New Zealand’s State Services Commission (SSC) has released the Government Web Standards v 1.0, replacing the previous Government Web Guidelines v2.1, first issued in February 2004.
The e-government Strategy highlights the importance of Accessible State Services in achieving the transformation of the operation of government. These standards provide the building blocks for ensuring that government websites are accessible to all, irrespective of technological or physical impediments. The new standards, while not radically different from the previous guidelines, remove duplications and dated material, and are focused on making the standards more useable by government agencies.
Web standards are an important part of ensuring that government online information and services are accessible to everyone. These new standards will give government agencies much more clarity and direction around how they use the Internet as a means of delivery.
