If your Ontario business has a website—and has 50 or more employees—you are legally required to meet specific web accessibility standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). An AODA website compliance audit is the most reliable way to know whether you meet those standards before regulators or complainants find out that you don't.
This guide explains exactly what the AODA requires, what an AODA compliance audit involves, and what happens when businesses fail to act.
What Does AODA Actually Require for Websites?
The AODA's Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) mandates that:
- Organizations with 50+ employees must make all new and significantly refreshed web content conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA (with two exceptions: live captioning and audio description of pre-recorded video).
- All public-sector organizations, regardless of size, must meet the same standard.
- New websites launched after January 1, 2014, must comply immediately.
- Existing websites must have been brought into compliance by January 1, 2021.
In practice, WCAG 2.0 AA is now considered the floor. Most modern accessibility audit services—including EqualAudit—benchmark against WCAG 2.2 AA, which is more comprehensive and better reflects current assistive technology usage.
What Does an AODA Website Compliance Audit Examine?
A thorough AODA-focused audit maps every finding directly to a specific WCAG success criterion and IASR obligation. Here is what gets examined:
- **Perceivable Content**
- Do all images have descriptive, meaningful alt text? (WCAG 1.1.1)
- Does text meet a 4.5:1 contrast ratio against its background? (WCAG 1.4.3)
- Are videos captioned and do pre-recorded videos include audio descriptions? (WCAG 1.2.x)
- Can users resize text to 200% without losing content or functionality? (WCAG 1.4.4)
- **Operable Interface**
- Is every feature accessible using only a keyboard, with no focus traps? (WCAG 2.1)
- Is there a visible focus indicator on every interactive element? (WCAG 2.4.7 and the enhanced 2.4.11 in WCAG 2.2)
- Does the page include skip navigation links so keyboard users can bypass repetitive header menus? (WCAG 2.4.1)
- **Understandable Content and UI**
- Is the page language declared in the HTML? (WCAG 3.1.1)
- Do form error messages explain precisely what went wrong and how to fix it? (WCAG 3.3.1, 3.3.3)
- Are labels associated programmatically with every form input? (WCAG 1.3.1)
- **Robust Code**
- Does the site use valid, semantic HTML so assistive technologies can parse it reliably? (WCAG 4.1.1)
- Are ARIA attributes used correctly—not as a shortcut for broken semantics? (WCAG 4.1.2)
- Are status messages (like form success notifications) announced to screen readers via ARIA live regions without requiring focus? (WCAG 4.1.3)
What Are the Consequences of Non-Compliance?
The AODA is enforced by the Ontario government. Penalties for non-compliance can reach $100,000 per day for corporations. Beyond government enforcement, organizations in Ontario can also face complaints filed with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario under the Ontario Human Rights Code, which addresses discrimination on the basis of disability—an avenue that has been used successfully against inaccessible websites.
The reputational risk is equally significant. A public complaint, even one that is resolved, signals to customers, partners, and employees that your organization did not prioritize inclusion.
The Difference Between a Compliance Review and a Full Audit
A compliance review might simply check whether a handful of WCAG checkpoints pass an automated scan. A full AODA website compliance audit:
- Tests all pages, not just the homepage
- Includes manual keyboard and screen reader testing
- Maps every finding to a specific WCAG criterion and AODA obligation
- Delivers a prioritized, developer-ready remediation roadmap
- Provides a compliance status letter you can show regulators or clients
How EqualAudit Delivers AODA Compliance Audits
At EqualAudit, every AODA website compliance audit includes automated scanning, manual keyboard testing, NVDA and VoiceOver screen reader walkthroughs, a full WCAG 2.2 AA gap analysis, and a prioritized fix list your developers can implement immediately. We serve businesses across Ontario—from Toronto to Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and beyond.
The AODA deadline has passed. If your site isn't compliant, every day of delay increases your exposure.
👉 Request your AODA website compliance audit at equalaudit.com and get a clear picture of where you stand.