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Communities and Justice

Accessibility for Digital Communications Policy Easy Read

How we’re meeting the global Website Accessibility Policy.

How to use this policy

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A policy is a plan for how we should do things.

Policies are where rules come from.

A group of people. There is a woman at the front of the group, she is holding a card that says

The NSW Government Department of Communities and Justice wrote this policy.

When you see the word ‘we’, it means the Department of Communities and Justice.
Easy Read icon.
We have written this policy in an easy to read way.

We use pictures to explain some ideas.

Not bold and bold

We have written some words in bold.

This means the letters are thicker and darker.
Word list icon
We explain what these words mean.

You can find these words in the Word list at the end of the policy.
A stack of document icons with an arrow pointing towards a single Easy Read icon
This Easy Read policy is a summary of the Accessibility for Digital Communications policy. This means it only includes the most important ideas.

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You can find the full policy on the DCJ website

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You can ask for help to read this policy. A friend, family member or support person may be able to help you.

What is this policy about?


A woman holding a clipboard with the information icon on it. Above her is the disability icon.
We want to make our information more accessible.
A group of diverse people raising their hands.
When something is accessible, everyone can use it.

When we say everyone, we mean:
A person pointing at you.
  • you
A group of people with disability pointing at themselves.
  • people who use our services
A group of office workers giving a thumbs up.
  • people who work in our Department.

When we make our information accessible, it means everyone can:
A man reading a document.
  • read our documents
A woman using a laptop.
  • use our websites or intranet
Two men looking at an iPad together.
  • use our social media
A large crowd at an outdoor event.
  • go to our events
Policies document with 2 women smiling with an arrow curving around them
  • find out more about our policies.

It also means people can:
A group of people attending a meeting.
  • take part when we talk to the community
A woman giving two thumbs up and the emergency icon.
  • understand what to do if there is an emergency.
Montage of two images. The first is an older woman looking shocked, the second is a high risk icon.
An emergency is something that:
  • we don’t expect to happen
  • can put people’s health and safety at risk.

What does this policy cover?

A computer with a website address on it.
This policy covers the websites and intranet we make.

This policy covers content we share online, such as:
A computer with some documents on it.
  • documents
A computer with an image on it.
  • photos and images
A computer with a video on it.
  • videos
A computer with a headphones icon on it.
  • audio files.

This policy covers social media we use, including:
YouTube icon.
  • YouTube
Facebook icon.
  • Facebook
twitter icon
  • Twitter
Instagram icon.
  • Instagram
LinkedIn icon.
  • LinkedIn.

This policy also covers any:
A woman watching a training video on her laptop.
  • online staff training we do
A group of workers taking part in a meeting.
  • meetings
A computer with two location tags on it and a dotted line connecting them.
  • online tours
A man taking part in an online meeting.
  • webinars.
A person taking part in an online meeting.
A webinar is a presentation or workshop done online using video.

Who is this policy for?

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Everyone who works for the Department must follow this policy.

This includes:
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  • our managers and leaders
A woman showing two other women information on a laptop.
  • all staff who make information to share online
A person typing on their laptop.
  • people who make our websites and intranet.

Why do we need this policy?


A group of people with disability pointing at themselves.
Lots of different people use our services.
Icons for different types of disability.
People with different types of disability use our services.
A woman pointing at herself and a speech bubble with Mandarin in it.
People who speak languages other than English use our services.
A group of older people.
Older people use our services.
A computer, iPad and iPhone with a cross on them.
Some people who use our services don’t have good skills for using technology.

People who work for us might need accessible information to:
A man using a laptop.
  • do their work
A person reading information on an iPad.
  • use information.
A woman holding a clipboard with the information icon on it. Above her is the disability icon.
We want to make our information accessible.
A diverse group of people cheering
This means everyone can use

What will we do?
We will make things accessible, including:
Website address icon.
  • our websites and intranet
A woman using a laptop.
  • documents we share online
Website pages for different social media.
  • things we post on social media.
A woman giving two thumbs up and the information icon.
We will write information in ways that are easy to understand.

We will write some of our online content in:
Easy Read icon.
  • Easy Read
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  • different languages.
Law icon.
We will follow the laws about making information accessible.

The laws that apply

Disability Inclusion Act 2014 icon.
We must follow the Disability Inclusion Act 2014 (NSW).
A man reading an iPad and the rights icon.
It talks about how people with disability have the right to find and use information.
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 icon.
We must follow the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).
A woman holding a clipboard with the information icon on it. Above her is the disability icon.
It talks about how we must make our information more accessible.
Multicultural NSW act 2000 icon.
We must follow the Multicultural NSW Act 2000.
A group of diverse people pointing at themselves.
It talks about how people from different backgrounds are treated fairly.

If we don’t follow this policy
If we don’t follow this policy, the community might not be able to find or use:
Services icon.
  • our services
A woman pointing at herself and the information icon.
  • information they need.
A man raising his hand and the important icon.
People might make complaints if we don’t follow this policy.
A man raising his hand to say something and a complaint form with a sad face on it.
When you make a complaint, you tell someone that something:
  • has gone wrong
  • isn’t working well.
A group of office workers giving a thumbs up.
If we don’t follow this policy, the community might not trust:
  • us
  • our information.
A group of people with an arrow curving around them
If we don’t follow this policy, our services won’t be inclusive.
A group of people with an arrow curving around them
When something is inclusive it means everyone can take part.
A woman looking upset as a group of people talk about her.
If we don’t follow this policy, some people who work for us will be left out.

If we don’t follow this policy, some people who work for us cannot:
A woman with her head in her hand, trying to work on her laptop.
  • do their work
A man reading an iPad and looking confused. The information icon is next to him.
  • find or use information they need.
A group of people taking part in a meeting.
Directors and managers will talk about following this policy with their staff.

All staff must follow this policy if they:
A woman pointing at a computer as another woman types.
  • make online content
A woman using a laptop and the change icon.
  • change online content
A person pushing a 'buy' button.
  • buy digital services for our staff to use.
A woman using a laptop and giving a thumbs up.
People who aren’t part of our Department must follow this policy if they make online content for us.

Our Digital Experience Team will:
A group of people standing at a table, reading a document together.
  • tell us how we can make content on our website and intranet more accessible
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  • keep this policy up to date.

Word list
This list explains what the bold words in this document mean.
A group of diverse people raising their hands.
Accessible

When something is accessible, everyone can use it.
A man raising his hand to say something and a complaint form with a sad face on it.
Complaints

When you make a complaint, you tell someone that something:

  • has gone wrong
  • isn’t working well.
Montage of two images. The first is an older woman looking shocked, the second is a high risk icon.
Emergency

An emergency is something that:

  • we don’t expect to happen
  • can put people’s health and safety at risk.
A group of people with an arrow curving around them
Inclusive

When something is inclusive it means everyone can take part.
Montage of two images. The first is a woman writing on a clipboard and a government and plan icon, the second is a man holding a clipboard with a list of rules on it.
Policy

A policy is a plan for how we should do things.

Policies are where rules come from.
A person taking part in an online meeting.
Webinar

A webinar is a presentation or workshop done online using video.

More information for the community

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Mail icon
Locked Bag 10

Strawberry Hills

NSW 2012
Web address icon

More information for our staff

FACS ServiceNow

Phone icon
Calendar icon with Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm on it.
Monday to Friday

8am to 6pm
Web address icon.
facs.okta.com (internal staff only)

Justice ServiceNow

Phone icon
Calendar icon with Monday and Friday from 730am to 6pm written on it
Monday to Friday

7:30am to 6pm
Calendar icon with Saturday and Sunday from 730am to 4pm written on it
Saturday and Sunday

7:30am to 4pm
Web address icon
justicensw.okta.com (internal staff only)

Images used in this Easy Read document are subject to copyright and must not be reused without explicit approval. For more information, please visit our copyright statement.

Last updated:

17 Dec 2021

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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future. 

Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.

You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.

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