1 Application

1.1 Effective date

1.1.1 This Standard is effective 17 March 2025 and replaces the New Zealand Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1.

1.2 Mandated organisations

1.2.1 Every Public service department, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service is directed by Cabinet [CAB Min (03) 41/2B] to implement this Standard.

2 Requirements for web pages

2.1 Scope

2.1.1 The requirement in Section 2.2 applies to each publicly facing and each internally facing web page (‘Web Page’) that a mandated organisation is responsible for.

2.2 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA

2.2.1 Every Web Page must conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, subject to the exceptions in Section 3.

3 Exceptions to requirements for web pages

3.1 WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion (SC) 1.1.1 Non-text Content

3.1.1 Exemption — A text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose is not required for complex visual maps.

3.1.2 Modified requirement — The data presented in complex visual maps should be published in open, machine-readable formats and exposed through the data.govt.nz website.

3.2 WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

3.2.1 Modified requirement — For prerecorded audio-only and prerecorded video-only media, the following are true, except when the audio or video is a media alternative for text and is clearly labelled as such:

Prerecorded Audio-only

An alternative for time-based media is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded audio-only content.

Prerecorded Video-only

An alternative for time-based media is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded video-only content.

3.3 WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.3 Audio Description of Media Alternative (Prerecorded)

3.3.1 Modified requirement — An alternative for time-based media of the prerecorded video content is provided for synchronised media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labelled as such.

3.4 WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.4 Captions (live)

3.4.1 Modified requirement — Captions should be provided for all live audio content in synchronised media, and must be provided if the synchronised media includes high-stakes information or services where the equivalent information or services are not simultaneously published as text.

3.5 WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)

3.5.1 Modified requirement — Audio description should be provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronised media published on or after 17 March 2025, and must be provided for all synchronised media that includes high-stakes information or services.

3.6 Inactive web pages

3.6.1 Exemption — Conformance to WCAG 2.2 is not required for inactive web pages.

4 Requirements for assessment and reporting

4.1 Risk assessment and management plan

4.1.1 Each mandated organisation must, when notified by the Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO):

1. assess how the websites and web pages it’s responsible for conform to this Standard
2. submit to the GCDO a report on the conformance to this Standard of the websites or web pages it is responsible for
3. submit to the GCDO a risk assessment and risk management plan regarding the non-conformances to this Standard of the websites or web pages it’s responsible for.

4.2 Methodology

4.2.1 The GCDO will provide each mandated organisation with the methodology for completing the requirements in Section 4.1.

5 Glossary

Alternative for time-based media

Text-based content that includes all the meaningful visual and auditory information from synchronised media that someone who views and listens to the synchronised media would be expected to see and hear.

Definition of alternative for time-based media in WCAG 2.2

Assess

In the context of conformance, assess means to determine the rate, level or amount of conformance to a given standard, guideline or specification.

Complex visual map

A graphical map that is:

• used to convey a large amount of information, and
• detailed to the extent that creating a usable text alternative is impractical.

Examples of a complex visual map include a:

• topographic map that uses contour lines to represent terrain elevations for a specific land area
• weather map showing meteorological features, such as the barometric pressures or the median annual rainfall, across a specific region
• network map showing all the devices connected to the internet in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Note that the amount of information or detail a graphical map must convey before a usable text alternative become impractical depends on the map’s content and its context.

A graphical map that conveys a large amount of highly detailed information, but is used just to convey a specific fact and not all the information it otherwise conveys, is not a complex visual map.

Other examples of graphical maps that are not complex visual maps include a:

• weather map that uses sun, cloud and rain icons positioned over recognised regions to indicate expected weather in those regions
• network map showing all the devices connected to the internet in a typical home office
• mind map of the principles, guidelines and success criteria in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2.

High-stakes information or services

Online information or services whose inaccessibility at the time of publication could reasonably be expected to have a negative impact on a disabled person’s emergency preparedness and response, health and safety, or critical civil and political rights, entitlements, services, or obligations. This includes, but is not limited to, information or services related to:

• disability
• emergency preparedness, response and recovery
• entitlement or access to benefits, food, housing, education, consumer or other community protections, passports, or visas
• rights in criminal and civil proceedings
• central government elections or referenda
• tax obligations and rebates
• general health information, specific health advice, health and safety in employment
• public consultations on policy and legislation.

Inactive web page

A web page whose main content:

• is no longer needed for active administration purposes
• is nether modified or updated after the date of inactivity
• is marked as inactive or archived, and
• includes accessible instructions for users to request an accessible version of the same main content.

Internally facing

Can be accessed only by people who are employees, staff or paid personnel of a New Zealand government public sector organisation.

Example of internally facing websites include an organisation’s:

• intranet
• web-based document management system.

Main content

The content specific to a web page and directly related to that web page’s principal topic or functionality.

Mandated organisation

The Public Service department, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Parliamentary Counsel Office or the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, directed by Cabinet to apply the Web Standards.

Must

As defined in IETF RFC 2119, indicates an absolute requirement.

Publicly facing

Can be accessed by members of the general public or people who are not employees, staff or authorised paid personnel of a New Zealand government public sector organisation.

This includes a website or web page behind a login authentication mechanism that controls access by members of the general public or people who are not employees, staff or paid personnel of a New Zealand government public sector organisation.

Examples of publicly facing websites include an:

• organisation’s corporate website
• extranet for liaising with service providers.

Risk assessment

An evaluation of the potential risks of non-conformance with a standard’s requirements.

Risk management plan

A plan to mitigate the potential risks of non-conformance with a standard’s requirements.

Should

As defined in IETF RFC 2119 , indicates a recommended course of action that there may, under certain conditions, be valid reasons to ignore. However, the full implications of ignoring it must be understood and carefully weighed.

Synchronised media

Audio or video content that is matched up with other timed elements, such as text or interactive features. For example, it could be a video with a synchronised audio track or a prerecorded soundtrack and visual slides presented in sync.

Definition of synchronised media in WCAG 2.2

Website

One or more web pages that share a common topic or purpose. This includes web services and single page applications.

A website can have smaller sub-sites, each serving as an individual website. For example, a government department’s corporate website (for example, agency.govt.nz) might comprise multiple sections (for example, agency.govt.nz/service-a and agency.govt.nz/service-b) that are owned or administered by organisationally distinct units within the department. For the purposes of this Standard, these individual sections may be considered separate websites.

Note that collections of one or more web pages located at different fourth-level domains that belong to the same third-level domain, for example, projectA.agency.govt.nz and serviceB.agency.govt.nz, constitute separate websites.

Definition of website in the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) 1.0

Web page

A file downloaded from a single URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) along with any other extra files needed to display it properly in a web browser.

Web pages include web applications, web services, and single page applications.

Most web pages are downloaded from a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that starts with https://.

Definition of web page in WCAG 2.2