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Accessibility

Landcare is for everyone. The design system should help people participate whether they are reading a website, joining a local group, scanning a poster, watching a video, using an application, or printing a field worksheet.

Accessibility is not a final compliance check. It is a foundation for brand trust, community participation, and universal access.

Standards

Use WCAG 2.2 AA as the baseline for digital products, documentation sites, forms, and application interfaces. WCAG 2.2 is a W3C Recommendation and organises accessibility under four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. ^{8 9}

Use the Australian Government Style Manual as the baseline for clear, consistent, accessible, and inclusive writing. It is especially useful for Landcare content because it covers plain language, inclusive language, how people read, content structure, and accessible content design in an Australian context. ^{1 2}

For print and promotional design, use the same intent: information must be readable, distinguishable, logically structured, and usable in the real environment where it appears.

Universal Design

Universal design means designing products, communications, and environments so they can be used by as many people as possible without needing adaptation or specialised alternatives. ¹⁴

Use these principles when making Landcare materials. The icons below are recognition cues only: always pair icons with clear text, sufficient contrast, and consistent meaning.

Universal Design For Learning

Education is core Landcare work. The design system should support field days, school resources, volunteer onboarding, grant guidance, citizen science, signage, videos, presentations, workshops, and community explainers.

Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) when creating learning materials. UDL is a framework developed by CAST to improve teaching and learning by reducing barriers and providing flexible ways for people to engage, understand, and respond. ^{6 7}

UDL is useful for Landcare because learners may include children, landholders, volunteers, Elders, farmers, scientists, First Nations communities, people with disability, people using English as an additional language, and people joining a Landcare activity for the first time.

UDL Principles

• Engagement: support the why of learning. Connect to place, identity, community, joy, choice, relevance, and practical action.
• Representation: support the what of learning. Provide information through text, diagrams, maps, photos, captions, demonstrations, plain language, and examples.
• Action and expression: support the how of learning. Let people show understanding through discussion, drawing, mapping, demonstration, checklists, forms, photos, data entry, storytelling, or practical work.

Landcare Learning Patterns

• Repeat the key message in more than one mode: words, image, diagram, demonstration, and spoken explanation.
• Start with local purpose: what people are caring for, why it matters, and what action is needed.
• Use plain language, then define technical terms beside the content.
• Break tasks into visible steps.
• Provide examples, not only rules.
• Include captions, transcripts, alt text, and accessible downloads for learning media.
• Offer different participation modes: observing, listening, reading, speaking, drawing, doing, photographing, measuring, or recording.
• Make learning materials culturally respectful and locally adaptable.

Bold Keyword Guidance

Use bold keywords to help people scan learning materials. This is especially useful for field guides, safety instructions, posters, grant guidance, lesson plans, worksheets, and long webpages.

Digital Best Practice

• Use semantic headings in order. Do not skip levels for visual effect.
• Provide meaningful link text. Avoid “click here”.
• Maintain keyboard access and visible focus states for interactive elements.
• Provide alt text for meaningful images and empty alt text for decorative images.
• Caption video and provide transcripts for important audio or video.
• Use labels, help text, and clear error messages in forms.
• Do not convey meaning by colour alone.
• Keep text contrast at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. ¹¹
• Keep non-text contrast for meaningful icons, controls, focus indicators, chart lines, and other non-text visual cues at least 3:1 against adjacent colours. ¹²
• Allow text spacing changes so users can resize, zoom, and adjust spacing without losing content or function. ¹³

Content And Language

Use the Australian Government Style Manual when writing or reviewing public-facing Landcare content. ¹

• Write in plain language. ³
• Use active voice and direct sentence structure.
• Keep sentences short where possible. ⁵
• Explain unusual words, technical terms, idioms, and acronyms.
• Use inclusive, culturally appropriate, and respectful language. ⁴
• Structure pages and artefacts around what people need to understand or do.
• Make headings descriptive enough for scanning.
• Use “you” when directly addressing readers, unless a more formal voice is required.
• Plan Easy Read materials separately for low-literacy contexts, using clear layout, imagery, and plain explanations.

Typography And Readability

• Do not justify body text. Use flush-left, rag-right text for readability.
• Avoid long all-caps passages. Reserve uppercase for short metadata labels.
• Keep body copy to a readable measure, roughly 65 to 78 characters on screen or an equivalent print measure.
• Use generous line-height for paragraphs and captions.
• Do not place body text over busy images unless a clear, high-contrast panel or field is provided.
• Avoid text embedded in images when real text can be used.
• Use plain language, short paragraphs, and descriptive headings.

Colour, Contrast, And Brand

Brand consistency and accessibility should support each other. Use approved Landcare colours, but always test the foreground/background pair for contrast in the actual medium.

For print, also consider paper stock, lighting, viewing distance, outdoor glare, and photocopying. For signage, check legibility at the intended distance rather than only on screen.

Artefact Checklist

• Main message: is it clear in the first three seconds?
• Colour independence: can the artefact be understood without relying only on colour?
• Readable body text: can it be read comfortably at the intended size and distance?
• Logo contrast: are logos placed on clear, high-contrast backgrounds?
• Consistent structure: are headings, lists, captions, and calls to action structured consistently?
• Assistive access: does the design work for screen readers, keyboard users, zoomed screens, and mobile users?
• Media access: are videos captioned and key visual information described?
• Export access: are PDF and print exports checked for reading order, contrast, and selectable text where possible?

References

1. Australian Government Style Manual
2. Style Manual: Accessible and inclusive content
3. Style Manual: Plain language and word choice
4. Style Manual: Inclusive language
5. Style Manual: Sentences
6. CAST Universal Design for Learning Guidelines
7. CAST: What is Universal Design for Learning?
8. WCAG 2.2 W3C Recommendation
9. W3C WCAG overview
10. W3C WCAG 2.2 Quick Reference
11. W3C Understanding Contrast Minimum
12. W3C Understanding Non-text Contrast
13. W3C Understanding Text Spacing
14. Centre for Excellence in Universal Design: The 7 Principles