Case Study - Elder Rights Australia

Empowering Older Victorians Through Accessible Digital Design

Elder Rights Advocacy has spent over 30 years defending the rights of older people in Victoria, providing independent information, advocacy, and support in the often-overwhelming aged care system. Their values — dignity, independence, and respect — deserved a digital presence that upheld the same standards.

Codacora partnered with Elder Rights Advocacy to deliver a modern, accessible, and high-performing website, built to support both vulnerable users and a team of advocates who needed flexibility and clarity in how they shared information.

Designing for an Older Audience, Without Assumptions

Creating a digital platform for older users requires more than just large fonts — it demands clarity, structure, and trust-building at every step. We collaborated with the Elder Rights team to create a site that was both technically robust and genuinely welcoming to all.

Key UX Considerations:

• High contrast and scalable text for visual clarity
• Calm, professional colour palette that communicates trust and authority
• Clear content hierarchies with well-structured headings and calls to action
• Simple language throughout, aligned with plain English principles

The site empowers users to find answers, get help, and contact support — without frustration, confusion, or jargon.

A Custom CMS That Works for the Team Behind the Scenes

We built a bespoke, modular content management system that lets the ERA team manage every part of their site without needing technical help. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, this CMS was crafted around real internal workflows and the unique structure of advocacy services.

Platform Highlights:

• Integrated page builder with flexible content modules — no coding required
• Custom form builder for collecting inquiries, feedback, and referrals
• Jurisdiction-specific content support, enabling the team to update services as legislation evolves
• Scalable architecture built to accommodate growth in programs and service delivery

It’s a system that evolves with the organisation — not one they have to work around.

SEO and Performance: Making Sure People Find Help Fast

We conducted a technical SEO audit and implemented a set of optimisations to ensure Elder Rights Advocacy would rank highly for key search terms, particularly in Victoria’s aged care ecosystem.

Technical Wins:

• Clean, semantic markup and structured metadata for all services and FAQs
• Fast-loading pages across mobile and desktop (PageSpeed score: 100%)
• On-page SEO strategy focused on real-world queries from older users and their carers
• Local schema and sitemaps to support search engine visibility across Victoria

These efforts significantly increased discoverability and ensured that older Australians — or those supporting them — could find trusted information quickly.

Accessibility Beyond Compliance

Accessibility wasn’t a box to tick — it was a core design principle. From day one, we built every feature of the ERA site to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

• Keyboard navigation and screen reader support
• Descriptive alt text and ARIA labels for every media element
• Clear skip links, focus states, and form error handling
• Tested with real-world assistive technology including screen readers and magnifiers

The result is one of the most accessible digital platforms in the advocacy space — and a model for others in the sector.

Outcome: A Platform That Extends Their Mission

The new Elder Rights Advocacy site reflects the organisation’s core values: clarity, independence, and support for those who need it most. With a highly usable admin system, sector-leading accessibility, and top-tier performance, the platform now serves thousands of users while making the internal team’s work easier and more scalable.

It’s not just a website — it’s a digital extension of a decades-long commitment to justice for older Australians.