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Digital accessibility is a human right, not just a technical rquirement for Government

In the early 2010s, Australians were filling out paper tax return forms by hand and mailing them back to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In just one-decade, ​the ​digital transformation undeniably swept over most Federal Government service offerings​.​ MyGov has enabled faster service delivery, seamless interactions between citizens and the Government​,​ and robust data-driven services. However, for all this progress and rapid transformation, the question remains - who is being left behind?
Related Topics:
Rethinking work
12 August 2025
Synergy Law Lawyer, Jessica Liao
5 minutes

In the early 2010s, Australians were filling out paper tax return forms by hand and mailing them back to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In just one decade, the digital transformation undeniably swept over most Federal Government service offerings. MyGov has enabled faster service delivery, seamless interactions between citizens and the Government, and robust data-driven services. However, for all this progress and rapid transformation, the question remains - who is being left behind?

As we continue to move towards digital transformation, the risk of digital exclusion also grows. Last year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 5.5 million, or 21.4%, of Australians live with a disability. This figure is even higher for unseen and hidden disabilities that may not formally be reported.

Accessibility, let alone digital accessibility, is often treated as a technical afterthought - a compliance checklist creating administrative red tape, or something that the product developers will "fix later." But accessibility is a human right. The Government has both a legal and moral responsibility to uphold, protect and be at the forefront of leading the way towards digital accessibility for all.

With the next wave of new technology such as artificial intelligence and biometric authentication becoming more widely embedded into Digital Government services, two critical questions about equitable access emergy. What are the risks if technologies are not accessible by design? And, how do we reduce the widening digital accessibility gap?

 

Accessibility is a human right

In April 2025, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released the Guidelines on Equal Access to Digital Goods and Services (Guidelines), which is an update on the AHRC's World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes published over a decade ago in 2014 (the latest version can be found here).

These Guidelines are grounded in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and Australia's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The message of the Guidelines rings clear: inaccessible digital services are not just inconvenient or inefficient-they are discriminatory, and a contravention of international and domestic law.

When someone cannot access the MyGov form with a screen reader, navigate a government app without using a mouse, or understand complex web content due to cognitive impairment, it goes beyond a service failure - they are being denied equal participation.

Accessibility in the Federal Government space has often been reduced to adhering to technical standards and checklists. While those are crucial, accessibility is not just about technical implementation; it is a culture of inclusive design that must start from developing the strategy, through to the requirements development and the procurement process. This shared responsibility of considering digital accessibilities is something that is emphasised in these Guidelines. Some key suggestions emerging from the Guidelines include testing the digital product with a wide audience and with those with disabilities, developing a diversity and inclusion plan from the beginning stages of development, and including accessibility in tender documentation from the beginning phase of the procurement process.

 

Where to From Here?

In the ever-changing digital landscape that we live in, the culture around digital accessibility also needs to keep up. To ensure the continual applicability of the Guidelines, the AHRC has coupled the release of the Guidelines with advocacy work to reform domestic legislation and create enduring legislative changes to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

The question facing every Government department, agency and team is not whether accessibility is required. That requirement is undeniable. The question is: how are we embedding accessibility into our practices so that it is at the forefront when developing, procuring, and updating our digital services.