Making Word files accessible

To place a Word document online, you should ensure that all parts of the document (text, hyperlinks, graphs, images, tables) are accessible. 

The key rules are to:

  • use styles to format your document (see Tagging and headings)

  • do not use repeated blank characters (eg spaces, line breaks, paragraph breaks); use paragraph styles to increase spacing between paragraphs and a page break to split pages (see Making text accessible)

  • use at least 9 point font; 10–14 point is suggested for body text

  • make sure hyperlinks are live and linked to useful text (see Hyperlinks)

  • add alt text to images, graphs and tables (see Writing alternative (alt) text)

  • present tables correctly (see Making tables accessible) 

  • avoid using Word text boxes because they make the reading order difficult to determine; to display information in a box, use the border effect in the Paragraph tab in Word

  • set document properties (title, author, subject, keywords).

Checking Word file accessibility

Many writing programs (including Microsoft Word) have a built-in accessibility checker. This tool will provide a list of potential issues that you can address to make your content accessible. 

Run the checker in Word by selecting File > Info > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility.

Review the results, and fix issues as necessary.

The Australian Government guidelines recommend that PDFs or printed reports be made available in other formats such as HTML.

Reminder. Accessibility is about the needs of your audience, not about ticking off every item in an accessibility checker. Use your judgment about making the suggested changes from the checker – you may have dealt with a particular issue in a different way that makes the content just as accessible.

However, also remember that passing the built-in accessibility checker does not necessarily mean that your content complies with accessibility guidelines.

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