Accessibility

Why it matters

Accessibility is the practice of ensuring a product or service is usable by everyone. This includes individuals with visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments, and those who use assistive technologies like screen readers or speech recognition software.

By designing with accessibility in mind, we ensure that our digital services are inclusive and available to all New Brunswickers. This can be achieved with design strategies, such as using plain language, providing alternative text, and designing for responsiveness and adaptability. Accessibility can be improved using web standards and guidelines, such as the Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which provide a set of best practices for making web content more accessible.

How to meet the standard

• Ensure the service is consistent and easy to find, use and understand.
• Design and develop the service to be accessible and inclusive.
• Use the GNB Design System for all public-facing websites and applications.
• Adhere to WCAG 2.2 AA (or AAA) web accessibility standards (ISO/IEC 40500:2025).
• Regularly review the service to ensure ongoing compliance with latest accessibility standards.
• Ensure websites and web applications are fully responsive or adaptive, and accessible across all modern devices and platforms.
• Native mobile applications must be available for both Android and iOS.
• Test the service with assistive technologies to ensure everyone can use the service, including people with disabilities.
• Provide alternative versions of content, such as alternative text, text transcriptions for audio and video, or CSV files for data visualizations.
• Optimize the service for users with slow or unreliable internet connections by prioritizing fast load times and minimizing data consumption.