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Web Accessibility Complaints Policy and Procedure

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is outline a procedure by which complaints concerning the accessibility of content on Swinburne web sites can be handled in a timely and effective manner.

Policy

Swinburne takes the issue of web accessibility seriously. All complaints regarding the accessibility of Swinburne web sites will be investigated by the Web Managers Department and the outcome will be communicated to both the complainant and the maintainer of the web material or site.

Procedure

Users who feel that some part of the Swinburne website does not comply with W3C guidelines are encouraged to lodge a complaint with the Swinburne Web Manager.

Upon being contacted by a user the Web Manager shall conduct a preliminary investigation of complaint to determine whether it is bona fide and has merit. This investigation may involve some or all of the following:

  • An attempt to duplicate the problem being encountered by the user via the use of a web browser and adaptive technologies such as Jaws.
  • Analysis of the pseudo code which is generating the problem.
  • Use of an accessibility testing tool such as Bobby (http://www.cast.org/bobby) or Wave (http://www.wave.webaim.org)
  • Verification that the page does in fact belong to Swinburne.
  • The seeking of further information from the complainant.
  • The obtaining of advice from relevant Swinburne staff and external organisations, such as the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.

If, upon initial investigation, the Web Manager believes that the matter does not require further attention he shall contact the complainant and inform them of his reasons for not pursuing the matter further.

If, upon initial investigation, the Web Manager believes that the matter warrants further attention he shall:

  1. Contact the maintainer of the web material and inform them of the complaint that has been received.
  2. Contact the complainant to acknowledge receipt of their complaint, outline the process that will be followed to investigate the complaint and offer initial assistance where possible.
  3. Conduct an audit of the offending website to identify compliance problems and to suggest remedies.
  4. Provide the complainant and the maintainer of the site with a copy of the audit report.
  5. Establish a timeline for the updating of the site.
  6. Provide assistance to the maintainer of the site with the updating of the site.

Following the update of the site the Web Manager will contact the Complainant to confirm that their concerns have been satisfactorily addressed.

Example

Example Accessibility Audit Report: