Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC)
Supporting older Australians to access aged care information through inclusive design
• To ensure equitable access to information and services for users, ACQSC’s website has been designed to meet all 5 criteria of the Digital Inclusion Standard. View ACQSC’s website.
• The website demonstrates this commitment through accessible design, plain language content, intuitive navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies.
• ACQSC continues to make improvements to ensure the website remains user-friendly, inclusive and aligned with best practice.
• Beyond the website, ACQSC engaged external parties to advise on how to strengthen accessibility efforts within the agency, highlighting ACQSC’s efforts to deliver a positive digital experience for all users.
Background
ACQSC is the national regulator of Commonwealth-funded aged care services. Their role is to protect and improve safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life for people receiving aged care services.
ACQSC’s vision is for older Australians to trust and have confidence that aged care services protect and enhance their safety, health and quality of life.
ACQSC’s website is used by older Australians, families and carers seeking information about aged care services, aged care providers looking for regulatory guidance, and workers accessing training and resources. It provides guidance on aged care rights, quality standards, complaints processes and regulatory updates.
Criteria 1: Embrace diversity
ACQSC involved key stakeholders in the co-design of the website to ensure that it meets the needs of a wide range of users. The site incorporates inclusive features such as language support, flexible formatting options and cohort-specific navigation to address diverse digital needs from the outset.
Criteria 2: Motivate digital use
ACQSC motivates digital use by creating a consistent and intuitive structure across the site, with clearly labelled top-level categories and visually engaging tiles that guide users to key content. This approach makes the benefits of the digital channel obvious, supporting ease of use and encouraging return visits.
Criteria 3: Protect users
ACQSC fosters a safe digital environment by clearly outlining how personal information is handled, providing secure options to report fraud or lodge complaints, and offering transparency through public reporting.
Criteria 4: Make it accessible
ACQSC have gone to great lengths to ensure that their website is accessible for all users by providing video descriptions to improve accessibility, cohort-specific navigation and translation support. The site is compliant with WCAG 2.2 at AA level, supporting equitable access for people with diverse user needs.
Criteria 5: Provide flexibility and choice
The website empowers users to customise their experience through features such as text-to-speech support, adjustable text size and contrast modes and simplified text presentation. These options provide users with greater control over how they access and engage with content.