The new version of the New Zealand Government Web Guidelines is out for consultation - get in quick as consultations close on 31 October 2006.

The whopping 132-pages of Guidelines have been reviewed and rewritten by a working group of several government agencies, with input by industry accessibility experts and the Usability Professionals’ Association.

The underlying standards to achieve accessibility outcomes have not changed significantly from the previous version; the emphasis has been on removing duplications and dated material and making the standards more usable.

Part of the consultation involves a proposal to call the new version (V3.0) the ‘New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations’. The proposed name change is based on feedback from government agencies acknowledging the importance of the Standards.

The State Services Commission (SSC) are also exploring presenting the New Zealand Government Web Standards as a Wiki. The Wiki is a prototype that will be available for public consultation in late 2006.

SSC say they would appreciate specific feedback on the proposed name change and are also looking for good practice examples that could be incorporated into the document (that would benefit other agencies when they are considering website development).

You can supply your feedback through mailto:web.guidelines@ssc.govt.nz