Accessibility

This statement applies to the WeL’nd website. It does not cover third-party services that open in their own window, such as a lender’s application portal or an external booking system, because those are built and maintained by their operators.

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 at Level AA. That is the benchmark referenced by Australian government digital standards and the one most commonly used to assess whether a site is usable by people with disability.

Aiming at a standard is not the same as certifying against it. We have not commissioned an independent conformance audit of this site. Where we say something has been done, it has been done and checked by us. Where we know we fall short, it is listed below rather than left out.

Accessibility is also a legal and a decent-behaviour question. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) makes it unlawful to discriminate in the provision of goods and services, and a website is part of how we provide ours.

Structure and screen readers

• Semantic HTML throughout, with one h1 per page and headings that descend in order without skipping a level.
• Landmark regions for the header, navigation, main content and footer, so a screen reader user can jump straight to the body.
• A skip link to the main content as the first focusable element on every page.
• Descriptive page titles, and link text that makes sense when read on its own rather than a row of items called “read more”.
• Alternative text on images that carries the meaning of the image. Decorative images are marked as decorative so they are not announced.
• Tables with proper header cells and captions, so the relationship between a figure and its label survives being read aloud.

Keyboard and focus

• Every interactive element can be reached and operated with a keyboard alone, including the mega menu, the calculators and the forms.
• A visible focus indicator with sufficient contrast, and focus that is not obscured by sticky headers or floating elements.
• A logical focus order that follows the reading order of the page.
• No keyboard traps. Menus and dialogs can be closed with the Escape key and return focus to where you were.
• No action that depends on a dragging movement without a single-pointer alternative.
• Interactive targets sized so they can be hit accurately on a touchscreen.

Colour, contrast and motion

• Text and interface colours are checked against the 4.5 to 1 contrast minimum for body text and 3 to 1 for large text and interface components.
• Colour is never the only way information is conveyed. Errors, states and emphasis carry a text or shape cue as well.
• The site respects the reduced-motion setting in your operating system. When it is on, animation and parallax are removed and transitions are reduced to a simple change of state.
• Nothing flashes more than three times a second.
• Text reflows at 400 per cent zoom and at a 320 pixel viewport width without loss of content or horizontal scrolling.

Forms, tools and help

• Every form field has a visible, persistent label, not a placeholder standing in for one.
• Errors are announced, described in words, and tied to the field they belong to.
• Calculator results are announced when they update, so a screen reader user does not have to hunt for the change.
• Contact details appear in the same place on every page, and there is no step in a form that asks you to re-enter information you have already given.
• No part of this site requires a cognitive test, such as transcribing or recalling a code, in order to reach a person.

A website is one route in. It is not the only one, and it is never a condition of dealing with us.

• Call us on 1300 015 267 during business hours and we will work through anything on this site with you over the phone.
• Email us at Info@WeLnd.com.au and we will reply in writing.
• Write to us or visit by arrangement at 1/3 Westside Avenue, Port Melbourne VIC 3207.
• Ask for information in large print, in a plain-text email, or read to you over the phone.
• Use the National Relay Service if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. Give them our number and they will connect you.
• Tell us if you need an interpreter and we will arrange one where we can.
• Bring a support person, a family member, an advocate or a financial counsellor to any conversation, and tell us in writing if you want us to deal with them on your behalf.

If you hit something on this site that you cannot use, we want to know. Reports from people who actually use assistive technology are worth more to us than any checklist.

What helps us fix it faster

• The address of the page, or a description of where you were.
• What you were trying to do, and what happened instead.
• The device, browser and assistive technology you were using, if you know them.
• Whether it stopped you completely or just made things harder.

Send it to Info@WeLnd.com.au with “Accessibility” in the subject line, or call 1300 015 267 and tell us. We aim to acknowledge a report within two business days and to respond with a plan or a fix within ten business days. If a fix will take longer than that, we will tell you why and we will give you another way to get what you needed in the meantime.

How we keep this current

We test new pages with a keyboard alone and with a screen reader before they go live, we check contrast when the palette changes, and we review this statement when the site changes materially. The date at the top of this page is the date it was last reviewed.

If you are not satisfied with our response to an accessibility complaint, you can raise it through our complaints process, and you can contact the Australian Human Rights Commission, which handles complaints of disability discrimination and publishes its process on its own website.