NDIS Website Accessibility Checklist for Providers

First, a plain-language disclaimer

No checklist makes a website "NDIS compliant" or "WCAG certified" by itself, and anyone selling you that guarantee is overselling. Accessibility is an ongoing responsibility that depends on what you publish over time, not a one-off tick-box. What a checklist does do is catch the issues that most often shut participants and families out — and most of them are genuinely easy to fix. If you would rather have it built in from the start, that is the whole point of our NDIS website design approach.

1. Colour contrast you can actually read

Text needs enough contrast against its background to be readable by people with low vision. The WCAG 2.1 AA target is a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Pale grey text on a white background fails this constantly. Check every text colour, including buttons, links and text sitting over photos.

Check: run your key pages through a contrast checker and fix anything under 4.5:1.

2. Everything works by keyboard

Many participants do not use a mouse. Every link, button, menu and form field must be reachable and operable with the Tab and Enter keys alone — and there must be a clearly visible focus outline showing where you are. If you cannot navigate your own site without touching the mouse, neither can a keyboard or switch user.

Check: unplug your mouse and try to complete an enquiry using only the keyboard.

3. Meaningful alt text on images

Screen readers announce the alt text of images. "image1.jpg" or keyword-stuffed alt text helps nobody. Describe what the image shows and why it matters; mark purely decorative images so they are skipped. For photos of people, describe the scene respectfully.

Check: every informative image has a short, accurate description; decorative images are empty-alt.

4. Headings in a logical order

Screen reader users navigate by headings. Use one clear page title (H1), then H2s and H3s in a sensible nested order — not chosen because of how big they look. A logical heading structure is also one of the simplest things to get wrong with a page builder.

Check: your page outline reads sensibly when you list the headings on their own.

5. Forms with proper labels

Every form field needs a real, programmatically associated label — not just placeholder text that vanishes when you start typing. Error messages must be clear and announced. For NDIS providers this matters doubly, because the enquiry and referral forms are exactly where you cannot afford to lose someone.

Check: each field has a visible label; errors are described in text, not just colour.

6. Plain language and Easy Read

Accessibility is not only technical. If your content is full of provider jargon and dense paragraphs, you have excluded a large part of your audience just as surely as a contrast failure would. Write services in plain language, keep sentences short, and consider an Easy Read version of key information for participants who need it.

Check: a participant or family member unfamiliar with NDIS jargon can read a service page and understand what you do.

7. Captions, motion and media

Video needs captions and, ideally, a transcript. Avoid content that flashes or auto-plays with sound. Respect the "reduce motion" preference for animations. None of this is hard; it is just often forgotten.

For the same fundamentals outside the NDIS context, our guide on website accessibility for Brisbane businesses covers the wider picture.

NDIS accessibility — common questions