Accessibility

1. What we are aiming for

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, level AA, applied to both mobile apps and to the website. That is the standard South African public bodies are held to under the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and it is the right bar for a service that helps people run their homes.

Beyond a standard, the commitment is simpler: a person who uses a screen reader, who needs large text, who cannot use a touch screen precisely, or who does not read English well should be able to post a job, get a quote and hire a tradesperson without help.

2. What we do

• Every control has a label a screen reader can speak, and every image that carries meaning has a description.
• Text scales with your system text size, up to the largest setting, without cutting off.
• Colour is never the only way something is shown. A verified badge has a shape and a word, not only a green tint.
• Touch targets are at least 48 by 48 density-independent pixels.
• Text contrast meets 4.5 to 1 against its background in both light and dark themes.
• The app respects your system setting to reduce motion.
• Nothing times out while you are reading, and a one-time code gives you long enough to enter it.
• Voice input is available for describing a job, so that typing is not required.

3. What we know falls short

TO BE CONFIRMED — the current audit findings. This section will list, honestly, the screens and components that do not yet meet the standard, and the date we expect each to be fixed. A page that claims full conformance without an audit behind it is worth less than one that lists its gaps.

4. If something does not work for you

Tell us the screen, what you were trying to do, and what assistive technology you use if any. We treat an accessibility failure as a bug with the same priority as a crash, we tell you when it is fixed, and we do not ask you to prove you are disabled.

If you cannot use the app at all for a task, we will do it with you over the phone or by email, at no charge, until it is fixed.

5. These documents in another format

Every document in this library is available as large print, as plain text, or read to you over the phone. Ask at access@toolbox.africa and say which you need.

6. Language

The apps and these documents are in English. South Africa has eleven other official languages, and section 22 of the Consumer Protection Act entitles you to information in plain language, which for many people means their own. We do not yet offer the documents in other languages. If you need one explained in isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sesotho or another official language, ask, and we will arrange it. This is a gap, and it is listed here as one.