The Ultimate Checklist for AODA Compliance
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The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is designed to improve accessibility for Ontarians in online spaces. Use our checklist below to ensure you’re compliant with the AODA and provide a good experience for your users.
To increase inclusivity and accessibility for individuals with disabilities, the province of Ontario, Canada passed a key piece of legislation — the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
The goal behind the act: remove accessibility barriers to physical and online spaces and make the province fully accessible by 2025, improving the lives of Ontarians with disabilities.
Below, we’ll dive into what the AODA is, who it applies to, and the specific accessibility requirements you need to meet in your online spaces to ensure AODA compliance. We’ll also discuss how to check for AODA compliance using accessibility tools like AudioEye.
What is the AODA?
Enacted in 2005, the AODA was the first worldwide to introduce legislation that sets clear objectives, deadlines, and standards for improving accessibility. The AODA establishes specific standards and requirements for Ontario's businesses, organizations, and public sectors to remove and prevent accessibility barriers in key areas. This includes customer service, information and communications, employment, transportation, and physical buildings.
The AODA includes five standards:
- The Information and Communication Standards: This standard applies to digital communications, including websites, mobile apps, web-delivered documents, etc.
- The Employment Standards: Employers within Ontario are required to make their workplace practices accessible to all workers with disabilities, both potential and current employees. The standard only applies to paid employees, meaning it does not apply to volunteers.
- The Transportation Standards: Transportation companies within Ontario must ensure that the features and equipment on vehicles and routes are accessible to individuals with disabilities and inform the public of these features.
- The Design of Public Spaces Standards: This standard outlines the need for newly constructed or renovated public spaces to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
- The Customer Service Standards: Service providers must make their “goods, services, and facilities” accessible for customers with disabilities.
Additionally, two new AODA standards, the Healthcare Standards and the Education Standards, are currently being developed, which will improve accessibility in health and education settings.
Who Does the AODA Apply To?
The AODA applies to public sector organizations with 50 or more employees in Ontario. This includes:
- Private businesses: Private companies operating in Ontario, regardless of size, must comply with AODA standards.
- Non-profit organizations: Charities, volunteer organizations, and non-profit groups must follow AODA guidelines to ensure accessibility in their services and operations.
- Public sector organizations: Any organization that’s open to the public is required to comply with the AODA. This includes restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, schools, retail stores, daycare centers, doctor’s offices, etc.
What are the Standards for AODA Compliance?
For Ontario organizations to comply with the AODA in digital spaces, they must conform with the accessibility standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). More specifically, the guidelines in WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
WCAG guidelines are focused on four key accessibility principles (commonly known as the POUR principles), which require digital content to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Additionally, WCAG has three levels of conformance:
- Level A: The minimum level of conformance
- Level AA: This is considered the international standard of accessibility as it removes most barriers that negatively impact the user experience for individuals with disabilities.
- Level AAA: The highest level of conformance.
AODA Compliance Checklist
To ensure your digital content complies with the AODA and conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, be sure it addresses the criteria included in the checklist below.
- Include alt text: All non-text content (including images, graphs, charts, and videos) should include alt text. Doing so ensures assistive technology users can interact with these elements.
- Add captions: Any videos on your site should include captions to allow individuals with auditory disabilities (such as deafness or hard of hearing) to engage with the content.
- Use semantic headings: Your headings should be structured semantically, meaning they follow an H1, H2, and H3 order.
- Follow a meaningful sequence: Your navigation should be clear, consistent, and intuitive across all your digital content.
- Use of color alone: Avoid using color alone to convey important information (such as text labels, buttons, or error messages), as this can prevent individuals with visual impairments, including low vision or color blindness, from fully understanding meaning. If color is used, it should be supplemented with additional visual indicators like text, patterns, icons, or shapes.
- Automatically playing content: Users should be able to pause, stop, or change the volume of any content that automatically plays.
- Keyboard navigation: All your digital content should be navigable by keyboard commands or shortcuts alone. It should also avoid keyboard traps, which “trap” users on a particular element on the page.
- Compatible with assistive technologies: Your web pages and mobile apps must be compatible with assistive technologies, such as screen readers or text-to-speech software.
- Clear error messages: When users make mistakes on a form or other interactive elements, include clear error messages that highlight where the error occurred and steps for correcting it. This helps assistive technology users or those with cognitive disabilities understand how to remedy the problem and move forward in a timely manner.
- Adjustable timing: Users should be able to adjust the timing of any pages with time limits as needed.
- Pause, stop, hide: Content that automatically moves, blinks, or scrolls can be paused, stopped, or hidden by users.
- Descriptive page titles: Every web page includes a clear, descriptive title, telling readers what information they can expect to find on the page. This helps individuals with cognitive disabilities or assistive technology users better understand page content. Plus, it benefits users without disabilities as they can determine more quickly whether or not a page has the information they’re looking for.
- Appropriate color contrast: According to WCAG, normal text should have a color contrast ratio of 4.5:1, with larger text having a 7:1 contrast ratio. An appropriate contrast ratio improves perceivability for users with visual impairments, helping them more easily distinguish between various web elements. A color contrast checker can help you strike this balance.
- Zoom out: Content is still readable when web pages are zoomed to 200%.
- Descriptive headings and labels: All headings and labels are clearly labeled and not duplicated across pages.
- Focus indicator: A visible focus indicator is present on all web pages, helping screen readers or keyboard users clearly see where they are on a page.
- Pointer dragging: Any action that requires pointer dragging can also be done with a single pointer, or alternative methods are offered.
- Pointer size: Pointers are, at minimum, 24 by 24 pixels unless specified otherwise.
- Repeated elements: Any elements that repeat across web pages, including headers, footers, calls-to-action, or menus, are consistent.
- Online documents: To comply with the AODA, your digital documents, such as PDFs, spreadsheets, or Word documents, must be accessible, meaning they implement the accessibility features mentioned above.
What are the Consequences of Non-Compliance with the AODA?
Failing to comply with the AODA can result in numerous consequences.
Ontario organizations that don’t meet AODA standards are subject to expensive fines, including:
- CAD 100,000 fine per day for corporations
- CAD 50,000 fine per day for directors of a corporation
These fines increase in amount until the violations are resolved. The License Appeal Tribunal has jurisdiction over AODA, and it will not assess maximum AODA fines unless businesses have a history of significant compliance violations.
Monetary fines and penalties are just the beginning. Organizations can also face legal lawsuits from individuals with disabilities or the Ontario government, which can result in additional penalties or fees and a requirement to make digital content accessible.
Non-compliance can also negatively impact your business’ reputation as you may be seen as discriminatory against individuals with disabilities. This reputation can make it more difficult for you to attract and convert customers, meaning you’re missing out on new, exciting revenue streams as well.
Meet AODA Compliance Standards with AudioEye
Compliance with the AODA is a legal requirement, meaning if your organization operates within the Ontario province, it must comply with the AODA.
The checklist above is a great place to get started; however, to create digital content that’s accessible and as compliant as possible, you need the right tools. That’s where AudioEye comes in.
Our Accessibility Platform simplifies your path to AODA compliance. We start with a free accessibility scan that scans your digital content for 30 WCAG success criteria — more than any other tool on the market. Our team of human experts then conducts an in-depth audit of your site to find more complex accessibility issues that can leave your organization at risk for non-compliance and provides recommendations on how to fix them. Plus, with AudioEye Assurance, you’ll enjoy up to 400% better legal protection than any consulting or automation-only platform.
Don’t wait for AODA non-compliance complaints to find you — start making your digital content more accessible by scanning your digital content below.
Want to see first-hand how AudioEye makes your site more compliant and inclusive? Schedule a demo today.
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