Problems With London 2012 Olympics Australian Web Page

The Australian Olympic Committee have provided a London 2012 Olympics Education Page, for students. Unfortunately, the page suffers from some problems with the web design. There are 20 Problems reported by the TAW Automated Accessibility test. The W3C mobileOK Checker scores the page at 0 out of 100, for compatibility with mobile devices. Also there are 5 errors in the HTML markup reported by the W3C Markup Validation Service. These problems may make access for those with a disability and those using a mobile device more difficult. None of the problems would be difficult to fix. In 2000 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) found that that the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games website was inaccessible, under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act.

Flaws in Federal Government Mental Health Website

John Hilvert reported "Federal mental health portal fails web standards" (IT News, Jul 11, 2012 2:00 PM). The site in question is "Mind Health Connect", funded by the Department of Health and Ageing. I ran my own checks on the home page and found problems.

There were 20 errors found with the W3C Markup Validation Service. The page failed a W3C WCAG Version 2 automated test, with 17 Level 2 (AA) errors. Also the page rated 0 out of 100 on the W3C mobileOK Checker (the lowest possible score).

None of these problems are particularly difficult to fix and would be evident to any competent web designer. They do not so much indicate a failure of the technical implementation, but a failure of the management to set priorities. Perhaps the Minister needs to give direct all the Department's senior staff to attend a course on web accessibility and online communication. The Federal Government can't run effectively with senior executives who are not competent with the basics of modern communication.

Australian Information Commissioner not using ICT for ICT Tender

The Australian Human Rights Commission has issued a Request for Tender for a network and ICT infrastructure to support the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC, AHRC1260810 12 August 2010). Curiously, despite the RFT being issued using the government's sophisticated AusTender online tendering system, no electronic documentation for the tender has been provided and electronic responses are not being accepted. Companies must physically deliver their tender document to Sydney. This is a relatively small government tender, of up to $2,000,000.00, as a result the cost of the tender handling process for all those concerned is likely to cost a significant proportion of the tender value.