Reporting accessibility problems

If you find any problems or are having any issues with access, please contact us:

• Email: info@stylemanual.gov.au
• Post: Style Manual team, Australian Public Service Commission, GPO Box 3176, CANBERRA ACT 2601.

Compliance status

This website largely meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 level AA.

The most recent audit (September 2020) was carried out by Intopia with later improvements checked in April 2021.

A few issues remain:

• slight issue with voice over behaviour for menu on iOS mobile devices
• occasional minor contrast issues.

APSC is continuing to address these issues through the Style Manual backlog. APSC will periodically re-evaluate the Style Manual consistent with WCAG recommendations.

Accessibility testing in September 2020 was based on the following combination of assistive technologies, adaptive strategies, browsers and operating systems:

• JAWS-2020 in Chrome 85 on Windows 10
• VoiceOver in Safari on iOS 13
• keyboard-only navigation in Chrome 85 on Windows 10
• high-contrast mode in Chrome 85 on Windows 10.

Style Manual users have identified an issue with how the site displays on IE11 (Internet Explorer 11). APSC recommends against using IE11 to explore the Style Manual. Microsoft no longer supports IE11.

Accessibility features

The Style Manual is designed for access on desktops, tablets and mobile devices. The goal is that anyone can use this website.

You should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

The Style Manual uses plain language so its reading level is no more advanced than the level attained by year 7 or year 8 (lower secondary education).

The mathematical content uses MathML which works with most screen reader software. To get the richest experience, NVDA users may like to install the MathPlayer plugin.

Technical specifications

The Style Manual relies on the following technologies to work with the combination of web browser and assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML
• WAI-ARIA
• CSS
• JavaScript
• DOM.

Compatibility with browsers

The Style Manual site works best with the latest browser technology.

The Style Manual uses GovCMS, which is built using Drupal core. Drupal core supports:

• Google Chrome (desktop)
• Firefox and Firefox ESR (desktop)
• Safari (desktop)
• Microsoft Edge (desktop)
• Opera (desktop)
• Internet Explorer (desktop)
• Safari for iOS (mobile)
• Chrome for iOS (mobile)
• Chrome for Android (mobile)
• UC Browser (mobile)
• Opera Mini (mobile)
• Samsung Internet (mobile).