Accessibility News in December

Exploring Accessibility in Smart Voice Technologies: W3C Workshop Announced

The W3C has opened registrations for its virtual Workshop on Smart Voice Agents, scheduled for 25 to 27 February 2026. Designed to bring together researchers, technologists and accessibility professionals, this workshop will examine how voice agent technologies can evolve to support more inclusive user experiences. 

Focus areas include accessibility and usability considerations for diverse users and developers, multimodal interaction such as voice, typing and handwriting, and how these technologies influence future Web standards. The program will also address trust, privacy and security requirements across smart voice ecosystems, along with use cases that shape interaction with smart devices, browsers and the Web of Things. 

The fully virtual event will feature pre recorded talks, online discussions and interactive sessions, with recordings and slides shared after the workshop where speakers agree. Attendance is free and open to the public. Registration details are available on the W3C's website.

Microsoft announces new accessibility features at Ignite 2025

Microsoft has introduced a set of upcoming AI-powered accessibility enhancements during its Ignite 2025 conference in a session titled Building for Everyone: How Accessibility is Shaping the Future of AI. These updates include:

• New high definition voices for Narrator and Magnifier
• Improvement to voice access using Fluid Dictation, which applies automatic corrections for grammar, punctuation and filler words
• Extending Narrator’s support for reading mathematical content using MathCAT.

These features along with others announced at Ignite 2025 will be available soon across the Microsoft suite.

Report outlines accessibility issues in ACT’s MyWay+ rollout

The ACT Standing Committee on Environment and Planning has released its report on the procurement and delivery of the MyWay+ ticketing system, outlining several areas where accessibility fell short during the initial rollout. 

Accessibility issues identified included:

• Website content not meeting WCAG
• The MyWay mobile application not accessible to screen reader users
• Inconsistent availability of onboard audio announcements.

The report highlighted that accessibility requirements were still being addressed when MyWay+ went live, with compliance work planned for later stages of delivery. Feedback from community groups, including people with disability, highlighted the need for clearer communication and more accessible pathways for account setup and support.

The Committee has made several recommendations to strengthen project oversight and support more accessible public transport services in the ACT.