Success Stories
Charity/Non-Profit

Regional Disability Advocacy Service (RDAS)

RDAS is a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for the rights of people with disability across North East Victoria and Southern NSW in Australia. In 2023, RDAS recognised a significant barrier: their website wasn’t fully accessible to everyone.

As their Executive Officer, Ben Foley said, “If our online shop front is not inclusive to everyone, it defeats the purpose of having a website at all.” Determined to lead by example, they sought a digital solution that aligned with their core values of accessibility and inclusion.

Our Brief

With 5.5 million Australians (21.4% of the population) living with a disability, many face challenges accessing information online. As a disability Advocacy provider operating with limited funding, RDAS was frequently overwhelmed by support enquiries, many from people unsure whether RDAS was the right service for their needs. This led to extended waiting lists and diverted valuable resources.

RDAS needed a solution that would:

Make their website truly accessible for all users.
Empower visitors to independently determine if RDAS services matched their needs.
Demonstrate leadership in digital inclusion to inspire others in the sector.

Our Solution

RDAS implemented the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar, transforming their website into an accessible, user-friendly space for everyone. The toolbar provides a suite of customisable features, including:

Reading aids: Text-to-speech, screen masking, and magnifiers.
Styling options: Adjustable font sizes, colour contrasts, and simplified layouts.
Translation tools: Support for over 100 languages.

This solution ensures that people with disabilities, as well as their families and carers, can navigate RDAS’s digital resources with ease. Visitors can independently determine whether RDAS is the right fit for their needs, reducing unnecessary enquiries and freeing up staff to focus on providing direct advocacy support.

“Our clients have commented on the features of the Recite Me Toolbar. One client commented that they loved how it remembered their unique accessibility requirements, so when they re-visited our page, the contrast and page structure were already available to them in their format. ”

Ben Foley
Executive Officer, Regional Disability Advocacy Service