Accessibility

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) is committed to making disaster resilience knowledge accessible, understandable and useful for everyone.

Accessibility means ensuring people can access and engage with information in formats that meet their needs. This includes:

  • people with disability
  • people with low literacy levels
  • people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  • people accessing information on mobile devices
  • members of the public who may be unfamiliar with emergency management terminology.  

We recognise that most Australians read at approximately a Year 8 level and are working to ensure our public-facing content uses clear, plain language wherever possible. We are also improving the way information is structured and presented to support understanding, knowledge retention and ease of use.

Our accessibility approach

AIDR is committed to continually improving the accessibility of the Knowledge Hub and other knowledge products by:

  • using plain language and reducing unnecessary jargon
  • incorporating images, video and other visual elements to support learning and understanding
  • ensuring content is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers
  • providing alternative text for images where appropriate
  • using clear heading structures and accessible document formatting
  • designing content to work across desktop and mobile devices
  • embedding accessibility considerations into both content development and design processes.

Accessibility is an ongoing journey. We regularly review our content and workflows to identify opportunities for improvement and to help ensure our knowledge resources remain inclusive and accessible for diverse audiences.

Downloadable documents

Some resources on the Knowledge Hub are available as downloadable documents, including PDF files. Where possible, we aim to provide documents in accessible formats and apply accessibility principles to the development of new resources.

Feedback and support

The Knowledge Hub is a continually evolving resource developed by many contributors. If you experience difficulties accessing content, encounter accessibility barriers, or have suggestions for improvement, we welcome your feedback.

Please contact us via the https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/contact-us/ page. Feedback helps us improve the accessibility and usability of our resources for all users.

Learn more

For guidance on creating accessible and inclusive content, visit the Australian Government Style Manual.

 

Storyboard sketches and content planning documents spread across a table, with people reviewing layouts and visual concepts for digital communication materials.

 

Creating accessible content is a shared responsibility. Accessibility considerations are most effective when they are integrated into content development, design and publishing processes from the beginning.
(Source: Photo by Dix Sept on Unsplash)