New version of Web Guidelines out for consultation

10 October 2006

The State Services Commission (SSC) today released the latest version of the Government Web Guidelines as a draft for consultation.

The Guidelines have been reviewed and rewritten by a working group of several government agencies, with input by industry accessibility experts. The underlying standards to achieve accessibility outcomes have not changed significantly from the previous version; the emphasis has been on removing duplications and dated material and making the standards more usable.

Part of the consultation involves a proposal to call the new version (V3.0) the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations. The proposed name change is based on feedback from government agencies acknowledging the importance of the Standards.

SSC are also exploring presenting the New Zealand Government Web Standards as a Wiki. The Wiki is a prototype that will be available for public consultation in late 2006.

The rationale for using a Wiki is to give more ownership to agencies in maintaining the Web standards. The Wiki will include good practice examples that can be shared across government for those that are developing or redeveloping their websites. There will also be a discussion forum. This collaborative functionality will be moderated by the SSC to ensure the quality of information that is published.

The consultation closes on 31 October 2006.