Vision Australia has advocated in support of audio description on Australian television on behalf of our community for many years. In late August, Minister Turnbull wrote to Vision Australia advising us that there will be a trial Audio Description service introduced on the ABC’s iView service starting from April 2015.
The new trial is expected to run for 15 months, with the Audio Description service on iView initially being made available on the iPhone Operating System platform. The trial will then expand to progressively allow access through other platforms including Android, via personal computers and Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV by August 2015.
Vision Australia supports efforts to increase access to catch-up television for Australians who are blind or have low vision and hope that this trial will be a positive step towards the introduction of Audio Description on free-to-air television. However, the provision of audio description on iView alone will not meet the needs of the 350,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision, many of whom lack the technology needed to engage with catch-up television. Limiting audio description to catch-up television excludes people who are blind from watching TV programs at the same time as the rest of the community
Vision Australia believes that only significant changes to the Broadcasting Services Act to mandate minimum targets for audio description on both the ABC and commercial stations will produce an equitable outcome for people who are blind or have low vision.
Vision Australia will continue to advocate for this outcome. A number of Vision Australia clients have lodged complaints against the ABC under the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to this matter. If you would like to lodge a similar complaint against one of the commercial stations, the Advocacy team can provide information to assist.
Please contact our advocates who can assist on [email protected] or call Karen Taranto on 9864 9388.
The new trial is expected to run for 15 months, with the Audio Description service on iView initially being made available on the iPhone Operating System platform. The trial will then expand to progressively allow access through other platforms including Android, via personal computers and Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV by August 2015.
Vision Australia supports efforts to increase access to catch-up television for Australians who are blind or have low vision and hope that this trial will be a positive step towards the introduction of Audio Description on free-to-air television. However, the provision of audio description on iView alone will not meet the needs of the 350,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision, many of whom lack the technology needed to engage with catch-up television. Limiting audio description to catch-up television excludes people who are blind from watching TV programs at the same time as the rest of the community
Vision Australia believes that only significant changes to the Broadcasting Services Act to mandate minimum targets for audio description on both the ABC and commercial stations will produce an equitable outcome for people who are blind or have low vision.
Vision Australia will continue to advocate for this outcome. A number of Vision Australia clients have lodged complaints against the ABC under the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to this matter. If you would like to lodge a similar complaint against one of the commercial stations, the Advocacy team can provide information to assist.
Please contact our advocates who can assist on [email protected] or call Karen Taranto on 9864 9388.