ABF submission to ACMA Review ofthe captioning obligations in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992

July 2016

About the Australian Blindness Forum

Australian Blindness Forum is the peak body representing blindness, low vision and rehabilitation in the blindness sector. ABF was formed in 1992 and is funded only by its members. ABF is an Australian public company limited by guarantee and governed by a Board of Directors.

All major organisations providing services to Australians who are blind or vision impaired are members of ABF and ABF is represented in every state and territory of Australia.

As Australia’s representative to the World Blind Union, the ABF has strong connections with the international blind and vision impaired community.

ABF comprises 15 blindness sector organisations whose expertise and knowledge are reflected in the following comments.

Background

ABF appreciates the opportunity to provide a response to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) review of the captioning obligations in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA).

ABF and its member organisations believe that, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD), the Disability Services Act 1986, theDisability Discrimination Act 1992 and basic human rights, people who are blind or vision impaired are entitled to the same access to information, published materials and entertainment as all Australians.

Article 30 of the UNCRPD affirms the right of people with a disability, including people who are blind or vision impaired, to have equal access to culture, entertainment and recreation, including access to television programs.

Equitable access to culture, entertainment and recreation is vital to the ability of people who are blind or vision impaired to participate in the community and to ensure that people who are blind or vision impaired are not excluded from an activity that is taken for granted by the rest of the community.

Audio description

Terms of reference

ABF notes the terms of the ACMA statutory review as set out in section 130ZZE of the BSA include reviewing Part 9D, in particular:

(a) the operation of this Part

(b) whether this Part should be amended.[1]

ABF submits that Part 9D of the BSA should be amended to include provision for audio description alongside captioning.

Captioning rules for free-to-air commercial television broadcasting licensees and national television broadcasters (free-to-air television broadcasters) and subscription television broadcasters and narrowcasters (subscription television licensees) are set out in Part 9D of the BSA.

Part 9D states that free-to-air television broadcasters alone are required to caption:

  • 100 percent of programs broadcast between 6 am and midnight on their primary channels
  • all news and current affairs programs broadcast at any time on their primary channels.[2]

These measures are to ensure that people who are deaf or hearing impaired can access television programs and are not isolated or disadvantaged in Australia.

ABF submits that the same measures need to be in place for all Australians who are blind or vision impaired. Australians who are blind or vision impaired are significantly disadvantaged and have their access to entertainment severely restricted because there is no audio-described content on Australian television.

Audio description is delivered as narration on a separate audio track, to describe visual elements happening in a television program during the natural pauses in the dialogue. Without it, people who are blind miss out on important content and social interaction opportunities, because they are unable to watch and discuss television like the rest of the community. Unfortunately, Australia is behind many other developed and developing countries in providing this service.

A number of television programs produced in Australia without audio description are broadcast in other countries with audio description (in some cases the audio description is actually produced in Australia and then exported). Programs such as Neighbours are available with audio description in the United Kingdom for example.

Similarly, DVDs produced in Australia also need to have regulation to ensure audio description is included in their production.

In any case, there is a significant amount of audio-described content available to people who are blind or vision impaired living in countries such as the UK, US and Canada. Some of this content is accessible via internet-based media players but is usually subject to geoblocking technology.

ABF is aware that some people who are blind or vision impaired have resorted to circumventing this technology because it is the only way they can effectively watch popular television programs.

It is disappointing that successive Australian Governments have not legislated to mandate minimum levels of audio description on Australian television.

ABF is calling on ACMA to ensure appropriate amendments are made to the BSA to set mandatory audio description targets for all free-to-air Australian television stations as well as online streaming and DVD production. This will help to provide a more inclusive television experience for Australians who are blind or vision impaired by allowing them to fully experience a range of television content.

ABF is calling on ACMA to begin a process of consultation with the blindness sector and other stakeholders that will lead to the incremental, quota-based introduction of audio description on Australian television.

Ultimately, ABF is recommending the scope of Part 9D to be extended to include both captioning and audio description.

EMERGENCY WARNINGS

Division 5 of Part 9D of the BSA includes, inter alia, requirements for the verbalisation of emergency warnings. These requirements were introduced in 2012 by the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Improved Access to Television) Bill.

ABF is concerned that television broadcasters (both commercial and national) may not have complied with these requirements. It would be useful if ACMA could provide further data on this point.

ABF also submits that the requirements for verbalisation of warnings should be extended to cover other situations such as when information about contacting counselling services following the broadcast of programs dealing with distressing or disturbing themes is provided in text but not verbalised.

ABF recommends that the BSA be amended to require the verbalisation of all contact information provided as on-screen text where this information accompanies programs that deal with confronting or disturbing themes.

1

[1] ACMA Review of Captioning, p.2

[2] See subsection 130ZR(1) of the BSA.