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WCAG 2.2: How CWAC and manual testing can help your accessibility goals
23 Jul 2025, 9:30 AMDive into the details on how the Centralised Web Accessibility Checker (CWAC) combined with manual testing can help you make meaningful steps toward more accessible digital services.
Making your site accessible isn't just good practice; it's now a requirement for all government agencies. That's why the Department of Internal Affairs launched the Centralised Web Accessibility Checker (CWAC) in June 2025. This automated tool uses the open source axe-core to scan sites for accessibility issues and show agencies where to improve.
Better yet, CWAC is available to anyone to use, not just government agencies. Whether you're starting your accessibility journey or refining your approach, automated testing gives you a solid foundation. In this post, we'll show you what you gain from automated testing with CWAC and why combining it with manual checks gives you the complete picture of your site's accessibility.
Why WCAG 2.2 AA matters
1 in 6 New Zealanders is disabled. Therefore, improving web accessibility means removing barriers to access of online content regardless of disability. To support improving web accessibility, WCAG are a global accessibility standard in place. WCAG 2.2 AA is one of the highest standards of WCAG, focusing on areas such as keyboard navigation, focus indicators, and reducing cognitive effort.
What CWAC provides
CWAC runs automated scans across a website, identifying non-conformance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. CWAC is a great starting point for identifying common accessibility issues, such as missing labels, low colour contrast, and incorrect headings.
The scan is helpful for:
- spotting common trouble areas,
- tracking improvements over time,
- keeping tabs on overall trends across government websites.
What automated tests miss
Automated tests such as CWAC only cover part of the WCAG standards, so they don’t catch:
- keyboard traps or broken tab orders,
- screen reader usability issues like confusing link text,
- or any of the user experience problems that make sites difficult to use in practice.
That's why to uncover the full scope of accessibility barriers, both automated and manual testing should be used.
What's next?
1. Start with CWAC (or automated testing)
If you're already part of CWAC, review the latest report and identify trends across content and pages that need a stronger focus. Otherwise, there are other free accessibility tools available to identify common accessibility gaps.
Pictured: a phone displaying the results of an automated scan using an open source accessibility tool.
2. Request a web accessibility audit
A manual audit includes using screen readers, keyboard navigation, and real user journeys to uncover the full scope of accessibility issues. At Catalyst, our accessibility experts will work with you to identify practical next steps and provide recommendations in plain English and code, so your team knows exactly what to fix and how.
Pictured: A dashboard displaying the compliance of a content page to WCAG from an accessibility audit
3. Turn your results into action
If you're unsure of where to start, just remember even the smallest changes can make a difference. Our web accessibility experts can support you at any stage of your journey. We offer:
- consultations
- accessibility audits
- training
- implementing fixes.
Pictured: a report displaying home page issues using an older version of the Catalyst site as an example. It identifies the issue with a screenshot and how to fix it in the code.
Expert accessibility support
Whether you want to fix issues yourself or need hands-on support, we can help. Contact us for web accessibility support.
Related projects
How to check your website's accessibility
Learn how to check your website's accessibility with a free open source tool.
