About these Standards and Recommendations
Purpose
The New Zealand Government Web Standards apply to public sector web sites in New Zealand. Their major focus is accessibility - enhancing online access. People use accessible web sites. Accessible web sites need to be equally usable for all users, regardless of physical or technological limitations.
The New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations 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.
They set out measures that are either:
- standard - mandatory
- recommended - should be implemented
This Version 1.0 replaces the Web Guidelines v2.1. It applies to any web site that is intended for the public and financed by the public through the crown or through public agencies. This covers:
- All Public Service Departments
- New Zealand Police
- New Zealand Defence Force
- Parliamentary Counsel Office
- New Zealand Security Intelligence Service.
These standards were published in March 2007 and become mandatory on 1 January 2008.
Crown Entity and State Owned Enterprises are not mandated to adhere to these standards, but are asked to support the spirit of the NZ Government Web Standards by seeking to comply with the requirements, to ensure as many New Zealanders as possible have access to information online.
Web sites that are intended for a limited or specialist audience may not be intended for public use. Such sites should nevertheless make every effort to comply, in order to be accessible to the specialist audience. This extends to web sites that are internal to an agency (intranets). It is good practice to have consistency across agency web sites.
Strategic Context
The Government has provided strategic leadership for New Zealand's digital future by developing the Digital Strategy, which sets out how digital content and network technologies can contribute to a transformed economy and society. The State Services Commission is leading the promotion of six Development Goals for the State Services, which guide the State Services in how they can contribute to this transformation.
The overarching Development Goal is "A system of world class professional State Services serving the government of the day and meeting the needs of New Zealanders".
The six supporting Development Goals are:
- Employer of Choice,
- Excellent State Services,
- Networked State Services,
- Coordinated State Agencies,
- Accessible State Services, and
- Trusted State Services.
The New Zealand Government Web Standards support the principles of all of the Development Goals and in particular the Networked State Services and Accessible State Services goals.
The E-government Strategy 2006 identifies the approach government will take in carrying out its obligations under the Digital Strategy, and how technology will be used in achieving the Development Goals. Its vision is "Enabling transformation - making government work for you."
The e-government work programme builds on the foundations provided by earlier phases of e-government in New Zealand. There are 14 work streams for agencies and sectors that link to the Development Goals for the State Services. Some are led or facilitated by the State Services Commission; others are driven by agencies working together or individually.
The New Zealand Government Web Standards support two e-government work streams:
- Building standards and interoperability (continue to evolve standards and promote the e-Government Interoperability Framework)
- Managing the govt.nz space (developing standards and guidelines to encourage collaboration in the govt.nz.space)
