NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.2

Status: ✅ Approved    Version: 1.2

Field	Value
ID	GUARD-GOV-014
Category	Governance
Subcategory	accessibility
Type	standard
Owner	Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO)
Approved by	—
Approved date	—
Review due	—

Description

Mandatory standard for all NZ public service departments and Executive branch organizations requiring WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance for publicly and internally facing web pages, effective 17 March 2025. Includes specific exemptions and modifications for complex visual content, live audio/video, and inactive pages.

Source document

Web Accessibility Standard 1.2 | NZ Digital government

Last fetched: 2026-04-22

Related guardrails

• GUARD-GOV-015 — NZ Government Web Usability Standard 1.4
• GUARD-ARCH-001 — Digital Service Design Standard - NZ Government
• GUARD-GOV-012 — New Zealand Data and Information Management Principles

Change history

Version	Date	Author	Summary
1.1	2026-04-21	auto-generated	Content refresh and verification of WCAG 2.2 Level AA requirements, exemptions scope, and GCDO reporting obligations. Added inclusive-design tag to reflect accessibility standards alignment.
1.2	2026-04-22	auto-generated	Updated source URL verification and content hash confirmation. Refined description to clarify exemptions for complex visual maps, prerecorded media, and inactive pages. Confirmed WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance requirements and GCDO reporting obligations.