Accessibility

Accessibility Statement

The Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS) endeavours to make its websites accessible in accordance with the Web Accessibility Act (WZG) as amended for the implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (Official Journal L 327 of 2 December 2016, p. 1).

This Accessibility Statement applies to the website bmwkms.gv.at

Status of compatibility with requirements

Due to the following incompatibilities and exceptions, this website is partially compatible with conformance level AA of the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – WCAG 2.1" or with the applicable European standard EN 301 549 V2.1.2 (2018-08).

Non-accessible content

The contents listed below are non-accessible for the following reasons:

a) Incompatibility with accessibility regulations

The colour contrasts of the control elements in the news carousel on the homepage do not fully meet the requirements in the desktop view and on tablets (WCAG 1.4.3. Contrast (Minimum)). 

b) The contents do not fall within the scope of the applicable legislation

Some older PDF documents and Office documents are not accessible. For example, PDF documents are not tagged, meaning that they cannot be recognised and used by screen reader users, or only to an insufficient extent. Consequently, the WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value) is not fulfilled.

No comprehensive changes are currently planned for older non-accessible documents that are still exempt from Directive (EU) 2016/2102. Please let us know if you have any difficulties with specific documents. We prepare the content in an accessible format on request and subsequently replace the documents or supplement them with accessible alternatives. For new documents, we endeavour to make them accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.1 and PDF/UA-compliant before publication. Publication of non-accessible documents, such as print versions, will be labelled as such.

Third-party content, such as studies or presentation materials from external speakers that are not within the sphere of influence of BMWKMS, are exempt from Directive (EU) 2016/2102. No statement can be made regarding the compatibility of this third-party content with accessibility regulations.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was updated in August 2023.

The Austrian Research Promotion Agency assessed the compatibility of the website with the WZG to implement the requirements of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 in the form of a self-test in accordance with WCAG 2.1 at conformity level AA in June 2021. The homepage, an overview page as well as service and news pages were tested. Individual page contents are regularly checked by the web editors when new content is published. 

Feedback and contact details

The offers and services on this website are constantly being improved, replaced and expanded. Ease of use and accessibility are very important to us.

If you notice any barriers that prevent you from using our website – problems that are not described in this statement, deficiencies with regard to compliance with accessibility requirements – please let us know by email.
We will review your enquiry and contact you as soon as possible.

Please send all messages and suggestions to webredaktion@bmwkms.gv.at with the subject line "Report a barrier on the bmwkms.gv.at website". Please describe the problem and provide the URL(s) of the affected website or document.

Contact:
Web editorial team
Email: webredaktion@bmwkms.gv.at

Enforcement proceedings

If you do not receive a satisfactory response from the above contact option, you can lodge a complaint with the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). The FFG accepts complaints electronically via the contact form.

Contact form of the complaints office

The complaints are examined by the FFG to determine whether they relate to violations of the provisions of the Web Accessibility Act, in particular deficiencies in compliance with the accessibility requirements, by the federal government or an organisation attributable to it.

If the complaint is justified, the FFG must make recommendations for action to the federal government or the legal entities concerned and propose measures to remedy the existing deficiencies.

Further information on the complaints procedure

Optional content: Additional information and operating assistance

The department's website underwent a technical upgrade in January 2020.

The BMWKMS web team endeavours to make its internet services as accessible as possible and has been following the WCAG 2.1 guidelines for accessible content since 2008 in accordance with the national legislation "E-Government Act 2004" and the applicable anti-discrimination regulations.