Web and alternative accessibility assistance for customers 101-08080000

Web accessibility applies to the agency's online services and resources. It allows people with disabilities to understand, navigate and interact with the website and access our digital services.

Web accessibility also benefits other customers, including those with changing needs, due to aging or disability. Customers may use assistive technologies such as screen readers (Dragon Naturally Speaking, Jaws) or screen magnifiers (Zoom text).

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, all Australian Government agencies are required to ensure information and services are provided in a non-discriminatory and accessible manner.

The Services Australia website has been designed to meet the Australian Government standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 for AA conformance.

Most text on the website can be converted from text to speech. This assists people with poor vision or low literacy and provides an alternative to reading text on a small screen.

The website supports browser functions such as changing the font size, contrast or colour. The font size can be changed using the inbuilt web browser settings for easier reading.

Customers using assistive technologies may experience difficulties:

• Using the online self service options, see Troubleshooting self service
• Accessing downloadable documents such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Rich Text Format (RTF) and Word, see Contact us on the Services Australia Website

Note: PDF files are sometimes used on servicesaustralia.gov.au for large documents and other resources, such as forms. If a PDF is not designed to be exclusively printed, an accessible alternative file will accompany it. Any PDF viewing software should open PDF files on the website.

PDF accessibility is being improved by including:

• correct reading order
• alternate text for images embedded
• correct title
• tagging
• bookmarks

The Standards for helping customers complete claims and forms outlines ways to support customers who are unable to complete or view PDFs such as:

• translated publications
• forms
• large corporate documents

Customers can nominate another person or organisation to liaise with the department on their behalf when they experience difficulties in doing it themselves, see:

• Someone to deal with us on your behalf, on the Services Australia website
• Nominees

A number of specialised phone services are offered to customers for easier contact.

Disability, sickness and carers line

This is a dedicated phone number for enquiries about Centrelink payments and services for people with disability, illness or injury, and their carers.

Hearing and speech assistance

Customers who are deaf or have hearing or speech impairment can call this free TTY service for enquiries about payments and services.

Customers can contact the Customer Relations Line to provide comment, complaints or compliments on FreeCALL™

National Relay Service

The National Relay Service (NRS) helps people throughout Australia who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impediment to telephone the wider community through a third person. The National Relay Service is a standard call and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Note: Service Officers can also use the NRS to contact customers by phone, see Using the National Relay Service (NRS).

Multilingual Phone Service

If a customer prefers to communicate with the agency in a language other than English, see Multilingual Phone Services. Customers can enquire about services and payments in an available language for:

• Centrelink between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, local time, Monday to Friday
• Medicare and Child Support services by calling the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National), see Booking an interpreter for an appointment

Some information is available in alternative format such as audio CD, DVD, large print, braille, and e-text. Customers can contact the Disability, Sickness and Carers line for enquiries and to request these products.

Customers can access translated publications and interpreters and translators on the servicesaustralia.gov.au website.

To ensure everyone has access to payments and services, various consultative networks have been established to examine service delivery issues. Customers and peak bodies are consulted to develop policies, implementation strategies, promotional material, system changes and physical access.

Further information on Consultation with policy departments about payments and Complaints and feedback can be found on Services Australia website.

If a customer wishes to register a complaint, see Managing complaints and feedback.

For specific web accessibility complaints, the Service Officer will send a copy of the complaint to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Secretariat. This will ensure the complaint is actioned and resolved as quickly as possible. Capturing this information will help to improve services for customers who experience issues when accessing our websites and downloadable documents. The Resources page contains a link to the WCAG Secretariat email.