Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

What it is

Ontario's 2005 act, operationalized through the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR, O. Reg. 191/11). The information-and-communications standard requires WCAG 2.0 Level AA conformance for new and significantly refreshed public websites and web content.

Why it matters

AODA is one of the few accessibility regimes with both proactive reporting *and* active enforcement — the Ministry has issued tens of thousands of director's orders and monetary penalties. Public-sector and large-private compliance is verified, not assumed.

Who it applies to

Public-sector organizations of any size and private/nonprofit organizations with 50+ employees operating in Ontario.

• Site types: Government, Education, Nonprofit, Corporate / B2B, E-commerce, SaaS / Product
• Jurisdictions: Canada

How WQI scores it

Web Quality Index considers this standard satisfied when all of the 6 supporting factors pass.

0 of 6 supporting factors are currently collected. Sites where the remaining 6 haven't been measured will show as partial or unknown on this standard until the data lands.

Related standards

Implements

WCAG AA

See also

ACA , WCAG 2.1 AA , WCAG AA

Standards that share factors with this one

Auto-computed from overlapping factor tickets in satisfiedBy, excluding standards already listed under "See also" above. Strong overlap suggests these standards rise and fall together when sites are scored.

• ADA Title III (digital) 6 shared factors Accessibility Courts treat consumer-facing U.S. websites as places of public accommodation. WCAG AA conformance is the de-facto safe-harbor — the DOJ has said so since 2022.
• Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung 2.0 6 shared factors Accessibility Germany's federal accessibility regulation. Mandates WCAG 2.1 AA (via EN 301 549) for federal public-sector websites, intranets, and mobile apps.
• European Accessibility Act 6 shared factors Accessibility As of June 2025, e-commerce, banking, transport, and digital services in the EU must meet WCAG 2.1 AA — or pay fines that escalate per member state.
• Israeli Standard 5568 6 shared factors Accessibility Israel's adoption of WCAG 2.0 AA, made binding for nearly every commercial website serving Israeli users by Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities Regulations.
• JIS X 8341-3:2016 6 shared factors Accessibility Japan's national web accessibility standard. Identical in substance to WCAG 2.0 — public-sector sites are expected to conform, private sector encouraged.

Other references

• regulation AODA 2005 statute (Ontario e-Laws)
• guidance How to make websites accessible (Ontario)