Accessibility Statement

1. Our Commitment

Blend Designs (ABN 75 150 366 704) is committed to making blenddesigns.au usable by as many people as possible, including people with disability. We want people who are blind or have low vision, who are Deaf or hard of hearing, who have limited mobility or dexterity, who have cognitive, learning, or neurological differences, or who are sensitive to motion, to be able to find our information, contact us, and work with us on equal terms.

Accessibility is not a one-off project for us. We treat it as an ongoing part of how we design, build, and maintain this website and the websites we deliver for clients.

2. Standard We Aim For

We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 published by the World Wide Web Consortium as our reference standard, and we aim for Level AA. WCAG explains how to make web content more accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities, and it is the standard referenced in Australian guidance on digital accessibility.

3. Conformance Status

This website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. "Partially conformant" means that most of the site meets the standard, but some content or components do not yet fully meet it. We assess the site periodically and work through issues as we find them.

We are not making a claim of full conformance at this time. Where we identify a barrier, our approach is to fix it rather than to work around it, and to provide an alternative way to get the same information or complete the same task in the meantime.

4. Measures We Take

Accessibility considerations we build into this website include:

• Semantic HTML structure with meaningful headings, landmarks, and lists so screen readers can navigate the page in a logical order
• Keyboard access to interactive elements such as navigation, menus, buttons, forms, and dialogs, with visible focus indicators
• Text alternatives for meaningful images, and decorative images marked so assistive technology can skip them
• Colour contrast checked against WCAG minimums in both our light and dark themes, with a theme switcher for people who find one easier to read
• Form fields with associated labels, clear error messages, and instructions that do not rely on colour alone
• Responsive layouts that reflow without horizontal scrolling and support browser zoom and enlarged text
• Reduced-motion support, so animations and background effects are minimised for visitors whose devices request less motion
• Link text that makes sense on its own, and an HTML sitemap as an alternative way to find pages
• Plain-language content wherever the subject matter allows

5. Compatibility With Assistive Technology

This website is designed to work with recent versions of common browsers and assistive technologies, including:

• Screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack
• Screen magnification and browser zoom up to at least 200%
• Speech recognition and voice control software
• Keyboard-only navigation and switch access
• Operating system settings for high contrast, larger text, and reduced motion

The site may not work as expected on browsers or assistive technologies that are no longer supported by their vendors.

6. Known Limitations

We are aware of the following areas where parts of the site may not yet fully meet Level AA, and we are working on them:

• Decorative 3D and animated scenes. Some pages use animated visual effects. These are presentational only and no information is conveyed solely through them, but they may still be distracting for some visitors. Enabling the reduced-motion setting on your device will minimise them.
• Interactive demos and tools. Our demo showcases, calculators, and other interactive tools are complex components, and keyboard and screen reader support in some of them is still being improved. Contact us and we will provide the same information or run the calculation with you directly.
• Older content. Some earlier blog posts, portfolio entries, and downloadable documents may have imperfect alternative text, heading structure, or document tagging. We correct these as we review the archive.
• Embedded and third-party content. Content we embed from third parties, such as maps, video players, social media widgets, and security checks, is outside our direct control and its accessibility depends on the provider.
• Portfolio screenshots. Images of client websites are described at a summary level rather than reproducing every word shown in the screenshot.

7. Assessment Approach

We evaluate the accessibility of this website through a combination of:

• Self-evaluation against the WCAG 2.2 Level AA success criteria
• Automated testing using tools such as Lighthouse and axe-based accessibility checkers during development
• Manual keyboard-only testing of navigation, forms, and interactive components
• Manual screen reader spot checks on key pages and conversion paths
• Colour contrast checks on both themes when the design changes
• Feedback we receive from visitors and clients

Automated tools catch only a portion of accessibility issues, so we do not rely on them alone. This website has not been independently audited or certified by a third party.

8. Accessibility in the Work We Deliver

We also apply these practices to the websites we build for our clients. Accessibility requirements vary by organisation, sector, and funding obligations, and some clients need a formal conformance target, an independent audit, or accessible document remediation. If accessibility is a requirement for your project, tell us at the quoting stage so it can be scoped properly and built in from the start rather than retrofitted. Get in touch to discuss what your project needs.

9. Australian Context

In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of disability in the provision of goods, services, and facilities, and this extends to online services. The Australian Human Rights Commission has issued advisory notes recommending WCAG as the practical means of meeting those obligations. Our commitment to WCAG 2.2 Level AA reflects that guidance. This statement is provided as information about our practices and is not legal advice.

10. Need Help With Something on This Site?

If any part of this website is a barrier for you, contact us and we will help you get what you need in another way. We can read information to you over the phone, email content in a different format, complete a form or quote request on your behalf, or arrange a conversation in whichever channel suits you best. There is no cost for this and you do not need to explain your disability to us.

11. Feedback and Complaints

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of this website. It is one of the most useful ways we find out about problems. When you contact us, it helps if you can include:

• The web address of the page where you had the problem
• What you were trying to do
• What happened, or what you could not do
• The browser, device, and any assistive technology you were using, if you know them

We aim to acknowledge accessibility feedback within 2 business days and to respond substantively within 10 business days. Where a fix will take longer, we will tell you what we are doing and offer an alternative way to access the content in the meantime.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be able to make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission at humanrights.gov.au.

12. Contact Us

For accessibility assistance, feedback, or complaints, contact:

If you use the National Relay Service, you can reach us on the number above through your preferred relay call type. Details are at accesshub.gov.au.

13. Review of This Statement

We review this statement when we make significant changes to the website, and at least once a year. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Related policies are our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Cookie Policy.