Accessibility

How this site is built to be usable with any device, input method or assistive technology — and how to report a barrier.

Last updated: 17 August 2026

Our commitment

Surgery Waits is meant to be usable regardless of disability, device, input method, browser or assistive technology. The site aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, consistently with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).

What is built in

• semantic headings, landmarks and labels on every page, with a skip-to-content link;
• full keyboard access with a visible focus indicator;
• no meaning carried by colour alone — a suppressed figure is written as "not published", never shown as an empty bar or a grey cell;
• charts carry text titles and descriptions, and every charted figure also appears as text on the same page;
• text that reflows at high zoom and on small screens, with touch targets at least 44 pixels tall;
• light and dark themes that follow your system preference, both with high text contrast; and
• no motion, animation or autoplaying content anywhere on the site.

Conformance status

Accessibility checks run automatically on every change to the site, and a change that fails them does not ship. Automated checking cannot establish full WCAG conformance on its own, so no conformance claim is made beyond that: the site is built to the guidelines and tested against them mechanically, and reported barriers are treated as defects to fix.

Known limitations

The compare tool requires JavaScript. Every figure it can show is also published on the static hospital, surgery and state pages, which work without JavaScript. The printable take-away sheet depends on the browser's own print function.

Feedback and alternative formats

If any part of the site is difficult to use, or information here is needed in a different format, that can be reported through National Digital's contact page — naming the page and what got in the way makes the fix immediate. This domain itself sends and receives no email.

Independent avenues

Independent information about disability discrimination complaints is published by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Review

This statement is reviewed after any material change to the site's pages or compare tool, and at least annually.