RE: accessible procurement policies

Claire,

Thank you for your information. I think what I heard about was TEDICORE
in Australia. I know some web sites, like banks, must be accessible in
Australia and that people can make complaints if they have any problems
accessing web sites. Then I also heard that there could be possible
fines. I know what I know about TEDICORE is very limited though. 

As Charles pointed out:
>damages were assessed at AUD $20,000 because Bruce Maguire was
>deprived of his right to equal enjoyment of information about the
Sydney >Olympic Games 
Yes I know this happened. But this was not what I was referring to when
I said "fines." : ) 

>as long as companies are seen to be making reasonable effort towards
>meeting the standards, then there is nothing anyone can do really.
I agree with you. But at least the regulations do have positive effects,
making companies become aware of the importance of accesibility.
Otherwise they might not pay attention to it. 

Keiko


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Keiko O.

http://www.mitsue.co.jp


-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Claire Spencer
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 7:39 AM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Cc: k-okada@mitsue.co.jp
Subject: RE: accessible procurement policies


Keiko,

Can you tell me what this fine is for not meeting accessibility
standards in Australia? As far as I know this is how it goes with the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission of Australia:

"There is not a specific timeline that I am aware of. The Disability
Discrimination Act has however been in place since 1993 (ie from the
outset of WWW use by universities in Australia). The legislation does
not operate by means of imposition of penalties; rather it gives people
affected by discrimination including lack of accessibility the right to
make complaints and seek remedies, which could include damages suffered
and/or the removal of access barriers."

Source: David Mason
Director Disability Rights policy HREOC- Australia

If HREOC were to enforce the standards as set out by the W3C, how
exactly would they do that? It's pretty frustrating I totally agree, but
as long as companies are seen to be making reasonable effort towards
meeting the standards, then there is nothing anyone can do really.


Claire Spencer | spencerc@unimelb.edu.au

Web Producer

Web Centre

The University of Melbourne

Phone: +61 3 8344 0838

www.unimelb.edu.au


-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of keiko okada
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 9:28 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: RE: accessible procurement policies



Hello,

This might be a bit off topic but since this issue has been raised, I
would like to make a comment or two.  *smile* 

So what are the benefits of having regulations on IT accessibility,
especially if they are not followed? Well written guidelines and
regulations would be worth following.  If people are aware and willing
to learn web accessibility, someone will need to guide them to the right
direction. And that's where regulations come in. 

Then if you do have regulations on IT accessibility to be respected,
should they be "punished" for not following the regulations? Please
correct me if I am wrong but I heard they have to pay fine in Australia
if they do not follow.  It is sad for me to know  that they have to
"force" people to understand importance of accessibility and follow this
kind of regulations.  

Well, just my point of view.  



Keiko


------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Keiko O.

http://www.mitsue.co.jp/

Received on Tuesday, 9 March 2004 20:43:34 UTC