Automated Tools Miss Most Accessibility Issues.
The three gaps that leave NZ digital products non-compliant — and why independent testing catches what automated scanners don't.
Automated Scanners Find <30% of Issues
Tools like axe and WAVE can only detect accessibility failures that produce machine-readable signals — missing alt text, colour contrast ratios, label associations. They cannot detect screen reader announcement order, keyboard focus management, error recovery usability, or dynamic content that behaves incorrectly for assistive technology users. Manual testing is essential.
Legal Exposure Under the Human Rights Act
The NZ Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. For government agencies, the Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 (based on WCAG 2.1 AA) is a mandatory compliance requirement. Inaccessible public services create both reputational and legal risk. Independent accessibility testing provides documented evidence of compliance before launch — not after a complaint.
Assistive Technology Testing Requires Specialists
Testing with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver requires specialist knowledge of how screen readers interact with ARIA patterns, dynamic content, form validation, and single-page applications. A developer checking their own work with a screen reader they've never used before is not assistive technology testing. Independent specialist testers provide the real-world signal you need.
How Resync Approaches Accessibility Testing
Accessibility testing at Resync combines automated scanning with manual expert review and assistive technology testing — using NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver across the user journeys that matter most to disabled users. We test against WCAG 2.1 AA criteria systematically, not selectively, and map every finding to the specific success criterion it fails.
For NZ government agencies, we structure testing and reporting against the Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 — providing the documented evidence required for self-assessment and supplier declarations. For private sector products, we focus on the WCAG criteria most likely to create barriers for screen reader users, keyboard-only users, and low-vision users in real-world usage patterns.
Every engagement includes a remediation-ready findings report that gives developers the context to fix issues correctly — not just a WCAG success criterion reference.
What We Test
Full accessibility coverage from WCAG 2.1 AA criteria through assistive technology testing and NZ Government standard compliance.
WCAG 2.1 AA Audit
Systematic evaluation against all applicable WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria — perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust — with documented pass/fail findings and remediation guidance for every issue.
Screen Reader Testing
Manual testing with NVDA on Chrome/Firefox, JAWS on Chrome/Edge, and VoiceOver on Safari/iOS — evaluating announcement quality, reading order, dynamic content handling, and form interaction across your critical user journeys.
Keyboard Navigation
Verify that all functionality is accessible without a mouse: focus visibility, focus order logic, keyboard trap detection, skip links, modal and dropdown keyboard interaction, and drag-and-drop alternatives.
Colour & Contrast
Evaluate colour contrast ratios against WCAG 1.4.3 and 1.4.11 for text, UI components, and graphical objects. Test for colour-alone information conveyance and low-vision usability across the full interface.
Automated Scanning
Run axe-core, WAVE, and Lighthouse accessibility audits as the baseline layer — establishing a complete automated finding set before manual expert review begins. Automated findings are triaged and de-duplicated before reporting.
WAS 1.1 Compliance Report
Produce a findings report structured against the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 — suitable for self-assessment submission, procurement evidence, and public accessibility statements.
NZ Standard Expertise
Tested Against the NZ Standard.
Not Just WCAG.
The NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 adds requirements beyond WCAG 2.1 AA — including procurement obligations and self-assessment reporting requirements. Resync's accessibility testing is structured to produce the evidence required for WAS 1.1 compliance, not just a generic WCAG audit. Independent verification from a QA firm, not the development team, is what gives your agency confidence.
Why Resync for Accessibility Testing?
Independent. Specialist-led. Structured for NZ compliance requirements.
Truly Independent
Resync has no relationship with any accessibility remediation vendor. Our findings aren't shaped by who will fix them — they're shaped by what disabled users actually experience. That independence is what makes the assessment credible.
Assistive Technology Specialists
Our accessibility testers have specialist screen reader expertise — NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver — and experience across NZ government systems, e-commerce platforms, and enterprise applications. This isn't a generic WCAG checklist exercise.
NZ Standard-Ready Reporting
Every engagement produces findings documentation structured for the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 — with the evidence mapping required for self-assessment and supplier declarations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What digital product managers and government agency leads ask before engaging Resync for accessibility testing.
Q.Is accessibility testing required for NZ government agencies?
Yes. The NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 (based on WCAG 2.1 AA) is a mandatory requirement for all government agencies' public-facing websites and web applications. Agencies must self-assess compliance and, for high-risk or high-traffic systems, commission independent accessibility audits. Resync's independent assessment provides the documented evidence required.
Q.How is manual accessibility testing different from running an automated scanner?
Automated scanners (axe, WAVE, Lighthouse) find programmatic failures — missing labels, contrast ratio failures, missing alt text. But they cannot assess whether screen reader announcements make sense, whether keyboard focus follows a logical order, whether error messages are helpful, or whether dynamic content works correctly with assistive technology. Research consistently shows automated tools find fewer than 30% of real accessibility barriers. Manual expert testing finds the rest.
Q.Which screen readers do you test with?
Resync tests with NVDA on Chrome and Firefox (the most common free screen reader in NZ), JAWS on Chrome and Edge (common in enterprise and government environments), and VoiceOver on Safari and iOS (standard for Apple device users). Testing with real screen readers by practitioners who use them regularly is the only reliable way to assess screen reader accessibility.
Q.How long does an accessibility audit take?
A focused audit of a single application covering critical user journeys typically takes 5-10 business days. A full WCAG 2.1 AA audit of a complex government platform with multiple transaction flows takes 2-3 weeks. We scope based on the number of distinct page templates, interaction patterns, and critical user journeys — not raw page count.