8.5 Accessibility

Embedding accessibility into your practice ensures you are furthering the democratisation of knowledge and fostering inclusivity across a diverse audience. Acknowledging the inequitable access to information experienced by marginalised communities and individuals with disabilities is an important first step towards making research inclusive and accessible.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 4.4 million Australians live with disabilities (ABS 2018). Further, it is estimated that over 4 million Australians (over 20% of the population) are print disabled (Ipsos Australia 2014). A print disability can be the result of a visual impairment, physical disability, learning disorder or any other condition impacting a person’s ability to access or engage with information in text format. While many people experience long-term or lifelong print disabilities, it is important to recognise that many of us will experience some form of situational condition that might impede our ability to read effectively. Therefore, adopting inclusive practices for some ultimately benefits all.

Assistive technology

Watch this short video by the NSW Department of Education, demonstrating the use of a screen reader and explaining the importance of accessible documents:

Vision Australia’s Assistive technology demonstrations page will teach you more about screen readers and assistive technology.

Print accessibility

Headings

Structuring documents with clear, meaningful and descriptive headings helps screen reader users to navigate through documents without having to listen to all the content.

Font

Accessibility guidelines recommend the consistent use of sans serif fonts (Arial, Calibri, Century Gothic, Helvetica, Tahoma, Verdana) set at 12pt or greater – this includes footnotes. PowerPoint presentations should not contain font smaller than 18pt.

Colours

Use solid, light coloured backgrounds with high contrast, dark text. White backgrounds with black text provide good contrast but can be an overwhelmingly stark contrast for users with dyslexia. Off-white or cream-toned backgrounds are a dyslexia-friendly alternative. Avoid using red and green, which are common colour vision deficiencies.

Links

When linking to an outside source, use concise and meaningful link text instead of ‘click here’, ‘read more’, ‘watch this video’ or inserting a long URL. This practice provides the reader with context and allows them to determine if it is useful to follow the link.

Alt text

Alternative text (alt text) for images gives screen reader users access to the information conveyed by images and the importance of those images to the complete body of work.

Things to avoid

Avoid or limit the use of tables and text boxes. Screen reader software often ignores the text in a text box and struggles to navigate the information in a table. Convey the same information using text or another more accessible medium.

Additional resources for print accessibility

These sites will teach you more about creating accessible text-based resources:

• Writing for web accessibility – W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• Creating accessible documents – Australian Disability Clearing House on Education and Training (ADCET)
• Creating documents that meet accessibility guidelines – Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
• Dyslexia friendly style guide – British Dyslexia Association
• Inclusive publishing in Australia: An introductory guide – Australian Inclusive Publishing Initiative (AIPI)

Audiovisual accessibility

Captions

Captions (or subtitles) are a synchronised text version of audiovisual content. Deaf and low-hearing individuals rely on captions to access information relayed by speech or sounds, but captions also benefit users of screen readers, non-native speakers and those who prefer written content. Provide captions for all audiovisual material you share, including videos, workshops and podcasts (live or recorded). Ensure captions are accurate and accessible by screen readers.

Transcripts

Transcripts are a text-based version of speech and non-speech information contained in audio or video materials. A transcript should capture speech and any other descriptive information the user requires to understand the content.

Additional resources for audiovisual accessibility

These sites will teach you more about captions, captioning tools, transcription and best practice:

• Captions/Subtitles – W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• Transcripts – W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• Why do I need both transcripts and captions for accessibility? – Bureau of Internet Accessibility
• Transcription guidelines for captioning – VITAC

References

ABS (2018) Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: summary of findings, Australian Bureau of Statistics website, accessed 25 May 2024.

Andrews EE, Powell RM and Ayers K (2022) ‘The evolution of disability language: choosing terms to describe disability’, Disability and Health Journal, 15(3), 101328–101328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101328.

Ipsos Australia (2014) Secondary research to determine the size of the national print disabled audience. RPH Australia.