WCAG Accessible Reports for Australian annual reports.
WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility is a hard requirement for federal, state and listed annual reports. We design it in from layout up, then verify with NVDA, VoiceOver and PAC 2024, so the report ships compliant the first time.
Australia’s mandatory climate reporting is being phased in.
The new sustainability reporting regime applies to entities that already prepare an annual financial report under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act and meet specified size, emissions or asset thresholds. It does not apply to every company or charity.
Reports include climate-related governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets under AASB S2. We turn approved content into a clear, accessible report, ready for review, assurance and publication.
- Group 11 January 2025Financial years beginning on or after this date
- Group 21 July 2026Financial years beginning on or after this date
- Group 31 July 2027Financial years beginning on or after this date
Small proprietary companies without Chapter 2M reporting obligations and registered charities not required to prepare a Chapter 2M annual financial report are outside this regime. Australia has about 65,000 registered charities, but that is sector context, not the number covered by mandatory climate disclosure.
General information only, not legal, financial or compliance advice. Confirm your organisation’s position with a qualified adviser. Check ASIC guidance. Last reviewed 17 September 2026.
Briefing an accessible annual report? Here is what teams ask.
- Is tagging alone enough for compliance?
No. Tagging is the foundation. We add correct reading order, alt text, accessible tables, language metadata and a manual screen-reader pass before sign off.
- Will it pass federal PGPA accessibility review?
Yes. Federal entities under the PGPA Act and Disability Discrimination Act publish to WCAG 2.1 AA. We deliver a signed conformance statement against that baseline.
- How do you verify the result?
PAC 2024 and Adobe Acrobat for automated checks, plus manual passes in NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver. Automated tools alone catch only about 30 percent of issues.
WCAG Accessible Reports we've shipped
Three things teams get when we run the tagged PDF annual report brief.
Part of the annual report brief
WCAG Accessible Reports is one of the more demanding parts of any annual report. Most clients brief it as part of a full report. Production runs backwards from your lodgement date.
Or as a specialist standalone
When your studio or in-house team needs specialist accessible annual report for a report you are already running, we plug in for this scope only.
Accessibility built in
WCAG 2.1 AA tagged PDFs and screen reader testing are standard scope, not an extra at the end.
Inside a accessible annual report project.
- 01Tagged accessible PDFFull PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289) tagging with correct reading order, headings, lists and table semantics built into the InDesign source.
- 02Screen reader testingManual passes in NVDA on Windows and VoiceOver on macOS, plus an automated pass through PAC 2024 and Adobe Acrobat checker.
- 03Alt text and reading orderPlain-English alt text on every image and chart, written by a designer who has read the surrounding copy, not auto-generated.
- 04WCAG 2.1 AA conformance supportA signed conformance statement and remediation log so your accessibility lead can publish the report against a clear baseline.
Technical specifications
- Standards
- WCAG 2.1 AA, PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289), Section 508
- Testing tools
- PAC 2024, Adobe Acrobat checker, NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver
- Source software
- Adobe InDesign 2024 with semantic tagging
- Sign-off
- Written conformance statement against WCAG 2.1 AA
What WCAG Accessible Reports actually involves
Deliver a report that screen readers can navigate properly and public-sector stakeholders can access without extra remediation at the end. Annual Report Designers handles design, data visualisation, accessibility and lodgement-ready output in one project. You provide the content. We carry the production load.
Methodology
We start with a twenty-minute scoping call, lock the fixed fee and timeline in writing, then run the project through clear, named milestones. Reviews happen in your tools, on your schedule.
Compliance and standards
Reports are built to ASIC, ASX and PGPA Act expectations where relevant. WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility is in scope by default. AASB S2 climate disclosure can be wrapped into the same project for Group 2 entities reporting from July 2026.
How it works
- 01
Brief & scope
Share your deadline, page count and report type. Within 48 hours we send a fixed fee, a written timeline and the named team for your project.
- 02
Design & review
Jen leads the project end-to-end with a small extended studio team handling production. You review at clear, named milestones. No surprises, no scope creep.
- 03
Lodge & deliver
Tagged PDF/UA-1 source, signed WCAG 2.1 AA conformance statement and a remediation log delivered on the date we committed to in writing.
Accreditations and standards
Hi, I'm Jen Clark. I design annual reports.
I lead every annual report project from brief to lodgement, including the data visualisation, accessible PDF, print production and ESG disclosure sections. Shaped, reviewed and signed off by me. A trusted extended team of writers, illustrators, data-viz specialists, accessible-PDF taggers and print producers joins for production under my direction. So you get specialist depth with a single point of contact.
I have 25 years experience as a graphic designer and creative director, establishing Jen Clark Design in 2011 after years across independent and in-house design teams. Today Annual Report Designers is trusted by Australian boards, NFPs and listed companies for annual, sustainability and impact reports.
"I have never missed a lodgement deadline. That is not luck. It is the production system we have built over 120+ reports since 2011. The brief starts with your date, and everything works backwards from there."by Jen Clark, Founder & Creative Director
- 120+reports delivered
- 2011practice founded
- 25yrsindustry experience
- AGDA · DIAprofessional member
Is a tagged PDF the same as an accessible PDF?
Do federal annual reports legally require WCAG 2.1 AA?
What testing tools do you use?
WCAG Accessible Reports for teams in every Australian capital.
Pick a state to find your local team.
Sector-led wcag accessible reports.
Pick an industry group to see the sectors we deliver for.
Tell us your lodgement date.
Send the deadline, page count and likely output formats. Quoted in writing within 48 hours.