Digital barriers

Every person is diverse, spanning different ages, abilities, and languages. Of the 7.80 million residents of NSW, 1.37 million (18.34%) have a disability — almost one in five. Over 16% of the world's population, equivalent to 1.3 billion people, has a disability, making it the largest minority group globally.

Unfortunately, many digital products and services are created with a one-size-fits-all approach, overlooking the unique requirements of people with diverse abilities and needs. Designing with diversity in mind ensures broader accessibility and usability, benefiting a larger population and removing digital barriers for users. That’s why, when building digital products and services, it’s important to ensure accessibility from the start.

Understanding how assistive technology works can result in a deeper understanding of accessibility needs.

Understanding diverse requirements

People may feel hesitant to disclose their disability status due to fear of potential discrimination, stigma, or concern about how they may be perceived. This is why it is so important to create a safe, inclusive and accessible environment for all.

Improving your personal understanding of diverse user requirements is essential for creating inclusive solutions that cater to a wide range of needs. By embracing diversity, and partaking in empathy building activities, we ensure fairness, accessibility, and innovation in our designs, ultimately leading to better outcomes for all users.

Practical ways to increase your understanding

Activities you can try

Try these activities to gain some insight. You can do them at home, or at your desk.

Not everyone uses a mouse so unplug your mouse (or disable your trackpad). Try using only your keyboard for an hour.
Change your browser zoom to 400% and check the effect of resizing on the webpage you are viewing.
Try some of the built in Microsoft Windows accessibility features, such as Windows Narrator.
If you have an Apple device, try the Mac accessibility features, such as Voice Control to control your device using voice commands.
Try this game: Accessibility through a maze.

Simulation software

Simulation software is designed to raise awareness by helping people experience some of the everyday challenges faced by people with disabilities. So, before you begin trying it out, it's important to remember that simulation software:

is not a replacement for testing your online service with people who use assistive technology
does not cover all circumstances.

Metamatrix Web Disability Simulator is also a free Google Chrome extension.

It allows you to simulate:

dyslexia
Parkinson’s disease
colour blindness
issues with concentration
low vision.

Get Started: Install and Manage Extensions with Chrome Web Store Help.

Screen reader software

The best way to understand the screen reader experience is to try one out for yourself, such as VoiceOver for Apple products and NVDA for Windows.

VoiceOver is a screen reader that converts text to speech, which you can use on both your Mac desktop and iPhone. For guidance, see learn VoiceOver (Deque University).
NVDA screen reader is free but does need to be downloaded. Download NVDA screen reader (NV Access). If you've never used NVDA before, learning all the keyboard shortcuts can take time. For guidance see NVDA keyboard shortcuts (Deque University).

Videos

Explore the impact and benefits for everyone through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web accessibility perspectives video series.

How you can make a difference

Design your products and services with good colour contrast
Conduct accessibility testing on your digital products and services
Make sure your document is accessible
Create content using plain and inclusive language.

Educate yourself

To further your knowledge, consider exploring a range of online courses to help build your skills in digital accessibility. Visit digital accessibility courses to learn more.

Get involved

Be My Eyes is a free app that connects people who are blind or have low vision with sighted volunteers for visual assistance through a live video call. Check out an this article on 10 indoor activities where a Be My Eyes volunteer can make a difference.

Support

If you need any assistance or have questions about the information on this page, please email us at digital.accessibility@customerservice.nsw.gov.au. To report an accessibility barrier with NSW Government’s online content, use our web accessibility report form.