Recognised internationally as a leader in online accessibility, people come to Digital Access for comprehensive support and advice they can trust. With expert knowledge of accessibility conformance, inclusive design and the needs of people with disability or impairment, we’ve spent over 20 years helping government and private organisations make their digital assets accessible to everyone.
We have a unique position as a pan-disability consultancy within a wider organisation that is a leading provider of blindness and low vision services in Australia. We work closely with people with a range of disabilities including cognitive, mobility, hearing and vision impairments, and alongside adaptive technology trainers who teach people with disabilities how to use assistive technologies. It’s our real-world interactions with end-users that provide us with unparalleled insights into accessibility and inform all the services we deliver.
As a social enterprise, employing the services of Digital Access at Vision Australia can form part of an organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.
Recognised expertise
Our ongoing affiliation with key organisations ensures we stay at the forefront of the industry. Since 2002, we’ve been an active member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and were instrumental in the collaborative development of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0. We gave expert advice to the Australian Government in the development of its National Transition Strategy and continue to work closely with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) towards a more inclusive digital environment. Our 2010 and 2013 research for the Australian Government into the accessibility of the Portable Document Format (PDF) continues to inform government policy and the position of the AHRC around the use of documents online. In 2014 we contributed to the revision of W3C’s PDF Sufficient Techniques for achieving WCAG 2.0 conformance and became a Founding Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). Our knowledge, innovation and passion are also sought and recognised by leading software vendors, with members of our team being named Apple Accessibility Ambassadors and Microsoft Accessibility Champions.
Our team
We employ only the most highly skilled accessibility professionals from Australia and overseas. With backgrounds in front-end development, software engineering, website design, UX, research, document accessibility services and teaching; our consultants bring a wealth of knowledge to every project, as well as a passion for empowering people through digital technology. Our team are members of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals and the World Wide Web Consortium.
The following resumes provide an indication of the breadth of expertise and experience within the core team.
Josh Crawford: National Manager Digital Access
A passionate design and customer advocate, Josh has over 10 years' commercial experience working in digital accessibility, user experience design and product development. As the manager of the Digital Access team, he works with clients to assist them in achieving their digital accessibility goals.
- Bachelor of Computing, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria
- Product Management, General Assembly, Melbourne, Victoria
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 Candidate (Global)
- Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Alison Ennis: Senior Digital Accessibility Consultant
Alison is passionate about universal design, social inclusion, and accessible usability. She actively champions accessibility; presenting and educating to raise awareness. With a particular interest in mobile app accessibility, she has worked closely with project teams from design to delivery, developing inclusive processes within standard development practice to help ensure that Accessibility is regarded as a non-negotiable part of business as usual and that the conversation continues to evolve to deliver an inclusive user experience for all.
- Doctor of Philosophy, Applied Mathematics
- University of South Australia, Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility Compliance
- Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Liz Thomas: Senior Digital Accessibility Consultant
Liz is an experienced accessibility consultant who is passionate about creating accessible components and improving cognitive accessibility. She has worked as a digital advisor in various departments of the Victorian Government, where she has focused on performing accessibility audits and assessments, providing accessibility advice to teams in design, communications, marketing, and development. Additionally, she has conducted accessibility training for departmental staff and created bespoke training programs for individual teams.
In her spare time, Liz volunteers with Accessible Community to help up-and-coming accessibility champions in grassroots organisations and is completing training as a guide runner for Achilles Melbourne.
- Diploma of Information Technology (Front End Web Development)
- IAAP Certified Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)
- Developing for Web Accessibility
- UX Design Upskiller - Harness Projects
- Diploma of Music Business
- Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Charissa Ramirez: Senior Digital Accessibility Consultant
Charissa is a senior accessibility consultant who advocates and designs for accessibility and inclusion. She has held various roles in digital channels, strategic communications, and policy teams in federal and NSW Government departments. She initiated accessibility programs and performed accessibility user research, auditing, document remediation, and training.
Charissa has been running accessibility empathy labs since 2019 to start conversations about accessibility and showcase the impact of inaccessible products due to a mismatch between user needs, design, and technology.
- Postgraduate Fellowship in Sustainable Technology and Product Development, Delft University of Technology
- Bachelor of Industrial Design, University of Santo Tomas
- IT/software applications, web accessibility techniques and testing, using assistive technology in accessibility testing (TAFE, Vision Australia and IAAP courses)
- Experience across different design disciplines: industrial design, packaging, print, digital, UX and service design.
- Member, International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Karla Patrick: Digital Accessibility Consultant
Karla is a Digital Accessibility Consultant, providing technical and remediation advice to clients to improve website and mobile app accessibility for all users. Starting out as a biomedical engineer in the UK, Karla has been involved in the design and development of many types of medical devices and assistive technologies. She has extensive experience in working directly with people who have various disabilities, conducting assessments and providing individual and group training. Accessibility and inclusivity have been key focuses of Karla’s work across different industries and this led her to become more involved in web and mobile app accessibility. She is passionate about improving access to online content for all users and she continues to advocate that technology can help lower barriers that those with disabilities encounter in their daily lives.
- MSc, BEng Medical Engineering
- Highly experienced with a wide range of assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnification software, alternative input devices and speech input software, working directly with users of these technologies
- WCAG conformance and auditing
- Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Annabeth Williams-Gilchrist: Digital Accessibility Consultant
Annabeth is a digital accessibility consultant with three years of experience in website and app auditing. She has worked in accessibility both in Australia and abroad and brings a broad perspective to accessibility auditing. She has a particular passion for the accessible design of custom components.
- Bachelor of Computer Science, Utah State University
- Extensive development experience, including work on automated testing tools, artificial intelligence, front-end scripting, and game development
- Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)