Policy and expectations

27 cinemas currently have access services. These are made up of 12 independent locations and 15 major cinema chain locations. There is one accessible screen at each of these locations.

By the end of 2011, the major cinema chains of Hoyts, Village, Event, and Reading cinemas expect to rollout approximately 70 cinema screens with access services.  This is part of the Commonwealth Government’s Cinema Access Implementation Plan. By the end of 2014, this plan will see every major chain cinema complex in the country have access services on at least one screen—or 242 screens in 132 cinemas around the country.

To ensure that the plan is carried out effectively, an advisory group has been established to provide advice on technology solutions and access services. Media Access Australia is a member of this group, along with a range of consumer representative groups from the Deaf and hearing impaired and blind and vision impaired community, the cinemas themselves, and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

For more detailed information, see our page on the regulation of Cinemas and DVDs.