Regular readers of our blog will know that the Accessibility section of our blog attracts a great deal of attention. Our web accessibility team, led by Jacqui van Teulingen, has done a tremendous job in furthering discussion and action on accessibility. The Australian Government’s position on WCAG 2.0, as reflected in the National Transition Strategy, is a testament to the hard work of the team. Together with their colleagues from similar teams across the Australian Public Service, they have considerably advanced the accessibility cause in the web content area.

I was very pleased to note that Vision Australia recognised the achievements of the team with one of their 2011 ‘Making a Difference’ awards. The accessibility team was one of a number of organisations around Australia to win an award. We’re very proud of their achievement and the recognition the award attracts to their embodiment of the APS Values.

The citation reads:

Making a Difference Award

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has been working with Vision Australia for a number of years to increase awareness of web accessibility for Government and the commercial sector. To date this work has had an incredible impact on the number of Government Departments who are now considering the needs of people who are blind or have low vision who may be accessing their websites. In addition, a PDF investigation that was commissioned by AGIMO has led Adobe to place PDF accessibility at the top of their research and development schedule.

Well done to the team.

Ann Steward

Australian Government Chief Information Officer