If you’re an NDIS provider, a large share of the people visiting your website have disability, or are supporting someone who does. Your website is often the first contact a participant, family member or support coordinator has with you. If they can’t use it, they’ll go elsewhere.
Why accessibility matters more for NDIS providers
Most businesses have some visitors with disability. For NDIS providers, they’re the main audience. Your visitors might use screen readers, magnification, voice control or a keyboard instead of a mouse. Some prefer information in Easy Read or plain English. Many are using a phone.
An inaccessible website can mean a participant can’t find your services, can’t read your service agreement, or can’t complete your referral form. That’s a lost client, and it sends the wrong message about how you support people.
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act also applies to websites and online services. Our plain-English guide to the DDA explains what that means.
What to fix first
You don’t have to fix everything at once. These are the issues that most often stop NDIS participants and their supporters from using a provider’s website.
1. Referral, enquiry and intake forms
Forms are where people try to reach you, so they matter most. Check that every field has a visible label, required fields are clearly marked, error messages explain what went wrong, and the whole form can be completed with only a keyboard. Avoid CAPTCHAs that rely on seeing or hearing.
2. Documents
Service agreements, policies, price lists and intake packs are often uploaded as scanned or untagged PDFs that screen readers can’t read. Where possible, publish key information as a web page instead. Where you do need a document, make sure it’s accessible. Our guide on how to make an accessible PDF walks through the steps.
3. Easy Read and plain English
Many participants have intellectual disability or prefer simpler information. Offering Easy Read versions of key information, such as what you do, how to get started and how to make a complaint, makes a real difference. Read more in what is Easy Read?
4. Colour contrast and text size
Light grey text and pastel brand colours are common on NDIS websites and hard to read for people with low vision. Check your colours with our free colour contrast checker and see how to fix low contrast text.
5. Images and alt text
Photos of your team and services help people feel welcome, but they need meaningful alt text so screen reader users get the same information. Our guide on how to write good alt text has examples.
6. Keyboard access
Menus, pop-ups, chat widgets and booking tools should all work without a mouse. You can check this yourself with our guide to keyboard-only testing.
7. Contact options
Give people more than one way to reach you, such as phone, email, a form and SMS. Make sure phone numbers and email addresses are written as text, not inside images.
A quick self-check
Try this with your own website:
- Can you complete your referral form using only the Tab and Enter keys?
- Can you highlight and copy the text in your service agreement PDF?
- Does your site still work when you zoom your browser to 200 percent?
- Is there a simple explanation of your services that someone with low literacy could follow?
If the answer to any of these is no, that’s a good place to start. Our free website accessibility checklist covers more.
How we help NDIS providers
We work with NDIS providers to audit websites, fix documents and train staff who publish content. Find out more on our NDIS providers page, or contact us to talk about your website.