FFG publishes first Austrian monitoring report on digital accessibility

A checking of public authority websites shows: lots has been achieved, there’s still lots to do

Public authority websites and mobile applications (apps) must be digitally accessible across the EU – and in Austria, this is governed by the Web Accessibility Act. The FFG, as the responsible federal agency, has now issued its first monitoring report on the attainment of these digital accessibility goals. According to this report, non-compliance (proportion of criteria not met) lies at below one third, on average. Over half of the websites investigated have an accessibility declaration.

Titelbild des Monitoring-Berichtes zur Digitalen Barrierefreiheit. Titel: Digitales zugänglich machen

Austrian monitoring report on digital accessibility
Download (only availably in German)

 

The results from the monitoring report: 54% of the websites and mobile applications checked feature an accessibility declaration. 253 of the websites subjected to a simplified checking procedure meet 10 of the 14 criteria on average (30% not met). The websites which were checked in depth on average meet around half of the criteria. The most frequent problems relate to non-textual content (images, media files), colour contrasts, the structuring of content and semantic characterisation (essential so that assistance systems can correctly interpret the content).

The FFG, as the monitoring agency appointed to deal with this issue by the federal government, helps public authorities and users to make their websites and apps accessible. “Inclusion in the digital world will only be achievable in a timely manner if we work on this together and constantly learn from one another. In addition to monitoring, we see our key role as being to devise a common approach for the Austrian federal and regional governments. Through our ongoing exchange with interested parties, public authorities and experts, we can drive digital accessibility in Austria,” say FFG Managing Directors Henrietta Egerth and Klaus Pseiner.

The selected sample covers various levels of administration, e.g. federal, regional and local, as well as reflecting various thematic responsibilities and services on the part of the public authorities. The assessments were carried out between October 2020 and September 2021. The criteria for accessible websites and apps are specified in a harmonised European standard and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

A monitoring and service agency covering the digital accessibility of public authorities was established at the FFG as a result of the Web Accessibility Act. It provides support at a federal and regional level in the form of advice, training and information as well as acting as a service and complaints body. A total of 25 complaints were processed from January 2020 to September 2021.