How to make a touch-screen kiosk accessible

A touch-screen kiosk only does its job if everyone who walks up to it can use it. That includes people who use a wheelchair, people who are blind or have low vision, people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and people who find small, precise finger movements hard. In Australia it's a legal question as well as a design one. The Australian Human Rights Commission's Guidelines on equal access to digital goods and services (April 2025) list "automated teller machines (ATM), ticket machines and digital kiosks" among the digital goods and services covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

This checklist is for government, council, university and event teams specifying a kiosk or an interactive stand. For the kiosks we supply, their sizes and software, see all you need to know about touch-screen kiosks.

Which standards apply?

The Commission's guidelines point to two documents:

• WCAG 2.2 (W3C Recommendation, 12 December 2024) covers what's on the screen. The W3C says it applies to web content "on any kind of device (including desktops, laptops, kiosks, and mobile devices)". The Commission's advice is that "Organisations should conform with WCAG 2.2 at a minimum Level AA".
• AS EN 301 549 is the Australian adoption of the European standard EN 301 549 (version V3.1.1), and the Commission says its requirements "should be met for all digital products including hardware". The reach and height figures below come from its clause 8.3, which covers stationary equipment such as kiosks. They are the same in V3.1.1 and V3.2.1 (March 2021), and the clause numbers are from V3.2.1.

Put accessibility in your brief or tender from the start, as the Commission recommends. The responsibility stays with you: organisations "can contract out the provision of digital goods or services but they cannot contract out their equal access responsibilities."

The checklist

#1 - Reach and height

• ☐ At least one of each type of control (on-screen buttons, keypad, card reader) sits no higher than 1,220 mm and no lower than 380 mm above the floor, where nothing blocks the reach (EN 301 549, clauses 8.3.2.1 and 8.3.2.2).
• ☐ Better still, aim for the tighter range the standard recommends: controls between 800 mm and 1,100 mm, and displays between 1,200 mm and 1,400 mm (clause 8.3.0). The newest version, EN 301 549 V4.1.1 (September 2026), requires at least one of each type of control between 800 mm and 1,100 mm wherever the design allows, and no part of a display lower than 800 mm.
• ☐ If a shelf or counter sits in front of the controls, reach drops. With an obstruction less than 510 mm deep, controls stay at or below 1,220 mm; from 510 mm up to 635 mm deep, at or below 1,120 mm (clauses 8.3.2.3.2 and 8.3.2.3.3).
• ☐ The screen is readable from a seated position. The standard requires the information to be legible from a point 1,015 mm above the centre of the operating area's floor (clause 8.3.5).

If the content won't fit those heights on an upright kiosk, a screen on its side or on a table may suit better. Our interactive flat panels can be mounted upright or horizontally, or on a table top.

#2 - Clear floor space and placement

• ☐ A level, clear floor in front of the kiosk. EN 301 549 sets a clear floor area of at least 760 mm x 1,220 mm to operate from, where a kiosk has an operating area within it (clause 8.3.4.2).
• ☐ The kiosk sits beside the main walkway, not in it.
• ☐ Power and data cables are covered or run behind the kiosk, away from the approach.
• ☐ The screen doesn't face a window or spotlight that causes glare.
• ☐ The room around it is checked too. EN 301 549 covers the kiosk itself: "Clause 8.3 does not apply to the accessibility of the physical environment external to the ICT." Raise paths and ramps with the venue early.

#3 - Screen content: contrast, text, gestures and timeouts

• ☐ Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, or 3:1 for large text, meaning at least 18 point, or 14 point bold (WCAG 2.2, 1.4.3).
• ☐ Buttons, icons and other controls have at least 3:1 contrast against the colours next to them (1.4.11).
• ☐ Colour is never the only way information is shown, for example "press the green button" (1.4.1).
• ☐ Text can be resized up to 200 percent without losing content (1.4.4); on a kiosk, offer a text-size button.
• ☐ Touch targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels (2.5.8).
• ☐ Anything done by pinching or swiping can also be done with a single tap (2.5.1). EN 301 549 makes the same point for hardware: "having to touch a surface with more than one finger" is a simultaneous action, and there must be a way to operate without it (clause 5.9). Our kiosks support touch, drag, drop and pinch, so build in buttons as well.
• ☐ Nothing on screen flashes more than three times in any one second (2.3.1).
• ☐ The timeout warns before it resets. Our kiosk software can send the screen back to a home page after a set time without a touch. WCAG's timing rule can be met by warning the user before time runs out and giving "at least 20 seconds to extend the time limit with a simple action" (2.2.1).

#4 - Sound, captions and audio

• ☐ Every pre-recorded video with sound has captions (WCAG 2.2, 1.2.2).
• ☐ Any sound that plays automatically for more than 3 seconds can be paused or stopped, or turned down separately (1.4.2).
• ☐ There is a way to use the kiosk without seeing the screen. Where a screen reader can't be added, EN 301 549 requires "at least one mode of operation using non-visual access" (clause 5.1.3.1), such as speech output. The audio can come from the kiosk itself or through "a personal headset that can be connected through a 3,5 mm audio jack, or an industry standard connection" (clause 5.1.3.2).

#5 - Alternatives to touch

• ☐ Physical controls don't need grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist, or an alternative is provided (EN 301 549, clause 5.5.1).
• ☐ Physical keys and buttons can be found without looking, for example a tactile keypad (clause 5.5.2).
• ☐ A QR code opens the same content on the visitor's own phone, where their screen reader, zoom and text settings already work. The Commission lists QR codes as digital goods too, so the page it opens must meet WCAG as well.
• ☐ Registration has another route too: our kiosks capture details through on-screen prompts and keyboard, so offer a QR form or a staff member as well.

#6 - Staff help as a backup

The Commission recommends an Alternate Access Plan for technology that falls short. It describes "how information and services will be made available to individuals with disability until they can be made accessible". The plan "does not require the person to have an identical experience but should offer an experience that can provide a similar service".

• ☐ Staff on the stand know every function the kiosk offers and can complete the task with, or for, a visitor.
• ☐ A sign at the kiosk says help is available and how to ask for it, in large, high-contrast text.
• ☐ Someone can fix content on the day. Our service team can update content on our kiosks remotely while they are running.

#7 - Testing with real users

The Commission's advice is to test "with a range of people with disability, including people who rely on assistive technologies".

• ☐ Test the finished content on the real kiosk at its real height, seated and standing.
• ☐ Test in hall lighting and hall noise.
• ☐ Include a wheelchair user, a screen reader user and someone with limited hand movement in the test group.
• ☐ Fix what fails, test again, and publish an accessibility statement, as the Commission recommends.

Settle the heights before you order, because they are hard to change once a kiosk is built. Our team can build the content, from a locked-down website to a custom app or touch-screen software, and we supply displays and kiosks for government and council teams. Send us this checklist with your kiosk brief, or call 1300 240 250, and we'll check kiosk height and software options with you before you order.