by Government in implementing the Access and Equity Strategy is published in the Access and Equity Annual Reports. http://www.immi.gov.au/about/reports/access-equity/index.htm [
]
For further details regarding access and equity requirements, contact:
Multicultural Affairs Branch
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
access&equity@immi.gov.au
Summary of Checkpoints
Language
Use plain English on the website, which is more easily understood by people from diverse backgrounds as well as by other Australians
Provide information on the website in other languages where appropriate
Use search features to provide additional assistance to people from diverse backgrounds
Integrate online services designed for people from diverse background with other service channels designed to meet their particular needs
Develop mechanisms to facilitate the use of information by others specifically targeting culturally and linguistically diverse groups
Consider the needs of relatives, including youth, who may be accessing information on behalf of clients
Presentation and design issues
In designing web resources, ensure that design elements are universally understood
Present data in ways that are clear to international audiences
Ensure that design elements are culturally appropriate
Testing and evaluation
Consider testing web resources with representatives from culturally and linguistically diverse groups
Evaluate services provided online to ensure that all customers receive the same level and responsiveness in service provision regardless of their cultural or linguistic background
As part of the collection of data about website usage, consider ways in which data can also be collected on cultural and language diversity
Other issues
If appropriate, use the website as part of a strategy to consult people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds on new or revised policies or programs that may impact upon them
Ensure that service providers responsible for delivering services on the organisation's behalf use technology in ways that comply with the Government's access and equity policies
When considering the issues that need to be addressed as part of ensuring that services are accessible to people with disabilities, also consider the needs of people with disabilities who come from diverse backgrounds
Checkpoints
Language
Use plain English on the website, which is more easily understood by people from diverse backgrounds as well as by other Australians
Review the language used on the website and simplify it where possible. Consider that some agencies aim to have text on their websites that can be understood by eight-year-olds.
For further guidance on developing plain English materials, see Plain English at Work: a Guide to Help Organisations Develop Plain English Documents [], developed by the Department of Employment, Science and Training.
Provide information on the website in other languages where appropriate
Consider making information available on the website in languages other than English. A business case should guide any decisions regarding the availability of translations. In developing the business case, agencies might consider:
- the size of the population they are targeting
- the extent to which the population is proficient in English
- other mechanisms that could be used to provide the information
- the migration experience of the population.
If translations are provided, consider whether simple translations (that is, direct translations as originally written) are appropriate or whether culturally appropriate translations should be provided. Also consider whether information should be specifically designed for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences, taking into account that they may be less familiar with Australian Government processes.
Agencies may wish to consider providing a dedicated 'other languages' section on their websites. Where translations are provided, ensure that navigation and search features enable the translations to be easily found. For maximum accessibility in navigation, list each language in its own language and/or script, not in English. For example, use 'Deutsch' or 'Svenska' rather than 'German' or 'Swedish'.
Languages written in other scripts may pose special challenges. The provision of information in an audio format may be worth consideration.
Language translation software may provide some benefits if implemented appropriately. Automatic translation systems generally produce poor quality translations compared with professional human translators, but they may be appropriate for use with some types of text in some circumstances.
Use search features to provide additional assistance to people from diverse backgrounds
People for whom English is not their first language may misspell or enter foreign language terms into search facilities. One way to address this is to enter foreign language terms or common spelling errors into the search engine's synonym list. When the user enters a term, it is looked up in the synonym list, and any equivalent words are also included in the search terms. In this way, the desired information is found, even if the search terms don't exactly match the content of the pages.
Further information about search engines is available in Better Practice Checklist 16, Implementing an Effective Website Search Facility.
Technologies such as touch-screens and interactive voice response (IVR) may provide additional opportunities to help users to locate information.
Integrate online services designed for people from diverse background with other service channels designed to meet their particular needs
Online services can refer people to telephone interpreter services, bilingual staff or other services.
Develop mechanisms to facilitate the use of information by others specifically targeting culturally and linguistically diverse groups
Ethnic media groups and others play an important role in relaying government information to their target audiences. Consider how technology can enhance the provision of information to these groups and can facilitate their use of it. Issues to consider may include ensuring that the cost of the information is not prohibitive and that the format is easily accessible.
Consider that some ethnic media groups may not have the resources to translate the material provided to them. Their use of it may be greatly enhanced if a translation is provided.
Information on ethnic media groups can be found in publications such as Margaret Gee's Media Guide www.mediaguide.com.au [].
Consider the needs of relatives, including youth, who may be accessing information on behalf of clients
Some people from diverse backgrounds rely on other family members, including young family members, to support their access to services. This may be an important consideration when considering target groups.
Presentation and design issues
In designing web resources, ensure that design elements are universally understood
Use universally recognised symbols, words and figures to ensure that they are understood by users, irrespective of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Consider the buttons that are used to navigate the site to ensure that they are intuitive and appropriate.
To help promote a consistent user experience across government websites, it is recommended that agencies use common navigation elements. These elements include 'Home', 'About us', 'Contact us' and 'Search', which should be displayed at the head of the page. A privacy statement, copyright notice and disclaimer should be displayed at the foot of each page. Further information is available at
http://webpublishing.agimo.gov.au/Visual_Design_and_Branding[].
Present data in ways that are clear to international audiences
Data such as date and time formats are presented differently across the globe. For example, 1/12/03 refers to 1 December in Australia and 12 January in North America. Consider how this data can be clearly expressed to all potential users. Similarly, numbers, currencies, weights and measures, telephone numbers and address formats may need to be considered to ensure that they are appropriate for diverse audiences.
Ensure that design elements are culturally appropriate
Ensure that images or other design elements are appropriate to people from diverse backgrounds.
Consider testing web resources with representatives from culturally and linguistically diverse groups
As well as testing web resources with people with English-speaking backgrounds, consider testing resources with people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups, to ensure that resources and the way in which these resources are presented are appropriate. Further information about user testing is available in Better Practice Checklist 3, Testing Websites with Users.
Evaluate services provided online to ensure that all customers receive the same level and responsiveness in service provision regardless of their cultural or linguistic background
As part of establishing online service standards and developing customer service charters, consider services to people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Consider how they can access the charter and provide feedback about online services in their own languages if required.
For example, providing feedback buttons that open an email page with an appropriate recipient address already inserted may help speakers of languages other than English to send feedback.
As part of the collection of data about website usage, consider ways in which data can also be collected on cultural and language diversity
While data about website usage will often be generated from web logs, other data collection methods, such as surveys and focus groups, are worth considering. When developing data collection mechanisms, consider ways in which data consistent with Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity (ABS cat. No. 1289.0) www.abs.gov.au [] could be collected. The standards establish minimum core variables, including country of birth, main language other than English, proficiency in spoken English and Indigenous status.
Further information about website evaluation and usage analysis is available in Better Practice Checklist 11, Website Usage Monitoring and Evaluation.
Other issues
If appropriate, use the website as part of a strategy to consult people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds on new or revised policies or programs that may impact upon them
Websites can be an effective tool in the consultation process, which can supplement other offline consultation mechanisms. Where defined groups from non-English-speaking backgrounds are to be consulted, it may be appropriate to provide material in appropriate languages. Further information is available in Better Practice Checklist 12, Online Policy Consultation.
Ensure that service providers responsible for delivering services on the agency's behalf use technology in ways that comply with the Government's access and equity policies
Where websites or other services dependent on new technologies are outsourced from the agency - that is, delivered through purchaser-provider arrangements or other arrangements (including through grants provided by the agency) - ensure that the outcomes produced by these service providers are consistent with access and equity requirements. This includes ensuring that providers:
- have planning, implementation, monitoring and review mechanisms that incorporate access and equity principles
collect appropriate statistics on cultural and language diversity - have service standards that utilise the cultural and linguistic diversity of staff or their awareness of issues
- have complaint mechanisms that enable people from diverse backgrounds and linguistic groups to raise concerns about the services provided.
When considering the issues that need to be addressed as part of ensuring that services are accessible to people with disabilities, also consider the needs of people with disabilities who come from diverse backgrounds
In order to ensure that people with disabilities and people using older equipment can use websites, the Australian Government requires that its websites follow the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Standards at www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/ []. These standards must be followed to a sufficient extent that they pass recognised tests of accessibility. When implementing these standards, agencies should consider the needs of people with disabilities who come from diverse backgrounds. For example, 'alt' tags on images could include translations.
Other Better Practice Checklists
Contact for information on this page: AGIMO Better Practice Team