About the Accessibility Guide

In New Zealand, we have 1.1 million disabled people, about one in four of our population. As government agencies, it’s important our information and communications are accessible for everyone we serve and our employees, and inclusive of disabled people.

The guide is for those tasked with developing information and communications for government agencies, including employees, vendors and contractors and will support your agency to meet the needs of disabled people in your communities.

The government has made a commitment to providing information and communications through the Accessibility Charter programme of work [1], which implements the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person’s with a Disability (UNCRPD) [2] through the New Zealand Disability Strategy, Priority 9A: Increase accessibility of information across government agencies [3]. The Accessibility Charter also relates to other disability programmes of work, such as increasing the employment of disabled people in the public sector.

To support government agencies to implement the intent of the Charter, it was agreed as one of the outcomes of the Disability Strategy [4] that the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) would work with the Association of Blind Citizens New Zealand, Deaf Aotearoa and People First New Zealand Ngā Tāngata Tuatahi, Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to develop a guide to inform government agencies about accessible information.

This guide is supported with a training programme that is free to all relevant government employees.

It is acknowledged that this guide is by no means definitive, and it’s important to learn through individual experience. This is a living document and will be revised regularly to make sure content reflects current practice based on mutual discussions and feedback from those who use it.

Footnotes

[1] https://www.msd.govt.nz/accessibility-charter

[2] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/article-21-freedom-of-expression-and-opinion-and-access-to-information.html

[3] https://www.odi.govt.nz/nz-disability-strategy/outcome-5-accessibility/

[4] https://www.odi.govt.nz/nz-disability-strategy/

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