The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and Website Accessibility

Does your website have to meet AODA's website standards?

The AODA applies to every individual or organization that provides goods or services to the public or third parties within Ontario and has at least one employee. Section 14 of AODA "Accessible Websites and Web Content" has several different requirements that are dependant on the type of company/organization as well as the number of employees. There are currently requirements for; Government of Ontario and Legislative Assembly websites, designated public sector organizations and large organizations (50+ employees). There are currently no website accessibility requirements in place for small business, private and not-for-profit websites with less than 50 employees.

When does Section 14 "Accessible Websites and Web Content" need to be met?

Government of Ontario and Legislative Assembly websites should currently meet, as of January 1 2016, WCAG 2.0 Level AA, other than success criteria 1.2.4 Captions (Live) and success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Descriptions (Pre-recorded). By January 1, 2020 WCAG 2.0 Level AA should be fully met.

Designated public sector organizations and large organizations (50+ employees) should currently have any new websites and content meet WCAG 2.0 Level A (as of January 1, 2014) and are required to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA by January 1, 2021, other than success criteria 1.2.4 Captions (Live) and success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Descriptions (Pre-recorded).

What is WCAG 2.0 Level AA?

The "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0" is one part of an international web accessibility guideline series published by The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It is a standard for making websites and web content accessible to a broader range of users with disabilities. WAI is the main international standards organization for the Internet. WCAG 2.0 covers 12 guidelines which are grouped into 4 principals; perception, operation, understanding, and robust. Each guideline also has three levels of success criteria, which are; A, AA and AAA.

Sencia can help you meet AODA's standards.

Sencia has been providing website accessibility services for websites for over 17 years. We're regularly implementing new ways to improve accessibility for our clients and everyone who uses the web, because we believe they all should be able to enjoy the web! Our accessibility services can help you meet and maintain AODA's website requirements so that all of your website's visitors can enjoy your content.