Author Identifier
Keith Fitzpatrick: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4690-6073
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated)
School
School of Science
First Supervisor
Justin Brown
Second Supervisor
Scott Hollier
Abstract
The community is becoming increasingly connected and mobile due to the widespread availability and affordability of personal technology and access to the Internet. Smart devices, such as smartphones and tablet devices, allow greater levels of access to those who experience physical, cognitive, sensory or psychosocial challenges in the community. For some, their choices in personal technologies mean they can aim to fully engage with others and best realise the opportunities this increased enablement has created. As such, expectations rise in line with all the possible features the World Wide Web (the web) offers. The increase in people gaining access to mobile and smart technology has increased the prevalence of direct access to government (at various levels, local, state, and federal). Today, those who traditionally may have experienced barriers to employment, social or educational opportunities now find themselves with greater levels of opportunity.
However, despite all this technological enablement and a working scene that is more open minded to remote working, barriers still exist for those who rely on their assistive technology in their efforts to fully engage in life and work. In many cases, a person’s engagement can be hampered simply because the online service is built and maintained in a way that is partially or fully incompatible with assistive technology. The subject area we speak of here is known as Digital Accessibility, and this study focusses on this subject in the context of the responsibilities of Australian Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in publishing online services that are accessible to the whole community and excluding nobody. The right to participate in the political process is addressed in Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Despite the existence of the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a global standard for web accessibility, this study will show that many government entities do not adopt these guidelines. Given that WCAG serves as the foundation for legislation and international standards, it could be argued that public and government organisations are morally obligated to adhere to it. Yet, as we will show in this thesis, many government entities, including Australian local government, still produce online services that do not adhere to these guides to inclusive practice. In many cases, these same government entities publicly state their intention to achieve full compliance on their websites, yet they remain unfulfilled after many years. We also aim to demonstrate that achieving WCAG compliance faces barriers stemming from a lack of awareness and inadequate governance structures, which hinder the implementation of ‘Accessible Practice’.
This study employed a two-phase data collection and analysis process, utilising a mixed methods approach to incorporate the lived experiences of practitioners and decision-makers in the field of access and inclusion within Australian local government, and in addition other forms of qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to draw conclusion and form the resultant ‘Universal Digital Accessibility Framework’, or ‘UDAF’.
The first phase took a predominantly qualitative, phenomenological approach via the main and supporting research questions (RQ1, RQ2 and RQ3) in attempting to uncover the meaning of the subjective experiences of decision makers and leaders working within a sample of Western Australian Community Services directorates (or equivalent) and/or Access and Inclusion teams. Each of the 24 participant interviews across the 17 organisations (WA LGAs) were transcribed and analysed using (a) software analysis for coding and theming for directional purposes, and (b) using thematics analysis for detailed identification of the top four (out of ten) themes to take forward to the next phase, being the national online survey of a sample (108) of all 524 Australian LGAs via a set of 62 questions grouped into four distinct categories.
This two-staged approach produced distinct findings that show that several distinct areas of interest emerge, other than technological, covering areas relating to organisational behaviour, leadership and governance. These topics will be extensively covered within this thesis.
The outcome of the study is that for ‘Accessible Practice’ around digital accessibility can be achieved by (a) increasing the level of awareness and education around digital accessibility within the current debate around Digital Inclusion; (b) to utilise existing systems of internal governance to include the components that help bring about access practice, such as professional development, regular internal and external audit to achieve accreditation in web accessibility standards (i.e. ISO 40500 or WCAG x2.x), helping to bridge the gap in awareness between traditional well-established physical projects (e.g. civil planning, development applications, infrastructure projects) and all digital projects; (c) to consider meaningful investment in digital accessibility in the form of a system of continual professional development for ‘accessibility champions’ managed by a new role, a ‘Digital Accessibility Advocate’, operating at the strategic level within the LGA to act as arbiter and advisor centred around the LGA’s existing D/AIP strategic planning mechanisms and reporting around the LGA’s efforts around access and inclusion strategy. Finally, (d) to undergo regular audits and testing of processes related to digital accessibility, which may be influenced by the natural turnover of key positions within the LGA. This is crucial to ensure the continued effectiveness of the DAA role and to maintain accessible practices within the systemic framework of existing governance processes.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 13th February 2027
DOI
10.25958/xk71-xt97
Recommended Citation
Fitzpatrick, K. (2025). An exploration of digital accessibility in local government: Barriers and opportunities for more inclusive communities. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/xk71-xt97