5201 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

5201 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What is the current level of compliance, if any, within the Minister’s departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, with NZ Government Web Standards, which require public sector websites to be accessible?

Hon Louise Upston: I am advised by the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) that it has had a dedicated Digital Accessibility team for several years, supporting improvements to the accessibility of its websites and digital content. The Ministry serves some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders, including disabled people who rely on its services. Ensuring accessibility is fundamental to equitable access to government services. The Ministry is committed to ensuring that everyone, including disabled people, can use, understand, and interact with its digital products. This commitment aligns with the New Zealand Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 (aligned to WCAG 2.2 Level AA), the Web Usability Standard 1.4, and the Plain Language Act 2022. The Ministry is part of the Zero Data initiative – meaning the public could still access MSD services even without data on their phone/device. Within Disability Support Services (DSS), the Ministry takes additional steps to ensure communications are accessible. Information is made available in alternate formats on the DSS website to support major announcements and accessibility. The Ministry also commissions NZSL interpreters and captioning for social media content, internal meetings, public events, forums, webinars, e-newsletters and videos, and ensures images include descriptive alternative text. The Ministry continues to strengthen the quality and consistency of their alternative format content, by improving staff knowledge through training and by engaging with other agencies and external providers The Ministry remains focused on building accessibility in by design for new digital sites and progressively addressing accessibility barriers in older sites. It is committed to meeting the Government Chief Digital Officer’s target of having no automatically detectable accessibility errors in public-facing websites by December 2030.