A partnership with Vision Australia is ensuring information provided on both the Sydney / Sydney Eye Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation websites is published in line with international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for Disability.
The case for funding
It is vital that patients with a disability, particularly those who have a vision impairment, are able to access the information they need online.
The Disability Inclusion Act 2014 states, “People with a disability have the right to access information in a way that is appropriate for their disability and cultural background, and enables them to make informed choices.”
Digital Access at Vision Australia Limited is recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in online accessibility. For more than 19 years, the organisation has helped organisations make digital assets accessible to everyone by building on expert knowledge of accessibility conformance, inclusive design and the needs of people with disability or impairment.
An Accessibility Audit will establish the level of conformance of the Sydney / Sydney Eye Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation websites against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The WCAG were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are an international accessibility standard recognised by the Australian Government and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Digital Access consultants at Vision Australia are trained to analyse any issues present and provide bespoke recommendations and steps on how to resolve them.
Donor impact
With thanks to community support and donations to the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation, the Digital Access audit report will provide clear steps on what changes need to take place on the Hospital’s websites as well as an opportunity to upskill and develop in-house knowledge on accessibility.
The analysis will be comprehensive including simulation of several user scenarios and will use a range of browser-based tools, manual code inspection and testing of the pages with assistive technologies to check for additional user-related accessibility issues.
The detailed report will describe any technical accessibility issues present on a website categorised against WCAG 2.0 or 2.1 Level A and AA Success Criteria that fall within the main domain.
Once Sydney /Sydney Eye Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation have addressed any issues raised in the reports, Digital Access will provide a Statement of Accessibility (certificate of conformance) to endorse the work undertaken to create a technically accessible website in line with WCAG 2.1.
A Statement of Accessibility will demonstrate the commitment of Sydney / Sydney Eye Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation towards accessibility, and confirms the level of technical accessibility achieved.
“Given our unique visually impaired patient demographic this accessibility audit is a vital tool toward our vision-friendly hospital ambition. We are so incredibly grateful to all donors who have given generously to the Foundation to ensure we successfully meet our patients’ needs.” – Danielle Morgan, Acting Deputy Head of Orthoptic Department, Eye Outpatients Department, Sydney & Sydney Eye Hospital
