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Event Accessibility Checklist: Creating inclusive events

Want to ensure your event or session is accessible to everyone in the community? Check out this detailed Event Accessibility Checklist providing guidance on transportation, signage, assistance animals, lighting, staff training, and more.

This Event Accessibility Checklist is a comprehensive guide for event organisers to make their events accessible for all community members. 

It provides essential must have considerations such as venue accessibility, transportation, signage, assistance animals, lighting, and staff training. It also includes additional good to have features and tips for effective communication and assistance for people with disability.

This resource was created by our partners Guide Dogs in collaboration with Good Things.

Must haves

These are things you must have in place to make your event or digital skills session more accessible.

Venue

  • Are there accessible public transport services near the venue? How many stops are there from major hubs? Provide this information on accessible routes from railway stations or bus stops to the event.
  • Are there drop off points for vehicles close to the entrance of the venue?
  • Are there clearly identified accessible car parking spaces available near the entrance?
  • Is there a clear, continuous accessible path of travel (CAPT) from any public transport, parking or drop-off points to the venue entrance? A CAPT is defined as a delineated pathway (minimum 1 metre wide) with no steps or barriers.
  • Is there a clear, continuous accessible path of travel from the entrance to all the areas being used as part of the event? 
  • Are all pathways clear, well lit with non-slip surfaces?
  • Are all doors wide enough (minimum 1000mm) for a wheelchair user to get through?
  • Are there accessible unisex toilets?
  • Is there a hearing loop? If not, can you install a temporary one?
  • Will audio description be provided for attendees who are blind or have low vision?
  • If the venue has fixed seating, are there removable seats for wheelchair users? What do the chairs look like? Can a dog fit underneath comfortably?
  • Is there an accessible evacuation procedure? Eg both visual and audio fire alarms are installed and working, clearly marked accessible emergency exits with accessible routes which are clear of obstruction.

Transport

  • Have you provided info on the closest transport hubs to your event with estimated walking times and gradients?

Signage

  • Do you have clear signage to indicate the main entrance?
  • Do you have clear signage to direct people to all event areas as well as amenities such as food stations, info booths, toilets and first aid?
  • Have you ensured signage is printed with clear contrast colours (black on white)?
  • Are accessible pathways clearly identified?
  • Is there an accessibility map which highlights all the accessibility elements available? This can be in an accessible electronic format or large print.

Assistance animals

  • Are there facilities for assistance animals eg a nearby grass area to toilet Guide Dogs? 

Tip: Ideally your assistance animal facilities are not accessed via road or car park crossings, and have water and shade.

Lighting

  • Is there adequate lighting?

Staff

  • Have staff (including venue-supplied staff) and volunteers been briefed on disability awareness including Guide Dog rights and any accessibility measures or requirements including emergency evacuation procedures?
  • Can there be in-person support provided throughout the event to help orientate and guide attendees? 

Tip: In-person orientation support can include meeting people at the entrance, doing a walk through whilst describing the venue, showing where the amenities are and who or how they can ask for further assistance.

Tip: Meeting people at transport hubs or drop-off points can be helpful, especially if clearly communicated prior to the event.

Digital skills learning activities

  • Do your planned activities work on all types of devices? Have you tested them on mobiles, smartphones, computers and on Android vs iOS devices?
  • Do any videos you plan to show have closed captions and audio description?
  • Are your digital skills activity instructions available in an accessible format eg in large print and using high contrast colours?
  • Will the facilitator read out the information that is on screen and describe the activities and information in easy English?
  • Have you let your staff and volunteers know about some basic accessibility settings on devices that can be turned on, so they can help people get started? Eg increasing text size and text to voice features.
  • Are there enough staff and volunteers available to provide one on one support, if needed?

Tip: Add a way for people to let you know when they register for the event if they have any specific accessibility needs. You can then tailor your support to them.

Good to haves

These are additional things that are good to have in place to make your event or digital skills session more accessible.

Venue

  • Is there a breakout space or quiet room?
  • Is there clear external signage to the event which includes visual symbols?
  • Is the information or registration desk at a height that is accessible for a wheelchair user?
  • Are there lifts with audible information and buttons with a raised tactile surface and braille markings?

Infrastructure

  • Are there easily accessible power points to charge mobility devices?
  • Have you checked for tripping hazards like cables?

Lighting

  • Can the lighting be controlled in the venue? Are there blinds we can lower to make the room dimmer if required?

Catering

  • Are there accessible facilities such as food and drink counters marked with clear visual signage?
  • Are the catering tables or food vendors (including food trucks) at a suitable height for wheelchair users?
  • Can the venue provide accessible plating or finger food? 
  • Is there clear descriptions or labelling of food with someone to help serve the food?
  • Have dietary requirements been considered and noted on the food labels?

Registration

  • Are registration forms and booking systems in an accessible format with different submission options such as web, telephone and email?

Tips for communication and assistance

We’ve been taught for years that people with disability are ‘special’ or ‘different’, which can make us overly conscious of the risk of offence when interacting with them. But, it’s important to remember, that these are people who just happen to have different access needs.

In order to offer the best event experience possible for all attendees, you may wish to include the following tips for communication and assistance in your staff or volunteer training.

General tips

  • Each person with disability is an individual with their own likes and dislikes
  • Always focus on the person, not their disability. Always address the person directly, not the other people who may be with them (such as a sign language interpreter or assistant).
  • Always ask the person first if they want assistance. Do not assume they need it.
  • If you are having a conversation that will last more than a few moments with a person using a wheelchair, bend to eye level or pull up a chair.
  • Never pat or distract an assistance animal or offer it food. It is a working animal under the control of its owner.
  • Be ready to send resources or slides out in advance, or have accessible printed copies, so people can follow along at their own pace or access what is on the screen.

For a person with low hearing or who is deaf

  • Always face the person so they can read your lips.
  • Try to make sure there are no bright lights behind you that may limit their ability to see your lips.
  • Use your normal tone of voice and volume.
  • Move out of areas with lots of background noise, if possible.
  • Always address your comments directly to a person who is deaf rather than to their interpreter (if a person who is deaf has a sign language interpreter).
  • Have a pen and paper on hand to help you communicate with the person if necessary.

For a person with low vision or who is blind

  • Always identify yourself by name.
  • Ask for their name so you can address them directly and so that they know you are talking to them and not someone else, if appropriate.
  • Ask which side you should be on if a person who is blind asks for assistance to go somewhere. Offer your arm so they can hold it just above your elbow.
  • Never pat or distract a guide dog or offer it food while it is in harness. It is a working animal under the control of its owner.