AODA Compliance Checklist

Here’s a quick checklist of many of the criteria that must be followed for AODA compliance. You can visit the Government of Ontario’s “How to Make Websites Accessible”³ page for a more detailed checklist.

• Non-text elements on the website, such as images, have text alternatives.
• Understanding the meaning of the content does not depend on being able to perceive colours, sounds, object size, etc.
• Individuals are able to pause, stop or control the volume of any audio that plays for more than three seconds.
• Web pages and links have self-explanatory titles.
• Text can be resized (enlarged).
• Website functions work using a keyboard.
• If there is a short time limit for certain functions, individuals can control or extend the time limit.
• There is nothing on the website that flashes rapidly.

One way to test whether your website meets these and other web accessibility requirements of the AODA or of WCAG 2.0 is to use an online compliance checker.

For instance, the AODA Compliance Wizard is a tool developed by the Government of Ontario to give organizations a customized list of requirements for compliance, based on what kind of business they are or the size of their work force.

Another example is AChecker, an online tool that can automatically test your website to determine whether it meets the Level AA criteria of WCAG 2.0. A compliance checker like this one will flag areas where your website does not appear to meet accessibility standards.

However, there’s no guarantee it will spot and report every problem on your site, and you can’t even be sure that everything it does flag is a true accessibility issue. That’s why the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario strongly urges organizations to have their sites assessed by humans, even if they’ve already used online tools to evaluate their accessibility.

These are good reminders.  How far into compliance has your organization been?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

Web Accessibility Requirements of the AODA

What are the AODA requirements for web accessibility? Under this legislation, websites must adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. WCAG 2.0 is an internationally accepted set of guidelines developed by a group of web accessibility experts from all over the world. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to make various components of a website fully accessible, as well as explanations about the importance of each criterion.

Under the AODA, websites and web-based applications must currently conform to the minimum level, A. But eventually, they must conform to most of the WCAG AA level criteria. Note that there are different AODA compliance deadlines depending on the standards and depending on the type and size of public, private or government organization. Deadlines are set out for developing the accessibility standards and then for implementing them.

Under Section 14 (web accessibility) of the Information and Communication Standards, all covered entities will need to meet almost all of the WCAG 2.0 Level AA criteria by the end of 2020. But for many groups, the deadlines to meet at least some of the criteria have already passed.

The compliance deadlines for Section 12, “Accessible Formats and Communication Supports,” have already passed for all sectors.

These are good reminders.  How far into compliance has your organization been?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca

AODA Website Compliance

One important area to consider is website compliance under the AODA. That’s because there are accessibility standards under the law that directly apply to web and digital accessibility. One of these is the Information and Communications Standards (Part II of the AODA).

Under Section 14, “Accessible Websites and Web Content,” organizations covered by this law are required to ensure that their websites are fully accessible (we discuss the actual requirements in the next section, below).

Other parts of these and other standards require information in other electronic or digital formats to be accessible. If, for example, a transportation agency circulates a PDF brochure of its routes and schedules, or a municipality posts a video with public safety information, these materials must be made accessible for people with disabilities upon request and at no extra cost.

There are financial penalties for failing to comply with the AODA. These can be steep, depending on the type of organization that’s breaking the law.

These are good reminders.  How far into compliance has your organization been?

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca