Statement on accessibility and plain language

Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission is working to make the information we publish accessible and easy to understand.

Our vision, ‘Hauora kounga mō te katoa | Quality health for all’, is founded on the view that everyone can access a fair and equitable health and disability system. This includes the ability to access and understand information.

We comply with the code of expectations for health entities’ engagement with consumers and whānau and the Plain Language Act 2022 and are working to fulfil our duty as a signatory to the Accessibility Charter.

Accessibility

Accessible information and communications allow disabled people to participate and contribute on an equal basis with non-disabled people.

When we publish information for or about consumers, whānau and communities, we aim to remove any barriers to understanding. We do this by using formats that disabled people can access without relying on other people and are compatible with assistive technology, such as computer screen readers (known as assistive devices).

When we publish more technical or specialist information for health care professionals, we provide high-level summaries via HTML web pages so consumers, whānau and communities, while not the intended audience, can understand what the information is about and who it is for.  

Plain language

Part of making information accessible to all is using plain language that is appropriate for the audience and is clear, concise and well organised. It allows people to engage with and understand information easily.

The Plain Language Act 2022 requires us to use plain language in the information we publish when the public is the intended audience. We also believe that all health professionals, whether they identify as disabled or otherwise, can benefit from information being written in plain language and made available in the most accessible formats possible.

Our website

We have created our website in accordance with the following New Zealand Government web standards:

Web Accessibility Standard 1.1

Web Usability Standard 1.3

This website should display correctly in all common browsers, operating systems and page resolutions; on a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone; and for people without fast internet connections.

Feedback welcome

If you find something on our website that is not accessible and easy to understand, we would like to hear from you so we can do better. We are always working to improve the quality of what we do, and we follow up on all suggestions and recommendations.

Please send any feedback to: communications@hqsc.govt.nz.