Department of Education Accessibility Uplift Project

This Tender is invited by the Issuer. Overview The Department of Education (ACT) is seeking to engage an external accessibility auditing provider to conduct independent evaluations of nominated Education websites and applications against WCAG 2.2 Level AA and related government accessibility requirements. About The Accessibility Uplift Project forms part of the department's broader digital accessibility uplift, supporting teams responsible for a wide range of websites and applications. The work supports the accessibility and inclusion objectives of the Australian Government's Digital Service Standard (DSS) 2.0 and Digital Inclusion Standard (DIS), in particular DSS Criterion 3 (Leave no one behind) and DIS Criterion 4 (Make it accessible), using WCAG 2.2 Level AA as the technical basis for identifying and addressing accessibility gaps. Further information is available from the Australian Human Rights Commission's Standards and Guidelines on digital accessibility. Purpose These services will support the department's work towards compliance with (but not limited to): The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 The Digital Experience Policy (DX Policy), including the accessibility and inclusion outcomes of the Digital Service Standard and Digital Inclusion Standard Whole-of-government accessibility expectations, and internal departmental policies requiring conformance with WCAG 2.2 for all digital products Objectives The engagement will support the department's 2026-27 Accessibility Uplift Program, which will take a risk-based approach, starting with specialist WCAG 2.2 accessibility assessments to: Establish a clear view of current-state risk Prioritise remediation for high-impact systems Build accessibility maturity Embed accessibility as a standard delivery practice through governance, standards and business-as-usual processes Scope The Accessibility Uplift Program will be delivered through three overlapping phases. The scope includes: Conducting independent accessibility evaluations of nominated Education websites and applications against WCAG 2.2 Level AA and related government accessibility requirements Phase 1, Foundation and planning: confirming the application inventory, validating system size and complexity, establishing governance and prioritisation criteria, and scheduling assessment activity Phase 2, Accessibility assessment: conducting audits of prioritised systems and providing findings, risk ratings and remediation guidance Phase 3, Remediation: supporting targeted remediation by system teams, with retesting used to validate fixes and update issue status The department currently anticipates commissioning approximately six to eight application audits, expected to be predominantly Small or Medium; this is an estimate only and does not represent a guaranteed minimum volume, with the final number, mix and sequence of applications to be confirmed during Phase 1 depending on validated scope, application readiness, supplier pricing and available funding The department will select and prioritise the applications to be audited; the supplier will not be responsible for determining which applications are selected Enquiries Buyer contact: mark.ciesniewski2@education.gov.au