It may be difficult for users to tell where they are when listening to table cell contents Provide column and row headers. Make sure tables—especially those with merged cells—make sense when read row by row from left to right Complex tables and graphs that are usually interpreted visually are unusable Provide summaries and/or text descriptions Not all screen readers support image maps Supply redundant text links for hot spots in image maps Colours are unusable Do not rely on colour alone to convey meaning Users expect links to take them somewhere Don‘t write scripts in links that don‘t have true destinations associated with them [e.g. href="javascript: function(this)"] Auditory disabilities Audio is unusable Provide transcripts for audio clips Video with audio is unusable Provide synchronous captioning and transcripts for video clips Seizure disorders Seizures caused by strobing, flickering, or flashing effects Avoid any graphics, animations, movies, or other objects which have strobing, flickering, or flashing effects. Avoid graphics that may induce nausea or dizziness Memory deficits Users have difficulty remembering which website they are using Clearly indicate context on every page (e.g. website logo) Users have difficulty completing lengthy interactive processes Use multiple pages, number and label each step clearly and provide orientation using ‘Step 1 of n‘ Problem-solving deficits Users may be unable to progress when confronted with errors Provide clear instructions, effective error handling, clear error messages with suggestions of how to resolve Users are confused by unpredictable responses on website Provide clear warnings for user interface actions (e.g. links that open documents rather than web pages) standard
When using images that clearly identify members of the public, all those shown must give their written permission. However, images of crowds are generally OK. Legal obligations Copyright Putting material on the web is publishing it. It is therefore protected under the and cannot be freely copied, downloaded or distributed. Whether in a book or on a website, material such as text, photographs, graphics, maps and tables is protected. Copyright also protects electronic material such as emails, databases, directories, computer programs and CD-ROMs/DVDs. Key points In Australia, it is not necessary to register copyright. It is automatic and does not depend on the presence of a copyright symbol. The creator of a work owns the copyright unless they have assigned it elsewhere. The government owns the copyright in works created or first published by employees on behalf of the federal, state or territory governments. Before copying, printing, saving or emailing material found on a website, check the site’s copyright statement for conditions of use. Any material copied from a website, must be accurately referenced (refer to ). Penalties for infringement of copyright include fines and imprisonment. Copyright can be very complex. If necessary, contact your agency’s legal services unit for advice. Moral rights Under the the creator of a work (as distinct from the copyright owner) has the right to: be attributed as creator of the work prevent another from falsely claiming authorship of their work prevent their work from being used in any way that may negatively affect their character and reputation. Privacy laws When publishing online, all Queensland Government agencies must comply with the . The Office of the Information Commissioner helps Queensland public sector agencies comply with this Act and publishes on their website. Photography Members of the public have the legal right to refuse publication of their image. Therefore, a photograph that clearly identifies members of the public (including agency staff) cannot be published without the written permission of all those depicted. Check to see if your agency has developed a specific form or procedure for this purpose.
Money When writing an amount of money, use decimal points for all figures when any include cents. Annual registration fees cost between $35.00 and $69.90. Annual registration fees cost between $35 and $69.90. Write amounts that are less than a dollar as a decimal fraction and always with a zero before the decimal point. The ticket is $0.69 The ticket is $.69 Amounts should include GST. In situations where GST needs to be excluded (e.g. when writing about calculating tax), note this. Million and billion Write the words ‘million’ and ‘billion’ in full in general text. Leave a space between the numbers and text. $745 million 6 billion people Use the abbreviated form ‘m’ (for million) and ‘bn’ (for billion) in headings, tables or graphs. Use lower case, no full stop and no space between the abbreviation and the number. Move the unit of measurement to the column or row header to improve readability in tables. $745m 46m people Express large dollar values as multiples of a million (for amounts of $1 million or more). $4.75 million $4,750,000 Ages When an age is used as a noun (when you can place ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ in front, or add a plural ‘s’), you should hyphenate. When used adverbially, hyphens are not needed. Five-year-olds say the funniest things. Five year olds say the funniest things. He’s 5 years old. He’s 5-years-old. Generally, unless it’s necessary to prevent confusion, you do not need to add ‘years old’ when writing an age. Avoid ‘years of age’ or ‘aged [number]’ entirely. You must be at least 18. You must be at least 18 years of age. Fractions There are two types of fractions: decimal and non-decimal. Where possible, use decimal fractions rather than non-decimal fractions.
1 year’s notice … A day’s walk … Place names do not contain apostrophes. Stones Corner Shaws Bay When two or more nouns indicate joint ownership, only the last noun takes an apostrophe. Ms Martin and Mr Blake’s strategy When the ownership is not joint, add an apostrophe to each noun. Ms Martin’s and Mr Blake’s strategies Possessive compound nouns take an apostrophe on the last word of the phrase. someone else’s idea chief of staff’s opinion Some organisations include an apostrophe in their names. Always check the official names of organisations to ensure their accuracy. Corporate Services Division Department of Veterans’ Affairs Contractions You can use apostrophes to indicate when letters have been omitted (a contraction). Example Contraction It’s cold today. It is—do not confuse with the possessive pronoun ‘its’ You’re right about that! You are—a common mistake is to write this as ‘your’. ‘Your’ is a pronoun—Your dog was sick on the couch. Who’s responsible for this? Who is—don’t mistake this for ‘whose’. ‘Whose’ is a pronoun—Whose dog was sick? He’s been to New York. He has We’ve had enough and we’re going home. We have, we are While it is fine to use contractions, there are times when you may want to spell out the full expression so that you can emphasise (bold) the ‘not’. You must not ... If you do not have ... Plurals In almost all cases, it is incorrect to use an apostrophe to show a plural.
Fractions Two-thirds, five-and-a-half hours, one and three-quarters Prefixes, but not always (check Macquarie dictionary for style) Ex-president, co-author (but coordinate and cooperate) Prefix followed by a capital letter Pre-Christian era, un-Australian behaviour Two-syllable prefixes ending in a vowel other than ‘o’, followed by a vowel Anti-aircraft, semi-official Compound nouns with a preposition The car was a write-off. The thieves’ hang-out was deserted But phrasal—‘two word’—verbs don’t need the hyphen (e.g. Let’s hang out; we’ll write off the car) Last letter of a single-syllable prefix and the first letter of the word are the same vowel Re-educate (not reeducate), de-emphasise (not deemphasise) But ‘cooperate’, ‘coordinate’ and their derivatives are no longer hyphenated Avoiding confusion Re-covered (put a new cover on) vs. recovered (retrieved, got better), re-signed (signed again) vs. resigned (acquiescent, or left a position) When not to use hyphens Situation Example Two-syllable prefixes ending in ‘o’ Macrobiotic, radioactive, retrograde Two-syllable prefixes ending in a vowel other than ‘o’, followed by a consonant Antisocial, semilunar Two-syllable prefixes ending in a consonant Hyperlink, interactive Adverb–adjective combinations (mostly -ly suffix) Wholly owned subsidiary, newly appointed officer Well-known words unlikely to be mispronounced and those now in common use Coordination, cooperation, ongoing, repositioned, reallocate, prearrange, wellbeing, reprint, frontline, statewide, subheading, lifelong, biennial When describing a range [use an en dash] Read chapters 21–25. [Not: Read chapters 21–25.]