How to fix voiceOver accessibility issues in Safari

Hello, I can't get VoiceOver (on Safari) to read text connected to elements via aria-describedby. Meaning, if I tab to a form field which has an error message connected to it, VO won't announce it at all.

I've tested the same elements using NVDA, and they work just fine. I've searched for solutions online and I have checked all the boxes in the VoiceOver Utility / Verbosity view.

What can I do? I'm sure there's something wrong with my VO setup. Suggestions, similar experiences? Thanks for your help, I'm out of ideas.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]