AODA multi-year accessibility plan: actions, owners and review dates

Who needs a written multi-year plan

Ontario requires businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees, and designated public-sector organizations, to develop a written multi-year accessibility plan. Smaller businesses and non-profits do not have this general multi-year-plan requirement.

The plan must be reviewed and updated at least once every five years. Applicable organizations must post it on their website if they have one and provide it in an accessible format on request. Public-sector organizations have additional consultation and reporting duties; this private/non-profit tool does not replace that specialist route.

Start with barriers, not a generic promise

Consider the barriers people encounter in recruitment, services, communications, documents and technology. Ask the responsible teams what has been checked and what remains unknown. A tool cannot discover every barrier from an employee-count selection.

When a barrier has not been assessed, record the assessment as an action. Do not describe a website, entrance, training program or employment process as accessible simply because there is no complaint on file.

Use a practical action register

For each selected barrier, record the intended action, accountable role, target date and how completion will be checked. Separate an internal planning target from an actual legal deadline. Avoid assigning dates that imply an overdue duty can lawfully wait.

The free pack gives the organization an implementation worksheet. It does not approve expenditure, assess technical feasibility or make a legal determination about an exception. Those decisions need the responsible people and, where appropriate, specialist advice.

• Barrier or requirement to address.
• Action and responsible role.
• Internal target and progress state.
• Evidence and method for checking the outcome.
• Plan review arrangements and accessible publication.

Example: a 65-employee service business

A fictional 65-employee business identifies inaccessible recruitment documents and a website assessment still to be commissioned. Its plan records separate HR and website-provider actions, with named roles and realistic internal targets.

The plan must not claim that assessment or remediation is complete before the work occurs. Management should review the plan, publish the appropriate public version, make it available accessibly and track progress. The tool’s checklist helps prepare that work; the organization remains responsible for doing it.

Official sources and scope

• Ontario: creating and maintaining a multi-year plan
• IASR: section 4 accessibility plans

General information, not legal advice or a compliance certificate. Check coverage, governing requirements and actual implementation. A report-preparation pack is not an official filing. Individual circumstances and specialist standards may require qualified advice.