diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0a20fe5e..eeba0855 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,11 +5,12 @@
 * Make removed URL check redirect-aware and add support for reusable workflow contexts
 * Exclude utility directories from builds and checks
 * Update link to documentation in README
+* Skip pa11y installation if it is already present
 
 ### Changed
 
 * `docs/conf.py` [#610](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/610)
-* `docs/Makefile` [#605](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/605), [#610](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/610)
+* `docs/Makefile` [#605](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/605), [#610](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/610), [#627](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/627)
 * `README.md` [#603](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/603)
 * `.github/workflows/cla-check.yml` [#606](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/606)
 * `.github/workflows/check-removed-urls.yml` [#612](https://github.com/canonical/sphinx-stack/pull/#612)
diff --git a/docs/Makefile b/docs/Makefile
index d207fb9e..263131e7 100644
--- a/docs/Makefile
+++ b/docs/Makefile
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ $(DOCS_VENVDIR):
 	@touch $(DOCS_VENVDIR)
 
 pa11y-install:
-	@command -v $(PA11Y_CMD) >/dev/null || { \
+	@test -x $(firstword $(PA11Y_CMD)) >/dev/null || { \
 			echo "Installing \"pa11y\" from npm..."; echo; \
 			mkdir -p $(DEV_DIR)/node_modules/ ; \
 			npm install --prefix $(DEV_DIR) pa11y; \