Captioning, audio description and media access
This page provides links to Commission activities and other resources on captioning for people who have a hearing impairment or are Deaf. Also included are links on audio description for blind and vision impaired people; and work on access to DVDs including captioning, audio description and accessible menus.
News
- Check for media access items on our disability rights blog for news from December 2010 onwards
- Accessible cinema advisory group communique
- ASTRA exemption application refused September 2010
- Cinema access plan announced (July 2010) - see details on FAHCSIA site
- Government Discussion Paper on media access released - comments requested by 29 January 2010; see Commission media release and submission (MS Word)
- See exemptions page for latest on increasing captions on free to air and subscription television
- Government assistance for expansion of cinema captioning welcomed
- ASTRA proposed plan for next stage of captioning roll out (MS Word 1.14 MB)
Older updates
Commission resources
- Second forum on DVD access
- Commission first forum on DVD access; see also background paper from Media Access Australia (MS Word) and case studies from Deafness Forum (MS Word)
- Media release: Pay TV captioning ahead of schedule (19 July 2006)
- Press release on increases in broadcast TV captioning, March 2006
- Speech at Deafness forum of Australian 2005 Captioning Awards, Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, Disability Discrimination Commissioner
- Decision on exemption application for broadcast TV: see also Exemption application and proposal for increased broadcast television captioning; See also Broadcast television captioning complaint inquiry
- Decision on exemption application for subscription television; see also press release, press release by Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the applicants' press release; and Subscription television captioning forum documents
Commission general inquiry on captioning, 1998
Other resources
Media Access Australia including captioned cinema information
"When a word is worth a thousand pictures: improved television access for blind viewers in the digital era": (MS Word) Blind Citizens Australia report
