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Market focus · Australia

Accessibility law in Australia: are you provably compliant?

There is no statutory fine, but a single user complaint can lead via the courts to mandatory remediation plus uncapped damages (the Maguire precedent concerned a website specifically).

  • Law: Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)
  • In force: Since 1993.
  • Standard: WCAG 2.2 AA (AHRC-aanbeveling sinds april 2025)

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Enforcement: what's happening now

Complaint-driven: an individual files with the AHRC (conciliation) and can escalate to the Federal Court if unresolved, no regulator issuing fines, but enforceable via the courts.

In the landmark Maguire v SOCOG case the Australian human rights commission ruled an inaccessible website was unlawful discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and awarded AUD 20,000 in damages, still the leading web precedent (HREOC, 2000). Australian Human Rights Commission. World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes (and Maguire v SOCOG decision)

Cross-border trade

Selling to here from abroad?

If you provide goods or services to the Australian public, your service falls under the DDA, regardless of your establishment.

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Why this matters

Accessibility isn't a checkbox for a regulator, it decides whether roughly 1 in 6 people (WHO) can use your site at all. For them, an inaccessible store isn't a minor annoyance but a closed door. Fix the error in your own code and you remove that barrier and make your site cleaner for search engines, the same fix, double the gain.

Know where you stand, before the regulator does.

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Sources: Maguire v SOCOG (2000). DDA-precedent website · W3C WAI. Australia policies

This is information and tooling, not legal advice.

Facts last verified: June 2026

Accessibility law in other countries