Accessibility risk guidance
This guide helps you to evaluate in procurement. It is not exhaustive. Adapt it on an agency, project, category and procurement basis. Here is the full guide to buying accessible products and services.
Consider accessibility risks when you're buying
Risk is about making informed decisions about what you are buying.
Risk management helps you achieve your desired outcomes and meet the needs of your users. This includes buying an accessible product or service that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities.
Buying accessible products and services benefits everyone and improves business outcomes.
Identify accessibility risks
By identifying and analysing accessibility risks early, you can work out a plan to treat them. Consider:
- the different people who will use your product or service. You can use accessibility personas to understand common needs and barriers
- what people need from your product or service, and how those needs might change over time
- where people will use your product or service
You can find examples of accessibility risks and how to mitigate them in the accessibility risk register XLSX, 101.52 KB.
Analyse risks
To assess a risk level, you should think about the likelihood and impact of the risk. You should follow your agency’s approach to risk. The buy.nsw website also has guidance on how to assess likelihood and impact.
Some accessibility risk indicators that might help you analyse risk include:
| Indicator | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| The number of people who will use the product or service | Not many | Some | Lots |
| Cost | Low | Medium | High |
| Frequency of use | Yearly | Every few months | Daily |
| Where the product or service is required for core duties | Not essential | Somewhat essential | Essential |
| Impact on ability to participate and collaborate | No impact | Some impact | High impact |
Manage risks
Risk management is an ongoing process. It is important to monitor accessibility risks and check that they are being treated effectively. this is particularly important when:
- A product or service is updated. New updates might impact a product’s accessibility and create issues. For example, it no longer works well with screen readers (a type of assistive technology for people with visual impairments)
- There are updates to accessibility laws, guidelines, or standards. For example, the Web Accessibility Content Guidelines is updated with new requirements and criteria regularly. It explains how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.
- The users of the product or service change. For example, a screen reader user now needs to use the product.
If you need support, fill in the accessibility requests form or email Accessibility NSW at digital.accessibility@customerservice.nsw.gov.au