Insight

The NSW Electoral Commission engaged me to establish an organisation-wide accessibility capability across its digital ecosystem, ensuring accessibility became an integral part of how digital services were planned, delivered and maintained—not simply assessed at the end of a project.



Working across public-facing websites, internal business systems and third-party platforms, I conducted comprehensive accessibility audits while identifying recurring patterns and systemic issues that extended well beyond individual defects. Rather than treating accessibility as a compliance exercise, the engagement focused on embedding sustainable processes, governance and operational practices that would enable accessibility to become part of everyday delivery across future projects.

Looking Beyond Individual Issues

Large digital organisations often accumulate accessibility issues over many years as products evolve, teams change and delivery processes mature independently. During the audit it quickly became clear that many issues were recurring across multiple systems, indicating broader organisational patterns rather than isolated implementation mistakes.

Instead of simply documenting defects, I analysed findings to identify common root causes, allowing recommendations to address the underlying processes responsible for generating accessibility issues in the first place. This shifted the engagement from producing audit reports towards designing an operating model capable of supporting accessibility across the organisation long after the initial assessment had concluded.

Building an Accessibility Operating Model

Alongside auditing critical election systems, I designed a governance framework that integrated accessibility throughout the delivery lifecycle—from procurement and discovery through design, development, testing, deployment and ongoing maintenance.

The framework established clear responsibilities, consistent standards and practical workflows that could be adopted by multidisciplinary delivery teams. By embedding accessibility into existing governance rather than treating it as a standalone activity, the organisation gained a repeatable approach capable of scaling across future digital initiatives.

Creating a Practical Toolkit

To support long-term adoption, I developed a comprehensive suite of accessibility artefacts designed to provide consistency across projects and delivery teams.

The toolkit included accessibility standards, organisational policy, procurement guidance, audit frameworks, delivery checklists, training material, maintenance guides, governance documentation, exception registers, reporting templates, RACI matrices, conformance statements and strategic planning resources.

Rather than existing as isolated documents, each artefact formed part of an integrated governance ecosystem that enabled accessibility to be considered throughout every stage of digital delivery.

Enabling Sustainable Change

Accessibility improvements are most effective when they become part of organisational culture rather than relying on individual knowledge. To support this transition, I produced practical guidance that allowed product owners, designers, developers, testers, content authors and project teams to understand their responsibilities within the broader accessibility process.

This collaborative approach reduced reliance on end-of-project remediation while establishing clearer accountability, more consistent decision-making and improved confidence across delivery teams.

Idea

Large digital organisations often accumulate accessibility issues over many years as products evolve, teams change and delivery processes mature independently. During the audit it quickly became clear that many issues were recurring across multiple systems, indicating broader organisational patterns rather than isolated implementation mistakes.

Instead of simply documenting defects, I analysed findings to identify common root causes, allowing recommendations to address the underlying processes responsible for generating accessibility issues in the first place. This shifted the engagement from producing audit reports towards designing an operating model capable of supporting accessibility across the organisation long after the initial assessment had concluded.

Alongside auditing critical election systems, I designed a governance framework that integrated accessibility throughout the delivery lifecycle—from procurement and discovery through design, development, testing, deployment and ongoing maintenance.

The framework established clear responsibilities, consistent standards and practical workflows that could be adopted by multidisciplinary delivery teams. By embedding accessibility into existing governance rather than treating it as a standalone activity, the organisation gained a repeatable approach capable of scaling across future digital initiatives.

Impact

The engagement extended well beyond identifying accessibility issues. It established a scalable operating model designed to support continuous improvement across the Commission’s digital ecosystem.

By combining comprehensive auditing with governance, standards, training and practical delivery resources, accessibility became embedded within organisational processes rather than existing as a separate compliance activity. The resulting framework provided the Commission with a sustainable foundation for delivering more inclusive digital services while reducing future risk, improving consistency and strengthening accessibility capability across the organisation.

Read more: Accessibility Is a Systems Problem: Lessons From Reviewing 243+ Government Accessibility Issues