Accessibility statement

Business Connect services

Our web-based platform is run by the Business Connect team at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). We are committed to ensuring that as many people as possible are able to use this platform.

For example, that means you should be able to:

• Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
• Navigate most of the key pathways on the platform using just a keyboard
• Navigate most of the key pathways on the platform using speech recognition software
• Listen to most of the platform using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver)
• Easily understand the written content on the platform in line with the Plain Language Act 2022.

How accessible is this platform?

At a minimum, this platform aims to:

• meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, as per the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard
• work on the most common browsers, platforms, and devices, and with assistive technologies.

Currently some parts of this platform are not fully accessible.  While we work towards making the platform more accessible, we acknowledge more work is required to fully conform to WCAG 2.1 at Level AA.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1(external link) — World Wide Web Consortium

Current accessibility barriers

We’re committed to continually improving accessibility within the Business Connect platform. We have a list of 4 accessibility activities which we’re hoping to make good progress on over the next 6 months.  

• Some words in Te Reo Māori do not have the correct language tags, which means screen readers may struggle with correct pronunciation.
• Focused items on mobile view and zoomed desktop view in the hamburger menu are not visible to users. When the menu is hidden, the focus is still going to the menu items but the focus is not shown.
• Use of ARIA live (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) – we need to ensure that any new content added or updated to the page is in an ARIA live polite region.
• Ensure all content on the review page is readable. There are some issues with some screen readers and disabled radio buttons, a workaround needs to be implemented.

Barriers in the backlog

• IDs used in Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) and labels are not unique in some instances. It is not currently feasible to modify dynamically generated IDs. Modifying the ID elements which are being generated dynamically by the application engine scripting may lead into unknown issues or errors where the ID will not map with associate elements properly along with performance issues.

Testing and browser support for accessibility

The Business Connect team tests the accessibility of everything a user interacts with on our platform using a mix of testing tools; automated testing during deployment and manual testing.

Independent accessibility testing is conducted on an as needed biases to identify issues we may have missed.

Testing tools

The team uses a variety of tools during the development process, including, but not limited to:

• Axe browser plugin
• browser accessibility reports

The team also uses general inspection techniques, including:

• visual, auditory
• HTML inspection usingbrowser developer tools(external link)

Reporting accessibility problem

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility on the platform. If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements you can email hello@businessconnect.govt.nz.

We'll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 13 October 2023.

The Business Connect platform was last tested on 25 September 2023. Testing was carried out internally by the MBIE Digital, Data and Insights Group.