CQUniversity wins Education Website of the Year for accessibility
CQUniversity's corporate website has won Education Website of the Year at the Centre for Accessibility's Australia Access Awards 2025, recognising its achievement of WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards.
The Australian Access Awards recognise and honour outstanding achievements in digital accessibility and acknowledge best practices in creating inclusive digital spaces including websites, apps and advocacy efforts.
By celebrating excellence in digital accessibility, the Australian Access Awards inspire organisations to strive for inclusion and equality - ultimately creating a more accessible and equitable digital landscape for all Australians.
The win was achieved through collaboration between CQU's Global Brand and Marketing and Digital Services teams, and the achievement directly supports CQUniversity’s Strategic Plan goal of being Australia’s most accessible and inclusive university.
Acting Deputy Director of Digital Learning Systems Jonathon Hoff said the team had worked hard to ensure that the University's digital spaces were welcoming and usable for everyone.
"At CQUniversity, accessibility is not an afterthought – it’s a foundational principle," Mr Hoff said.
"We strive to be Australia’s most accessible university, and this ambition drives a holistic, institution-wide approach to digital inclusion."
Deputy Director of Digital Experience Susie Bate said the Global Brand and Marketing and Digital Services teams had made accessibility a strategic priority.
"We've embedded it into our digital ecosystem and advocated for a shift in institutional processes and cultural mindset," Ms Bate said.
"This award showcases our coordinated efforts across branding, technology, design, training and governance to make accessibility the standard – not the exception."
Last month CQUniversity’s website reached WCAG 2.2. Level AA compliance, following a comprehensive audit process with the Centre for Accessibility.
"Our recent university-wide brand refresh also placed accessibility at its core," Ms Bate said.
"From the outset, we designed for inclusion by implementing WCAG-compliant colour palettes, high-legibility fonts and clear visual hierarchies and careful consideration of shape, spacing and contrast These updates support users with low vision, colour blindness and cognitive impairments, while also enhancing usability for all."
The Awards were held in Perth on Wednesday, 12 November and other finalists in the category included:
- University of the Sunshine Coast: University Website
- Edith Cowan University: Strength in Diversity: Enhancing Your Employment Journey Website
- TAFE NSW: TAFE Website
- La Trobe University: University Website
- TasTAFE: TAFE Website
CQUniversity's Gabby Rothery, Chris Macpherson and Bronwyn Dickson attended the ceremony and proudly accepted the award on behalf of the University.
Key CQUniversity contributing team members to the project from the Global Brand and Marketing and Digital Services included:
- Web & UX team: Susie Bate, Kat Price, Sean Morgan, Gabby Rothery, Jill Gorman
- Brand team: Tshinta Harbort, Kylie Devine
- Digital Experience Platforms team: Jon Hoff, Troy Ross, Bronwyn Dickson, Chris Macpherson, Darren Atkinson, Jinyue Huang, Joel Smith
