Accessibility Statement
Information in accordance with the Web Accessibility Act (Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz, WZG)
Accessibility statement
The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection is committed to making its websites accessible in accordance with the Web Accessibility Act (WZG) as amended, transposing Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p.1).
This accessibility statement applies to the website www.sozialministerium.at.
Compliance status
Due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below, this website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 Level AA conformance standard (WCAG 2.1) and with the harmonised European standard EN 301 549 V 3.2.1 (2021-03).
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
a) Non-compliance with the Web Accessibility Act (WZG) transposing Directive (EU) 2016/2102
For some videos, captions are missing so that the spoken content is not available for deaf users. The WCAG success criterion 1.2.2 (captions pre-recorded) is thus not fulfilled. We plan to add captions to all videos by September 2020. Captions are already being added to new videos in time for their release.
Search results are shown dynamically on the same page where the search was started. In this way, the page titles and position indicator of the page remain unchanged. The following problems are well-known: After a search has been made, the keyboard focus is not on the area with the search result. Screen reader users receive no information about the changed content of the accessed page. The search results page cannot be easily reached directly via the keyboard. For example, the page jump to the content (access key 1) cannot be used (WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks). In the page navigation to browse between search results, the links on the last page and the first page cannot be focused using the keyboard (tab key) (WCAG 2.4.1 Keyboard and 2.4.3 Focus Order). We are working on a solution to the problems.
The colour contrast of the controls in the slideshow of the home page does not fully comply with the requirements of WCAG 1.4.3. Contrast (Minimum) in desktop view and on tablets. The content of the home page does not contain a top-level heading (WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels) which can be accessed directly by screen reader users. We intend to take the requirements into account as part of the next development cycles in 2020.
The submenu can be accessed directly via the page jump entitled “to the submenu”, but this page area is wrongly marked as subnavigation. „
The page jumps to the page areas referred to as “content” ,”main menu”, “submenu” and “search” are only partially usable with the older Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11). The WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks) is thus not complied with when using the IE 11 browser. We have commissioned work to remedy this problem.
b) Disproportionate burden
Our videos are hosted by and released on the video platform YouTube. For some of these videos it is not possible to provide the required audio descriptions. The WCAG success criterion 1.2.5 (audio description pre-recorded) is thus not fulfilled. In our view, resolving this issue would constitute an unreasonable burden in the meaning of the provisions on accessibility. We are planning to provide alternatives to audio descriptions for time-based media by September 2020.
c) The content is outside the scope of the applicable legislation
Many predominantly older PDF and Office files are not accessible. For example, PDF files are not tagged, so they cannot be (or are insufficiently) identified and used by screen reader users. The WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) is thus not complied with.
In the case of PDF documents which are required for ongoing administrative processes, such as application forms, we are planning to replace these documents by September 2020 or to deploy web forms as a solution. No wide-ranging changes are planned for older non-accessible documents which are still excepted from the Directive (EU) 2016/2102. Please contact us if you have difficulties with specific documents. We will prepare the content to make it accessible and subsequently replace the documents and/or provide accessible alternatives. In the case of new documents, we endeavour to prepare them in such a way that they are accessible according to WCAG 2.1 and conform to PDF/UA. Non-accessible documents, such as printed versions, will be declared as such.
Content from third parties, such as studies or presentation materials from external speakers who are outside the sphere of influence of the Federal Chancellery, is excepted from the Directive (EU) 2016/2102. For content from third parties of this kind, we cannot make any statements about its compatibility with the provisions on accessibility.
The preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was drawn up on 2 December 2019.
The evaluation of the website’s compliance with the Austrian Web Accessibility Act (WZG), transposing the Directive (EU) 2016/2102, was carried out as an internal test according to WCAG 2.0 Level AA conformance standard. The home page, an overview page, a news page, the search function and the search results were tested. The content of individual pages is regularly checked by the website editing team when new material is published.
This statement was updated on 29 January 2020.
Feedback and contact information
The offers and services on this website are improved, changed and extended on an ongoing basis. Its ease of use and accessibility are of great importance to us.
If you encounter barriers which hinder your use of our website – problems which are not dealt with in this declaration, and deficits with regard to adherence to accessibility requirements – please tell us about them by e-mail. We will have a look at your enquiry and contact you as soon as possible.
Please address all messages and suggestions to kommunikation@sozialministerium.at and please enter the following as the subject: “Report of a barrier in the www.sozialministerium.at website”. Please describe the problem and give the URL(s) of the web page or the document.
Contact:
Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection
Department of Communications and Public Affairs kommunikation@sozialministerium.at
Enforcement procedure
If you are not satisfied with the answers you receive from the contact given above, you can complain to the Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (FFG) (Austrian Agency for the Promotion of Research). The FFG accepts complaints sent via its website.
Contact form of the Complaints Body
Complaints are examined by the FFG to establish whether they refer to infringements against the provisions of the Web Accessibility Act, and particularly to deficits in adherence to the requirement for accessibility on the part of the Federal Government or one of its agencies.
If the complaint is justified, the FFG has to issue recommendations for action to the Federal Government or the agency in question and propose measures which would contribute towards eliminating the existing deficiencies.
Further information on the enforcement procedure (in German)
Optional content: additional information and accessibility features
The website www.sozialministerium.at was subjected to complete technical modernisation in December 2019.
The Department of Communications and Public Affairs endeavours to ensure the highest possible degree of accessibility of its internet content. Since 2008 – in agreement with the nation legislation (E-Government Act 2004) and the applicable anti-discrimination laws – we have oriented ourselves towards the WCAG 2.0 guidelines for accessible content. An examination according to all A and AA criteria of WCAG 2.1 is planned for 2020.