Creating accessible communications

The communications we create should be usable by everyone.

In New Zealand, around 24% of people identify as having a disability, many of whom use assistive technologies such as screen readers, voice control or captions. There are many more who don’t identify as disabled but have, arthritis, colour-blindness or are neurodiverse. These people are our current and potential student and staff population.

The Human Rights Act states it is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly on the grounds of disability. When information isn’t accessible, we risk excluding students, colleagues and community members or we make it difficult for them to participate.

On the other hand, incorporating accessibility into all aspects of our communications improves usability for everyone.

Accessible information doesn’t just help people with disabilities. It benefits people who:

• Have vision, hearing, mobility, or dexterity impairments
• Experience learning differences or cognitive challenges
• Speak or read English as an additional language
• Use mobile phones or small screens
• Have limited or slow internet connections
• Cannot use video or audio content

For guidance on creating accessible communication, refer to the following resources:

• Accessible web content
• Accessibility toolkit