Complying With Ontario’s Accessibility Regulations
ON THIS PAGE:
- About Disabilities and the Accessibility Regulations
- Requirements for Businesses Under the Five AODA Pillars:
- Summary of Requirements Based on Business Size
- Assessing Barriers at Your Business
- Additional Resources
Disclaimer:
The information provided on this page is intended for informational purposes only and highlights key items of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). It is not intended as, and should not be construed as, legal advice. The contents of this page do not constitute legal counsel and may not reflect the most current standards or interpretations. Should you require assistance in interpreting the legislation or the regulation, please contact your legal adviser.
Last updated: March 6th, 2025.
About Disabilties & the AODA:
In Ontario, 1 in 4 people have a disability. Not all disabilities are visible to the naked eye. Examples of disabilities include (and are not limited to):
- Physical disabilities
- Hearing impairment
- Vision impairment
- Speech impediment
- Mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder)
- Autism and Asperger’s syndrome
- Sensory and processing difficulties
- Cognitive impairment (dementia, brain injury, or learning disabilities)
- Non-visible health conditions (epilepsy, diabetes, chronic pain or fatigue, respiratory conditions, incontinence)
Every business with at least one employee that provides goods, services or facilities must comply with the Accessibility for Ontarian’s with Disabilities Act (AODA).
Is Your Business In Compliance?
There are five accessibility pillars in place under the AODA:
- Customer Service
- Employment
- Information and Communications
- Transportation
- Design of Public Spaces
Each of these five pillars include mandatory training or items that businesses must implement in order to comply with the AODA.
Requirements FOR BUSINESSES:
All employees, volunteers, and anyone contracted to provide goods, services or facilities to customers on your behalf, regardless of business size, must receive AODA customer service training. This training is available for free through the Ministry of Labour’s Website. Click here to access. Training must also be provided when there are any changes to your own accessible customer service policies.
2) Employment/Hiring Practices:
The Ontario Human Rights Code requires all employers to meet the accommodation needs of employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. The Employment Standard Act builds on this requirement. It requires employers to have processes in place to determine an employee’s accommodation needs. Every business with at least one employee that provides goods, services or facilities must comply.
The Employment Standards Act requires employers to inform all employees, both new and existing, of their accessible employment practices. This includes, but is not limited to, policies on providing job accommodations that take into account an employee’s accessibility needs due to disability. This will make all employees aware of how the organization will support them if they have a disability — or should they acquire a disability later in their career.
Recruitment Practices:
There are three requirements to follow:
- Advertising job positions: state that accommodations for job applicants with disabilities are available on request in your job ads.
- Inviting job applicants to participate in the selection process: state that accessibility accommodations are available on request to support their participation. For example, when scheduling interviews, ask if any accessibility accommodations are needed for the recruitment process (ex: material given to candidates during the interview be provided in large print).
- Offering a job to a successful applicant: inform them of your organization’s policies on accommodating employees with disabilities. This could be verbally, in person, by email, or in an offer letter.
3) Information & Communications
All businesses must provide information or communications in an accessible format upon request. This also applies when responding to customer feedback. You have the flexibility to determine the most appropriate accessible format or communication support depending on the accessibility needs of the person and the capability of your business to deliver. Examples of accommodations may include:
- Alternatives to standard print (large, clear fonts)
- Recorded audio
- Reading out-loud
- Electronic or hand written communications
- Captioning videos
- Braille
- Sign language
Businesses are also required to provide their emergency plans (if they have one in place) in an accessible format upon request.
- Shuttle services (ex: shuttle from airport using vehicle) and charter boat services are exempt from AODA regulations.
- Federally regulated transportation such as rail and aviation services are also exempt and must comply with standards set by Transport Canada.
The requirements of the standard are divided into seven sections:
- Recreational trails & beach access routes
- Outdoor public use eating areas (picnic grounds)
- Outdoor play spaces
- Exterior paths of travel (sidewalks, walkways, ramps, stairs, curbs, rest areas)
- Accessible on & off-street parking spaces
- Obtaining services (service counters, waiting areas)
- Maintenance planning
The AODA standard requires organizations to incorporate accessibility when:
- Building new public spaces, or
- Making planned significant alterations to existing public spaces.
- Organizations are not required to retrofit public spaces to meet the requirements. This means that organizations are not required to alter their public spaces if they have no plans to do so. The requirement only comes into effect when making significant renovations/alterations to a space.
- Accessibility for elements related to buildings, for example, building entrances, washrooms and barrier-free paths of travel, are addressed through Ontario’s Building Code.
Learn more about the public space requirements by clicking here.
OTHER requirements under the AODA include:
- Accessibility Policies (all businesses)
- Accessibility Reporting (businesses with 20+ employees)
- Accessibility Plans (for large businesses – 50+ employees)
- Website Standards (for large businesses – 50+ employees)
When creating your accessibility policies and plans, make reasonable efforts to ensure that these policies are consistent with the key principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity.
All businesses, regardless of size, must create an accessibility policy which outlines what they do, or what they intend to do, to meet the AODA regulations. These policies serve as rules that guide your businesses everyday practices.
Difference Between An Accessibility Policy and an Accessibility Plan:
An accessibility policy states what rules or principles an organization will put in place to support achieving its accessibility goals.
An accessibility plan describes the actions an organization will take to prevent and remove barriers and when it will do so. An accessibility plan creates a road map for an organization to increase accessibility. It’s the actions that support an organization’s commitment to accessibility and its accessibility policies. An example of an action item in an accessibility plan could be how your business intends to meet the accessible formats and communication supports requirements, or ways you will make your cabins, docks, paths, etc. accessible to meet the AODA regulations.
Statement on Creating Accessible Spaces:
The Ontario Building Codes have also been modified to incorporate requirements to enhance accessibility as per the AODA. Businesses who undergo renovations will be required to meet these new building codes. We recommend including a statement on your websites and within your accessibility policies and plans, for example:
- “When [BUSINESS NAME] redesigns or redevelops any space including, but not limited to, a parking area, outdoor eating area or play space, exterior path of travel, recreational trail or beach access route, or an indoor or outdoor service counter, waiting area, dock, guest cabin, etc., we will do so in accordance to the Design of Public Spaces Standard of the AODA and the Ontario Building Codes.”
SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS BASED ON BUSINESS SIZE:
Small Businesses: 1 to 49 employees:
- Business to provide information and communications in an accessible format upon request.
- State that accessibility accommodations are available upon request in their hiring practices.
- All employees, volunteers, contracted workers, etc., must receive AODA training.
- Must have an accessibility policy which outlines what they do, or what they intend to do, to meet the AODA regulations.
- Incorporate AODA and new Ontario Building Code standards to incorporate accessibility when building new public spaces, or making planned significant alterations to existing public spaces
Small businesses are not required to have multi-year accessibility plans, but it is recommended that your business look into creating one to help you to monitor your compliance with the AODA regulations over the years, show your potential clients you are an inclusive business, and help you adapt more quickly in the event of regulatory changes.
If you have 20+ employees: You will also need to submit an AODA compliance report with the Ministry of Labour every three years. Click here to learn more. The next report deadline is December 31st, 2026.
Large Businesses: 50+ employees:
- Business to provide information and communications in an accessible format upon request
- State that accessibility accommodations are available upon request in their hiring practices.
- Must keep a record of the AODA training provided to employees, volunteers, contracted workers, including the date the training took place and number of individuals trained.
- Must have a written & documented accessibility policy that you must make publicly available in an accessible format upon request.
- Must create a multi-year Accessibility Plan
- Establish, document and maintain an accessibility plan
- Post the accessibility plan on your website, and provide the plan in an accessible format upon request
- Review & update your accessibility plan once every 5 years
- Document individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities. This will help organizations have a clear and consistent approach for accommodating employees with disabilities. Plans must include:
- How the employee can participate in the process
- How the employer can seek outside expert advice to help determine an employee’s accommodation needs
- How the privacy of personal information will be protected
- How often the plan will be reviewed
- Submit an AODA compliance report with the Ministry of Labour every three years.
- Include a statement of your business’ commitment to accessibility on your website.
- All websites must conform with WCAG 2.0 Level AA
- An example of a Level AA accessibility feature on a web page is properly named headings and labels, which enable people using screen reader technology to scan through the information on a web page efficiently.
- Incorporate AODA and new Ontario Building Code standards to incorporate accessibility when building new public spaces, or making planned significant alterations to existing public spaces
Assessing Barriers At Your Business
A barrier to accessibility is anything that may prevent someone with a disability from fully participating in society. Doing a quick assessment of your business may help you develop your accessibility policy and multi-year plan to remove or prevent accessibility barriers and help you reach compliance with the AODA.
Below is a list of items to consider when thinking of excellent customer service and addressing potential barriers at your business:
- Push buttons on doors
- Ramps
- Widening of spaces to make them wheelchair accessible
- Size and type of fonts on printed materials
- Using technology: creating more accessible websites (ex: screen-reading software support, voice overs, closed captioning, larger size font)
- Removing assumptions and stereotypes around disabilities
- Offering accommodations to different disabilities in your hiring process
Procurement Process:
Businesses should consider incorporating accessibility criteria when procuring products or services. This may make a significant impact on preventing new accessibility barriers and addressing existing ones. For example, your organization might set accessibility criteria when procuring new computer software so that it can accommodate the needs of people with vision loss, or the widening of docks and purchase of accessible boats to accommodate those with with physical disabilities.
Additional Resources To Help You Comply
For more information to help you comply with the AODA, please visit the Ontario Government’s website.
Visit Access Forward for free training modules for you and your employees.
Government of Ontario’s Accessibility Checklist
How to Create an Accessibility Policy &/or Accessibility Plan
How to file your accessibility report (if more than 20 employees).