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New Zealand Government Web Standards

New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations v1.0

Note: The Government Web Standards Wiki is now the main source of information in this area.

Overview

The New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations set a standard for public sector web sites in New Zealand. The major focus is accessibility - enhancing online access. Accessible web sites are equally usable for all users, irrespective of physical or technological impediments. The Web Standards provide practical requirements to:

  • Provide economical and equitable access to information
  • Provide trustworthy information and services
  • Ensure information reflects the core values of the public service

Current version

Government agencies are expected to build and manage sites to the specifications of the current version (v1.0) of the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations, last revised on 21 March 2007.

Why web standards?

Web design is getting harder. Designing a site now means addressing more customers, a broader audience, more diversity in terms of browsers, more accessibility for disabled users, users asking for more speed, while spending less to maintain or redesign a web site. It's an increased challenge from many angles.

Web standards were specifically developed to address this. They help ensure near universal access to online information as well as making for faster and cheaper web development by ending the expensive "build, break, rebuild" cycle. See Why Web standards? on the wiki.

New Zealand Government Web Standards Wiki

http://webstandards.govt.nz

The new wiki is now the main source of information about New Zealand government web standards. It includes the standards themselves, how to implement them, the audit and exemption process, the web standards business case, producing a web strategy and more.

The wiki provides a collaborative space for anyone interested in New Zealand government web standards (and web standards in general) to comment, add good practice examples, link to new trends and resources, and share their advice, questions, bouquets and brickbats.

In most cases, the information below is a summarised version of previous content, and refers back to the wiki for more information.

The wiki offers practical advice on:

and more.

Compliance and exemptions

The standards apply to any web site is intended for the public and financed by the public through the Crown or public agencies.

Government agencies who are mandated to comply with the standards must:

  • Make any existing web site compliant with version 1.0 by 1 January 2008, and
  • Comply with any subsequent versions of the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations produced after 1 January 2008

Government agencies are expected to:

  • read, understand, support and implement the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations
  • conduct regular self-audits of web site compliance at least once a year
  • provide good practice examples to share across Government

For information on compliance, audits, checklists and compliance exemptions, see the wiki's Web Standards compliance section.

Contact

If you wish to talk to the State Services Commission about any aspect of the Web Guidelines, please contact web.guidelines@ssc.govt.nz.