Accessibility overview
Our approach to building components that provide a great user experience for all users.
Simplicity by design
Accessibility has always been a top priority for the Agriculture Design System (AgDS). AgDS is inspired by the original Australian Government Design System GOLD, which was built on principles of simplicity and accessibility.
We have an obligation to make our government services simple and fast to use, inclusive and accessible to all users in the location and context they need to use them.
Accessibility audit
The system is tested by the team for accessibility at every stage. From visual design, automated code testing, to testing with assistive technology. The system has also been audited for WCAG conformance twice in 2022 and 2024 and both times achieved a certification of full WCAG conformance.
Our statements of conformance:
Meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
AgDS targets the WCAG 2.1 Level A and Level AA success criteria and seeks to provide a highly usable experience for everyone.
In these instances, we exceed those standards:
- The purpose of page elements is understood and conveyed by assistive technologies – WCAG success criterion 1.3.6 Identify purpose (level AAA).
- Headings and body text have a contrast ratio above 7:1 – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.6 Contrast (enhanced) (level AAA).
- Text can be altered by users to meet their preferences – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.8 Visual presentation (level AAA).
- All functionality is operable via keyboard – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.3 Keyboard (no exception) (level AAA).
- Users can identify the purpose of a link from the link text alone – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.9 Link purpose (link only) (level AAA).
- Section headings are used to organise page content – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.10 Section headings (level AAA).
- We use pointer target sizes of at least 24 by 24 pixels – WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.8 Target size (minimum) (level AA).
- Users can check, reverse or confirm their input on forms – WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.6 Error prevention (all) (level AAA).
Assistive technology support
AgDS components are tested for accessibility with automated and manual techniques to ensure support for:
- screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack)
- screen magnifiers
- alternative input mechanisms
- low vision and colour blindness.
Browser support
AgDS supports the latest two versions of the following browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Apple Safari for MacOS
- Microsoft Edge
- Apple Safari for iOS
- Google Chrome for Android
Coding standards
AgDS components are built using modern web standards for HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Features from the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) specification are used to build functionality that is not available natively to web browsers. Where possible, components are built according to specifications found on the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG).
Making your product accessible
Product teams need to conduct their own research and testing sessions to ensure that the compositions of AgDS components are accessible in the context of their product. For information about getting started with accessibility, we recommend visiting the Accessibility Fundamentals Overview from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).