Estimating Accessibility Remediation Costs: Australian University Planning

An Australian university remediation budget should reflect local content and staff capacity. Unsupported market averages and assumed complaint costs can make a business case look precise while obscuring the work students actually need.

Measure the full workflow

Inventory active PDFs, slides, mathematical source, media and student tasks. For representative samples, record intake, repair, subject and accessibility review, verification, publication and rework time. Separate complex cases and missing sources from routine work.

Use approved fully burdened labour rates and current service quotations. Faculty time is a resource cost, even when no additional invoice or stipend is involved.

An illustrative Australian-dollar model

Assume 1,000 documents, 1.5 hours of total staff work per document and a rate of A$80 per hour. The staff-cost calculation is 1,000 × 1.5 × A$80 = A$120,000. These are hypothetical inputs, not a Go8 case study or a measured industry benchmark. Add any infrastructure and service charges excluded from the assumed staff hours.

Replace the assumptions with local measurements by format and complexity. Do not extrapolate from a simple demonstration to an entire course archive.

Evaluate assisted remediation

Aelira Core v0.9.11 is beta. Supported workflows can detect issues, suggest changes and apply eligible partial fixes. Other findings need manual work, and some inputs may not produce a downloadable remediated artifact. Review the actual saved file, its recorded fixes and its unresolved findings. An automated score does not establish WCAG conformance.

Compare complete workflows using equivalent acceptance checks. Include correction of generated changes, files with no delivered repair and specialist remediation. Only measured differences support a savings claim. An automated score or throughput count is not proof that the learning material is accessible.

Use current Australian service terms

The self-hosted software is free and open source; paid services cover support or managed hosting. Include compute, storage, provider charges and staff operations. Check current Australian pricing and obtain a written pilot quote covering operational allowances and continuation terms.

Keep the Australian legal context clear

The DDA 1992 and Disability Standards for Education 2005 provide the relevant Australian framework. US Title II 2027/2028 dates do not establish an Australian deadline. Technical standards can support evaluation or be required by a particular policy or contract; confirm their applicable scope.

Complaint-response costs depend on the actual case and advice required. Do not assume an AHRC average settlement, reputational loss, grant consequence or provider-registration outcome without a verified source. Present workload, accepted results, unresolved barriers and capacity constraints alongside the financial model.