Media Access Australia (MAA) has released a report, Captioning on Video on Demand: It’s Time for Australia to Catch Up, which shows that most video on demand and catch up TV providers are failing to make their content accessible for Deaf and hearing impaired viewers.
Deaf WA woman, Drisana Levitzke-Gray, has been announced as a finalist in the National Disability Awards, held at Parliament House each year on 3 December.
Former president of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Dr Markku Jokinen received an honorary doctorate degree from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Jyväskylä of Finland on 24 August 2013.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network has called for new legislation that would mandate minimum standards around accessibility for content and communications services, which is necessary to ensure no Australians are excluded from the digital age.
At the M-Enabling Australasia 2013 conference in Sydney in August, ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said too many consumers were missing out due to inaccessible technology. She said that the USA 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act is a model that Australia should follow.
Deaf Australia is pleased to say that the Government, through DEEWR, have confirmed that the Coalition currently do not have plans to change the funding of the EAF program, particularly the Auslan component.
The Assistant Minister for Social Services, Senator Mitch Fifield, said that the Coalition does not propose any cuts to the Employee Assistance Fund.
“Social and economic participation by people with disability is integral to the inclusion of people with disability in society, a central tenet of the NDIS of which the Government has repeatedly stated its strong and unequivocal support,” said Senator Fifield.
Deaf Australia would like to thank DEEWR and Senator Fifield for promptly responding to the issues raised in our media release.
“In my discussions with the Department, I reinforced that the EAF program as a whole is important to Deaf people,” said Deaf Australia Acting President Mr Todd Wright, “Deaf people need access to Auslan interpreters as well as access to captioning and notetaking services, and workplace modifications including technology and equipment.”
The Department has also advised us that eventually the EAF will be moved under the Disability portfolio in the Department of Social Services, under the responsibility of Senator Mitch Fifield, Assistant Minister of Social Services.
However, we are still concerned about the Government’s decision to axe the Disability Ministry and are calling for this portfolio to be immediately reinstated.
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The day before the M-Enabling Conference, Phil Harper organised, and Australian Communication Exchange sponsored, a roundtable meeting of invited people to meet with Karen Peltz Strauss who was one of the keynote presenters at the conference. Here’s a summary of what was discussed.
“With this decision, Tony has already broken his promise made in his victory speech, saying there would be “no surprises, no excuses’,” said Deaf Australia Acting President Todd Wright today. “He has shown his true colours by further marginalising one of the most vulnerable minority groups in Australian society.”
“Cutting the Disability Ministry and Parliamentary Secretary for Disability role proves Abbott is out of touch with Australian people and wants to make sure we have no way to communicate our needs to the government,” said Mr Wright, “It is easy to ignore the needs of vulnerable people when there is no-one responsible for ensuring their wellbeing.”
This is the latest in a series of anti-disability decisions Abbott hoped would go unnoticed. Deaf Australia has been told that the Coalition’s last-minute policy costings, released the day before the election, appear to show plans to pay for election promises by axing 50% of the Employment Assistance Fund (EAF); an already pitifully small fund that covers vital interpreting, captioning and notetaking services, and workplace modifications for Deaf people in employment.
The EAF is an essential tool used by potential Deaf employees to gain access to job interviews, to secure a job, and to develop a meaningful career, by removing barriers in the workplace.
“If the EAF is cut, many Deaf people will be at risk of losing their jobs, as their employers will not be able to afford to pay for interpreters and other requirements that they need,” explained Mr Wright, “Forcing Deaf people back onto the dole is irresponsible and old-fashioned and will cost the government much more in the long run.”
Many Deaf employees find the current EAF funding level inadequate for their career development needs, so any cuts will be a huge step backward.
“Abbott is washing his hands from disability issues by removing critical ministry and parliamentary secretary roles in his cabinet,” explained Mr Wright, “He is out of touch with what the disability sector needs and will drag down long-term productivity gains in the workforce contradicting key Liberal policy.”
Deaf Australia is calling for the Abbott government to immediately reinstate the Disability Ministry and to clarify their commitment to the Employment Assistance Fund.
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It is an opportunity for Deaf people to:
It is also an opportunity for organisations involved with the Deaf Community to:
National Day of Deaf People (NDDP) will be on Sunday 20 October 2013.
The theme for this year is the same theme as the World Federation of the Deaf International Week of Deaf People for 2013:
Be creative and start thinking about how you can celebrate Deaf culture!
The types of things you could organise for NWDP are:
You will need to register your event with Deaf Australia to make sure it is a part of the official NWDP program. Registration also means your event will be listed on Deaf Australia’s website and will be promoted along with all the other official NWDP events, so people know what is happening all over Australia during that week.
To register, read the Terms of Reference on the Deaf Australia website, then fill out the registration form and send it with your flyer and any other promotional materials to your Deaf Australia state branch for them to collate and send to head office. ACT, NT and Tasmania can send their registrations direct to Deaf Australia.
You must register with your state branch by Friday 13 September 2013 in order for everything to arrive at Deaf Australia on time.
When promoting your event, there is some information you must include:
Remember you must include the Deaf Australia NWDP logo on all promotional materials, such as flyers, posters and DVDs etc. It is very important to use the logo so that that everyone will know your event is part of the official NWDP program.
If you are promoting your event verbally or using Auslan (eg on radio or TV), you need to be clear that NWDP is Deaf Australia’s national week for celebrating Deaf culture. For example, you could say: “As part of Deaf Australia’s NWDP, I have great pleasure in running this event…”.
Please download the registration information and start thinking about how you can get creative about celebrating Deaf people and culture during National Week of Deaf People!
[button url=”https://deafaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/NWDP-collateral.zip” class=”button” size=”jumbo” color=”green-2″ target=”_self” lightbox_content=”” lightbox_description=””] Download all the NWDP documents (.zip 4.5MB) [/button]
This file contains, the guidelines, registration form, NWDP logos (as PDF, EPS, JPEG and PNG files) and the logo usage guide.
[button url=”https://deafaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/NWDP-Guidelines-2013.pdf” class=”button” size=”jumbo” color=”cool-blue” target=”_self” lightbox_content=”” lightbox_description=””] Download the NWDP guidelines only (PDF 444KB) [/button]
[button url=”https://deafaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Event-Rego-for-NWDP-2013.doc” class=”button” size=”jumbo” color=”lime-green” target=”_self” lightbox_content=”” lightbox_description=””] Download the NWDP registration form only (.doc 256KB) [/button]
“We are proud to congratulate Mr Allen on this appointment,” said Deaf Australia President Ann Darwin, “He does excellent work in promoting Deaf rights with WFD and it is great to see an Australian Deaf person in another pivotal role on the world stage.”
The IDA, established in 1999, is a network of global and regional disabled people’s organisations (DPOs). It aims to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities as a united organisation of persons with disabilities utilising the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments. The IDA participates as representatives of representative organisations of persons with disabilities at the national, regional and international levels.
The IDA, along with member organisations around the world, provides a voice to people living with a disability. There are many Disabled People’s Organisations worldwide, and although they represent over one billion people, they are the most frequently overlooked minority group.
The United Nations system both in New York and Geneva acknowledges the IDA’s unique composition as a network of the foremost international disability rights organisations and as the most authoritative representative voice of persons with disabilities.
We were overwhelmed with parents, Deaf community members, Deaf educators and summit participants who wanted to tell their story on camera.
Please watch this video and share it with your colleagues, friends, schools, service providers and whoever else you think needs to know more about the real life experiences of people who use the system.
