Accessibility ICT Procurement Standard

Accessible ICT Procurement Standards provide a common framework to businesses and the government. They bridge the gap and make sure any user is able to access technology at the same level regardless of their ability.

These standards were adopted by the federal government in September 2016. The Commonwealth Procurement Rules mandate the Australian Standard for Accessibility (AS EN 301 549:2016). The Digital Sourcing Consider First Policy is effective from 1st of July 2019. Due to the policy amendments, corporate, non-corporate, Commonwealth entities and businesses are reviewing their policies and guidelines. There is no better time than this to talk about accessibility in procurement.

Often achieving 100% accessibility can be challenging for businesses and it takes several iterations. For most applications, accessibility is a work in progress. Procurement teams often struggle to choose between core functional requirements, value for money and accessibility competency.

In this presentation, Herin will discuss how accessibility helps you to understand the quality of the product, the questions you need to ask vendors and the tools and resources that assist you in your procurement process and contractor management.

The panelists to join the discussion following the presentation are:

1. Stewart Hay, Managing Director, Intopia
2. Kelley Johnson, Manager, Web Platforms and Strategy, UTS
3. Gerry Neustatl, Accessibility & Inclusion Design Lead, ABC

About Herin

Herin Hentry is an Accessibility Specialist at the Reserve Bank of Australia with many years of accessibility experience. She is also a core member of Employee Resource Group for Accessibility at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Herin’s role involves supporting project teams on their accessibility journey including Accessibility in ICT Procurement.

Overview of the Evening

6.00pm - 6.30pm: Registration, networking and light refreshments
6.30pm - 7.00pm: Presentation from Herin
7.00pm - 7.30pm: Panel discussion and closing

Our Sponsor

Thank you to our venue partner Reserve Bank of Australia [https://www.rba.gov.au/] for supporting this meetup by providing the venue, support team and light refreshments.