The previous requirement for agency websites to link to the Queensland Government Gateway, has been removed as this requirement is mandated as part of the Consistent User Experience (CUE) Standard.

The Queensland Government Gateway has been developed to provide an integrated service access point to on-line services, negating the need for client understanding on the complexities and the structure of Government.

Agencies should refer to the Domain Names Information Standard (IS39) and the Registration of a domain name instructions for further information about the procedures and requirements for selecting and requesting a qld.gov.au domain name.

Online delivery of information and services has the ability to transform business processes within Government while producing many benefits to the community. When providing information and services, agencies should also consider the following points:

• the provision of links to further authoritative information and useful services relevant to agency clients such as tips and on-line help for the agency website, FAQ's and provision of public access points; and
• publishing material online as soon as it becomes available.

Security and privacy notices

Agency privacy and security statements should be consistent with the Government's policies on privacy as defined in the Information Privacy Standard (IS42). Links to the statement should be available throughout the website.

An example of a website privacy statement which agencies can use and customise to meet their agency's needs is provided in the Information Privacy Guidelines (IS42).

Copyright notices

Agencies' website copyright notice statements should be presented in a manner and location that provides users reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. All copies of a work published with the authority of the State Government are required to include the symbol © accompanied by the name of the copyright owner and year of publication. For example - © State of Queensland (Agency Name) 2005.

In addition to a copyright notice, agencies should consider utilising a copyright statement. An example of a copyright statement and the explanation of the legislation and international treaties which imbed this requirement are available from the Intellectual Property Information Standard (IS25). Further information is also available from the Commonwealth Government Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Disclaimer notices

Disclaimer notices on agency websites should be based on individual agency requirements, and should be relevant to the website's content and purpose. Further information is available from the Intellectual Property Information Standard (IS25). Agencies may consider seeking advice from their departmental legal section to ensure that website disclaimer notices are adequate. The disclaimer notice should form part of the website content and should not simply link to, and use another agencies' disclaimer notice which is external to the site.

Agencies should consider the planning of websites and electronic service delivery as a fundamental element of business and information planning processes. Areas to consider when planning include:

• identification and review of clients' on-line needs;
• consideration of electronic service delivery applications that can better meet client needs alignment with agency charters;
• recognition of whole-of-Government policies and objectives;
• objective setting and performance measurement; and
• assessment of costs and benefits.

• ICT Resource Planning (IS2);
• Information Security (IS18);
• Intellectual Property (IS25);
• Metadata (IS34);
• Domain Names (IS39);
• Information Access and Pricing (IS33);
• Use of ICT Facilities and Devices (IS38); and
• Recordkeeping (IS40).

The Queensland Government Corporate Identity presents a single brand for State Government activities, providing cost efficiencies across Government through a distinctive corporate identity. The Queensland Government Corporate Identity maintained by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet provides further information, policies, guidelines and templates supporting the Corporate identity that agencies should be aware of when developing Internet websites.

Consistency across Government Internet websites ensures that users are able to find the information they are seeking or locate the services they require with maximum ease. Navigating between sites with a similar look and feel will reduce confusion for users, enabling them to more easily locate the information and services they need.

To facilitate this, Queensland Government has adapted a Consistent User Experience (CUE) Standard for the online environment. Developed collaboratively and supported by a whole-of-Government working group, the CUE Standard was endorsed in May 2002 by the Access Queensland CEO Working Party.

The CUE Standard will continue to mature under the guidance of the Web Steering Committee. To ensure agency websites are maturing in line with the whole-of-Government direction, agencies should review websites on an ongoing basis to ensure they remain no more than 3 minor version reviews in arrears to the currently published CUE Standard.

Enquiries relating to the CUE Standard should be directed to the Web Gateway Management team via email at gateway.team@qld.gov.au.

An Extranet is usually provided for partial access by authorised external users to an agency intranet via a valid username and password. Whilst it is not compulsory for the CUE standard to be applied to extranets, advice is available if an agency elects to adopt the standard in these environments for consistency. Enquiries relating to the adoption of the CUE Standard for an extranet should be directed to the Web Gateway Management team via email at gateway.team@qld.gov.au Agencies should also refer to the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) Portal Policy Position Paper for further information and targets related to website provision.

Internet users generally tend to "scan" rather than read documents, therefore information contained in web documents should be presented more succinctly than printed documents, with less use of jargon and more emphasis on layout, headings and highlighting important points.

The Queensland Government Web writing guide can assist agencies to develop more consistent content that is clear, concise and easy-to-understand whilst meeting the needs of their customers.

Agencies are discouraged to publish information solely in PDF format. However where it must be used the PDF publishing principles and related implementation resources should be followed when repurposing print documents for the web.

Providing users with fast access to relevant search results supports a customer-focused online service delivery environment. An effective website search facility, preferably one that indexes all file types available on the site, acts as a supplement to the website's navigation and increases the users' ability to readily locate the information and services they are seeking.

A whole-of-Government search application managed by the Web Gateway Team is available for agencies to implement and use on their Internet sites.

Searchability can be improved by optimising HTML code and website structure. The provision of appropriate keywords and metadata will allow for improved search engine results. The Metadata (IS34) provides detailed information regarding the use of online metadata requirements for agencies.

• Metadata (IS34)

To avoid potentially discriminating directly or indirectly against any user, agencies are advised to maximise website accessibility and usability for all members of the community including:

• Cognitive, physical, or visual disabilities or impairments (including colour-blindness), as outlined by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, to assist in the provision of simple interfaces, logical structure and content, and to ensure compatibility with the broad range of browsers;
• Special language or literacy needs, by providing information about interpreter and translator services, and links to the Queensland Government Gateway's Other Languages site. The Queensland Government Writing for the Web Guide also provides further information and issues to consider when developing website content in other languages;
• Telecommunications infrastructure (particularly when the target clients live in rural and remote areas of the State), when designing web pages to minimise download times for users accessing the Internet with relatively poor telecommunications infrastructure; and
• Internet enabled devices (for example mobile phones, PDAs and special devices or software such as screen reader software), consider applying accessible design principles as outlined by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 to meet the increasing requirements of this access to website information.

Accessible web pages that are easier to read, easier to navigate, and faster to download and will benefit all members of the community, not just those users with special needs. Following the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 for website design and development will make web content more available and accessible to all users.

Utilising the W3C's validation tools, technical information and checklists will assist agencies in implementing these principles. Agencies should also refer to the Consistent User Experience (CUE) Standard, and the Queensland Government Web Writing Guide for assistance and advice on developing clear, easy-to-read, credible web content.

Agencies are discouraged to publish information solely in PDF format. However where it must be used the PDF publishing principles and related implementation resources should be followed to increase the usability and accessibility of these documents types.

Members of the W3C are currently finalising version 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This draft will be monitored by the Queensland Government Chief Information Office and the Web Steering Committee.

To maintain current, accurate and high-quality online information and services that meet regulatory requirements, agencies should have appropriate management and administration procedures in place. These processes should be in line with existing agency information management practices and may include:

• authorisation and approval processes for the publishing of information;
• maintenance of online information to ensure client access to current information, for example, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and material with an expiry;
• automated or manual processes to check and manage links across the website;
• processes to check that the site continues to meet accessibility and usability requirements;
• security and privacy measures consistent with the requirement of Information Security (IS18) and Information Privacy (IS42); and
• site archival procedures for Internet content to meet the requirements of Managing Technology-Dependent Records (IS41).

Internal business processes and procedures such as regular monitoring and analysis of website usage trends and search engine queries are some methods that can be used to ensure changing user requirements are being responded to and that user needs are continually met.

It is recommended that agencies provide mechanisms, for example e-mail, for receiving customer comments regarding website content or information.

Monitoring and analysing feedback, requests and comments may assist agencies with planning Internet initiatives or website redevelopments, for example to determine if and when new or updated information should be added to the site, or if the site structure could be improved to enable users to locate information or services more easily.

Internet security is a critical ongoing issue for agencies. Agencies should assess their web security requirements and develop policies and controls to manage all aspects of online activities as defined in the Information Security Standard (IS18). Some of the areas to consider when minimising risk in the online environment include:

• ongoing review of technical and virus security measures;
• ongoing review of the confidentiality and privacy of all Internet related information;
• use of the Internet for inappropriate purposes (by either members of the public or Government employees, for example unauthorised accessing, transmitting or storing of material); and
• conflict with other Government policies, for example anti-discrimination or privacy.

During election periods, agencies need to observe Caretaker Conventions with regard to Internet sites. These requirements are outlined in the Caretaker Conventions on Marketing/Communication during Election Periods located on the Department of the Premier and Cabinet website.

• Recordkeeping (IS40);
• Managing Technology-Dependent Records (IS41);
• Information Security (IS18); and
• Use of Communication and Information Devices (IS38).

Legal issues relevant to linking include, but are not limited to:

• intellectual property (copyright including moral rights, trade mark, patents);
• fair trading;
• misrepresentation;
• misleading or deceptive conduct under trade practices laws; and
• defamation.

While no simple answer or prescriptive checklist exists, assessing risks when linking to external sites may generally relate to:

• the type of website being linked to, for example whether website users are required to agree to any terms or conditions of use as part of their access to the site, but linking to pages within the site which avoids users being taken through these conditions;
• the risk of any possible commercial loss occurring through the act of linking; and
• whether linking to a site could be regarded as being responsible for contributing to further distribution of illegal material or may exhibit ethical or political bias.

The term "deep linking" refers to the act of hyper-linking to an off-site web page which is not the home page of the website being linked to, i.e. linking to internal pages of an off-site website.

As a result of deep linking, any advertising, trademarks and signs of ownership, and legal notices (such as acknowledgements, trademark and copyright warnings) existing on the site's homepage are bypassed. However, it should be recognised that linking to home pages of some types of sites may also present similar risks as "deep linking", particularly if there is a likelihood of any commercial loss occurring through the act of linking.

Administrative overheads in managing and maintaining deep links should also be considered, as external sites will inevitably change their structure requiring constant monitoring for broken links on agency sites.

The term "inline linking" means incorporating files, such as images, in web pages by linking to them on other websites and displaying them inline. Inline linking makes it appear to the website user that a file being displayed is part of the web page when, in fact, it is owned and hosted by another website.

Depending on the circumstances, this can also be misrepresentative to the website user. Generally, inline linking should be avoided, as case law exists to suggest that this type of linking can violate copyright laws.

The term "framing" refers to the act of linking a website to an external website and displaying the linked site through a frameset rather than in its original form. Framing should be avoided as it may breach copyright, trademark, patent and fair-trading laws; a number of legal cases now support this.

Prior to linking to non-Queensland Government websites, agencies should consider first checking the linked website for any permissions, specific conditions of use, or authorisations that may be required from site owners, in an effort to reduce the likelihood of future legal infringements.

The process of linking into non-Queensland Government websites should involve first assessing the possible risks in linking, and if necessary seeking any required copyright permission from the external site owner. Risk assessment processes should be in place to reassess the links on an ongoing basis.

When an agency is a partner in a joint external website (i.e. not qld.gov.au), the agency should also ensure that risks are assessed in terms of accessibility and legal issues.

Risks and accessibility considerations should be assessed when developing solutions to this issue, for example, will notices/disclaimers be provided for each external link or any link to a website, or will all links to non-Queensland Government information open in a new window.

Caution should be exercised when linking to commercial websites to ensure no implicit endorsement is provided or any commercial advantage is given which is inconsistent with Government policy.

When making decisions about what constitutes implicit endorsement and commercial advantage in terms of website content and linking to commercial websites, agencies should be guided by the principles provided in:

• Queensland Government Sponsorship Policy;
• Queensland State Purchasing Policy;
• ICT Procurement (IS13); and
• Agencies' own relevant internal policies and procedures.

• ICT Procurement (IS13)