NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment Accessibility Audit
Web Accessibility Audit and Remediation for NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment website to make it conforms with the WCAG technical standards and comply with the ADA.
This NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment accessibility audit and WCAG 2.1 AA remediation covered an Australian government resource that guides people through the public-sector recruitment process in New South Wales.
A recruitment-guidance site helps job-seekers understand steps, prepare applications and find support — through structured information, forms and documents. Many job-seekers are people with disability, so the accessibility of this guidance is central to fair, inclusive hiring, not an afterthought.
Table of Contents
Why accessibility is essential for public recruitment guidance
In Australia, government and public bodies have clear obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the standard used to judge an accessible website. For NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment the duty is practical as well as legal: residents and visitors who use assistive technology must be able to read information and complete tasks just like anyone else.
Scope and standard
Our NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment accessibility audit assessed the site against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, across the journeys a job-seeker relies on: step-by-step guidance pages, downloadable documents and templates, forms, support and contact information, and search and navigation.
How we ran the NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment accessibility audit
- Screen-reader testing with JAWS and NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, and TalkBack on Android
- Automated audits with Deque axe, Google Lighthouse and WAVE
- Keyboard-only operation of every step, with attention to focus order and a clearly visible focus indicator
- Colour-contrast analysis, plus 400% zoom and reflow testing for low-vision users
What accessibility means on each part of the site
Because NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment is a public-sector site that informs and serves residents, our NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment accessibility audit focused on the parts people depend on:
- Information and programme pages need a clear heading structure and readable text, so a screen-reader user can find services without relying on visual layout.
- Forms and applications need programmatic labels, clear instructions and announced errors, so applying for a service or permit never depends on sight or a mouse.
- Documents and PDFs need to be tagged and readable, since so much public information is delivered as downloads.
- Search, navigation and any maps need operable controls and results in text, not by map alone.
- All content needs sufficient colour contrast, visible focus and clean reflow at 400% zoom for low-vision residents.
Outcome
This NSW Gov Navigating Recruitment accessibility audit, combining manual and automated testing with remediation, brought the site into line with WCAG 2.1 AA expectations, so people using a screen reader or a keyboard can use it without barriers. Every fix was verified with assistive technology rather than assumed from an automated pass, so the result holds up in real use.