Introduction

The Web and the services provided within it represents an increasingly important resource in many aspects which includes: –

  • Business;
  • Government;
  • Education;
  • Commerce;
  • and more

It is important that websites and services be accessible to everyone in order to provide equal access and opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible website/service is often the easiest way for people with disabilities to do business, and more importantly, enables all people to participate with society on an equal footing.

An accessible website/service is one of the most efficient ways of providing access to information and services for people with disabilities. In essence, the accessibility barriers to print, audio, and visual media can be much more easily overcome through Web technologies.

Another important consideration is that Web accessibility is required by laws and policies in many cases. The WAI Web Accessibility Policy Resources links to resources for addressing legal and policy issues, and includes a list of relevant laws and policies around the world.

To that end, Foster Moore are committed to providing an accessible web site, products and services. The following introduces you to the Accessibility Statement that Foster Moore have made, and the Accessibility Strategy that Forster Moore employ with respect to making Verne accessible.

Accessibility Statement

Foster Moore strives to maintain a fully accessible organisation, including its website, associated products and services in the context of the following: –

Our Commitment

Foster Moore is committed to making its electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of these acts, standards and guidelines. We define our public website and our commercial off-the-shelf product, Verne, as being electronic and information technologies that we own.

While we strive to adhere to the accepted acts, standards guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website. If a page cannot be made accessible, we will work to make a text version available. If you have a need for a specific electronic format please feel free to contact us at the following website address: –  https://www.fostermoore.com/contact-us/ or alternatively email us at accessibility@fostermoore.com.

If You Require Assistance

If you require assistance or wish to report an issue related to the accessibility of any content on this website, please contact us at the following website address: – https://www.fostermoore.com/contact-us/ or alternatively email us at accessibility@fostermoore.com. At a minimum, please try to include the following information for us:

  • The URL for the page you are having problems accessing.
  • Details about what you were trying to do, and why it was difficult or impossible to do it.
  • Details about your computer and software. If you don’t know, maybe a friend, relative, or colleague can help you. If not, you can skip this part. Please include:
    • the operating system you are using, and the version; for example, Windows Vista, Mac OS X, or Linux Ubuntu 9.10
    • the browser software you use to view the Web, and the version; for example, Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), Firefox 3.5, Chrome 3.0.195.38, Opera 10, Safari 4.0.4, etc.
  • If it is related to the problem you are experiencing, also include:
    • any settings you have customised; for example, I set the Font Size to Largest in my browser.
    • any assistive technology that you use; for example, screen reader, screen magnification software, voice recognition software for input.

Our Accessible Documents Policy

Using our documents

Foster Moore publishes documents in a range of formats, including HTML, Word and PDF.

When we produce a document we make sure to:

  • Provide an HTML option where possible;
  • Tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure;
  • Make sure we include alt text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for;
  • Avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data;
  • Write in plain English.

The accessibility of our documents

[Note: use this section to provide information that a disabled user can act on – for example, it might be helpful to let them know that older documents are unlikely to be accessible, and that it might be better for them to request an alternative format. Try to list issues in order of most impact to least impact.]

New documents that are published and documents that need to be downloaded or filled in to access one of the services Foster Moore provides should be accessible to WCAG 2.1 success criteria levels A and AA.

However, some of the older documents may not be accessible. For example, some of them:

  • May be photocopies and are not marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them;
  • May not be tagged up properly – for example, they do not contain proper headings;
  • May not be written in plain English

If you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us at the following website address https://www.fostermoore.com/contact-us/ or email us at accessibility@fostermoore.com and ask for an alternative format.

If a document cannot be used

If you need a document we’ve published in a different format, then please contact us at the following website address https://www.fostermoore.com/contact-us/ or email us at accessibility@fostermoore.com and provide the following information:

  • An email address or;
  • A telephone number or;
  • Any other contact details

We will consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility issues with one of our documents

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any issues not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, then please contact us at the following website address:  https://www.fostermoore.com/contact-us/ or email us at accessibility@fostermoore.com.

Non accessible content

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Some of our documents have diagrams. These images do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
    1. When we publish new documents or re-publish documents that are currently non-compliant we will make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Some PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. We plan to replace them with accessible HTML pages as part of future releases.

Any new PDFs or Word documents published will meet accessibility standards.

Using Adobe Acrobat to Access PDF Files

Adobe Acrobat PDF Files

A number of the documents presented on our website, or captured and displayed in Verne are in HTML or ASCII (plain text) formats. These formats are generally accessible to people who use screen readers. We also have a large number of documents in Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF).

PDF documents can only be viewed and printed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader®, version 3.0 or higher. You can download and get help using the Acrobat Reader at the Adobe Systems, Inc. site. The downloadable Acrobat Reader software is available at no charge from Adobe.

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