Accessibility and usability have been key elements considered in the development of this website, so we hope you can find, access and use the information you need. This website has been designed to meet the Australian Government standards, including those that relate to access for people with disabilities. This website aims to conform to a Double A level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2 (WCAG 2.0), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This site has been developed to display adequately on all commonly used browsers. Special features have been included to enable effective operation by persons using accessibility hardware and/or software. If there is information that you require and it is in a format you cannot access, or if you experience any other accessibility difficulties, please contact us. This page explains ways you can change your view of the site, and the accessibility features available on the website, below.

Navigation using a screenreader

If you are using a screenreader program, there are a number of aids to help you find your way around the website.

Skip to content

For people using screen readers each page has a link that says "skip to content". Following this link will skip over the page header and the navigation menu to take you straight to the content of the page. The page header and navigation are repeated on every page so this avoids hearing them again and again.

Skip to sitemap

For people using screen readers each page has a link that says "Skip to sitemap". Following this link will skip over the page header and go to the main site navigation menu. The page header is repeated on every page so this avoids hearing it again and again.

Sitemap

We have provided a sitemap in the footer area of this web site. This is the best place to get an overview of what is available on the site. The links in the sitemap take you to the main sections of the site.

Search and search options

You can search the web site by typing one or more keywords into the search input box at the top right of any web page.

Help with downloading documents and files

There are many documents and media files for download on the website. Here are a few tips about accessing those resources.

Some documents are available in a variety of formats

This website has a number of documents that cannot be provided in HTML format. To assist users to download and share web content, we have taken steps to ensure where possible that alternative formats are available. Alternative formats for documents which may be provided include Microsoft Word (DOC), Rich Text Format (RTF), Portable Document Format (PDF), Zip for larger files, and basic text (txt). Some documents are also published in easy to read formats.

Help with accessing PDF files

To read PDF documents you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Commonly this is already on your computer, installed with your web browser. But if you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download it for free from adobe.com

Downloading documents

You can download documents and open them to read in your web browser or save them to your computer to read offline. To read a downloadable document in your web browser simply click the link to the document. To save a downloadable document right-click on the download (PC) or shift + click (Mac) and select the Save link or Save target option.

Plain and simple language

We have tried to write the information on this web site in plain and simple language so it is easy to understand for as many people as possible.