Understanding the scale and impact of digital accessibility is essential for making informed decisions. The following statistics are drawn from authoritative Australian and international sources to help you build the case for accessibility in your organisation.
Australian Statistics
Approximately 20% of Australians remain digitally excluded due to access, skills, or cost barriers. This represents a significant portion of the population who cannot fully participate in online services and digital experiences.
~20% of Australians are digitally excluded from full online participation, highlighting the business opportunity in inclusive digital products.
Source: Australian Digital Inclusion Index – Progress and Challenges in 2025
More than one in five Australians, approximately 5.5 million people, live with some form of disability. This represents a significant user and customer segment that organisations cannot afford to overlook.
21.4% of Australians live with disability, making this a priority audience for inclusive digital services.
Source: Deque Systems – Australia Accessibility Law Overview
The Australian Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requires digital accessibility. Organisations that fail to provide accessible digital services face legal action and reputational damage. Compliance with WCAG standards mitigates these risks.
Accessibility reduces legal and reputational risk under Australian law, making it essential for future-proof digital governance.
Source: Australian Human Rights Commission – Web Accessibility Guidelines
Business Impact
Research shows that inclusive design can expand your target reach up to four times the intended audience. By designing for accessibility from the start, organisations can unlock previously untapped markets and user segments.
4× more users reached through inclusive design, emphasising market expansion potential and future readiness.
Source: The Benefit of Designing for Everyone – Centre for Inclusive Design (commissioned by PwC, Adobe & Microsoft)
Studies consistently show that approximately 71% of users with disabilities will leave a website that is difficult to use. This represents significant lost revenue and engagement opportunities for organisations with inaccessible digital properties.
71% of users leave inaccessible sites, underscoring the loss of audience and revenue without inclusive design.
Source: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative – Business Case for Digital Accessibility
Accessibility best practices significantly overlap with usability and search engine optimisation (SEO). Accessible websites typically see improved organic search rankings, higher engagement rates, and stronger brand perception.
Accessibility boosts SEO, engagement and future-proof digital growth, reflecting commercial benefits beyond compliance.
Source: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative – Business Case & ROI Guidance
Australian Government Compliance Deadlines
From 1 January 2025, Australian Government agencies are required to comply with the Digital Experience Policy and its suite of standards. The Digital Access Standard applies to new and replacement public-facing digital services for individuals (myGov-suitable) from this date.
All new government digital services must meet accessibility standards from 1 January 2025, with flow-on effects for suppliers and contractors.
Source: Australian Government Digital Experience Policy – digital.gov.au
The Inclusion Standard will apply to all existing public-facing government services from 1 January 2026. The Access Standard for all other new and replacement public-facing services (beyond just myGov-suitable) also came into effect on this date. Agencies must report compliance to the DTA via the Investment Oversight Framework.
All existing government digital services must meet accessibility standards by 1 January 2026, requiring remediation of legacy systems.
Source: Digital Experience Policy Timeline – digital.gov.au
The Digital Experience Policy and Digital Service Standard tie accessibility compliance directly into procurement readiness and assessment of digital deliverables. The Disability Discrimination Act (1992) and the AHRC Guidelines on Equal Access to Digital Goods and Services clarify that inaccessible digital products or services can be discriminatory in Australia. Non-compliant suppliers risk exclusion from government procurement and contracts.
Suppliers to government must ensure all delivered content, documentation, products and services meet accessibility standards or face procurement exclusion.
Source: AHRC Guidelines on Equal Access to Digital Goods & Services
Global Web Accessibility
Annual analysis of the top one million websites consistently finds that approximately 96-97% have detectable WCAG accessibility errors. This highlights the widespread nature of accessibility gaps across the web and the opportunity for organisations to differentiate themselves.
~97% of top websites have WCAG accessibility failures, showing widespread accessibility gaps your organisation can lead on.
Source: WebAIM Million – Annual Accessibility Analysis