5216 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Economic Growth

5216 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Economic Growth: 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 Nicola Willis: I am advised that the current accessibility compliance level varies across MBIE’s website portfolio. The newer sites generally meet many core accessibility requirements. Older, bespoke, or legacy sites vary in maturity and may require targeted remediation. Awareness of accessibility and adoption of baseline practices are improving but are not yet consistent. MBIE also advised that as an agency, they follow the Government Chief Digital Officer’s (GCDO) direction by using the Centralised Web Accessibility Checker (CWAC) to identify and prioritise areas for improvement. Since 30 June 2025, GCDO has scanned publicly facing government websites for accessibility issues. Results of those scans are publicly available on the NZ Digital government website: https://dns.govt.nz/standards-and-guidance/nz-government-web-standards/centralised-web-accessibility-checker-cwac/website-scores-cwac