WCAG Audits and Accessibility Testing in Palmerston North, New Zealand

Audits for Palmerston North against the standard that actually binds you in New Zealand.

Order your audit · $499 Or scan 10 pages free first

What Palmerston North actually requires

Roughly 81,000 people live in Palmerston North. Which accessibility rule reaches your website here is not decided at city level, though, and no council in New Zealand writes its own web standard. New Zealand's Web Standards hold public service agencies to WCAG 2.2 AA, and everyone else answers to the Human Rights Act instead. Supplying government pulls you in as well, because agencies pass the requirement down the contract.

Here is the part that surprises people. The Web Standards bind central government agencies and they explicitly do not bind local government or the wider public sector. So a council in this region is not under the same obligation as the ministry it works alongside, which is worth knowing before somebody tells you otherwise.

So here is what we do about it. We work your Palmerston North site against all 55 WCAG 2.2 A and AA rules by hand, then a professional blind screen-reader user runs your real journeys while we record where they stop. WCAG 2.2 covers everything the standard above asks for and more, so one audit answers it with room to spare. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it.

The rules in force in Palmerston North

New Zealand: Web Accessibility Standard

Standard: WCAG 2.2 Level AA
Where it stands: In force for public service agencies
Who it binds: The public sector
Reaches sellers based abroad: Not by itself
What non-compliance costs: Mandatory for government agencies, Human Rights Act for others

WCAG version named: 2.2 AA
For public service: Mandatory
Human Rights Act: 1993
Compliance model: Self-assess

The New Zealand dates, 3 of them

2013Web Accessibility Standard first mandated
2019Standard updated to reference WCAG 2.1
Mar 17, 2025Standard 1.2 takes effect, requiring WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Read the full New Zealand page

What we test, and how, in Palmerston North

Start with the honest part. The audit is the same in Palmerston North as it is anywhere, because WCAG does not change at a border. What changes is which law is watching and what it costs to fail, and the section above settles that.

The work itself runs in three passes. A machine finds the failures a machine can prove. A human works every one of the 55 A and AA rules by hand. Then a professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, the way your customers would. Every finding arrives with its screenshot and the fix that closes it, drawn from our free library of 432 guides.

None of the reference sits behind a form, either. Every number below counts pages you can go and read right now, free, whether you ever buy an audit or not.

A and AA rules we check: 55
Techniques and failures: 432
ACT test rules: 90
ARIA roles documented: 94
Terms in the glossary: 131
Checklists to work from: 9

A free 10-page scan that finds what a machine can prove, before you spend anything
Paid audits at fixed prices on the pricing page, $499 for 10 pages in 5 business days, $1,499 for 25 in 10
The exact deliverable, free to read, as the sample report

The honest limit

And an audit is evidence, not a legal opinion. We tell you what fails, who it stops, and what closes it. Whether that satisfies a regulator or a court in Palmerston North is a question for your lawyer, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

What owners in Palmerston North want to know first

Is accessibility testing in Palmerston North different from anywhere else?

No. WCAG is the same standard everywhere, so the testing is identical wherever you are. What changes is which law is watching and what failing it costs, and that is what the law section on this page settles.

Who sets the rules for a website in Palmerston North?

New Zealand is the one that reach Palmerston North first, and each has its own page here covering what it asks for, who it lands on, and how it gets enforced. Sell into more than one market and more than one of them can reach you at the same time.

Does Palmerston North expect a published accessibility statement?

No law that reaches Palmerston North names one in our library, so nothing forces you to publish a statement. You can still publish one anyway, and our free generator will write it from what the audit found.

How much is an audit, and when does the report land?

A Rapid Audit is $499 for 10 pages, with the report in 5 business days. A Standard Audit is $1,499 for 25 pages in 10 business days. Once your team has fixed things, the re-audit is half price within 3 months.

Is a real screen-reader user involved, or just software?

Yes, on every audit. A professional blind screen-reader user opens your real journeys and tries to finish them, and we write down where they stop. That is the pass no scanner can run.

Related on this site

The reading behind the law that reaches you in Palmerston North, and the guides that turn it into work your team can do.

Accessibility testing in other countries

Show all 49

Find out where your site stands in Palmerston North

Run the free scan. Read the sample report. Order the audit when you want the humans on it, and what lands is a report your developers, your lawyer or a regulator in Palmerston North can act on.