Free-to-air TV requests temporary caption exemption

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Friday, 16 December 2011 12:15pm

Australian free-to-air TV broadcasters, including the commercial networks, ABC and SBS, have applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) for a temporary exemption under the Disability Discrimination Act, with regard to the provision of captions.

Exemptions which were previously granted to the broadcasters by the AHRC expire on 31 December 2011. In the new application, the broadcasters advise that they have complied with all the terms of the current exemptions, which include meeting staged increases in captioning levels, consulting with deafness community groups and reporting on the consultations to the AHRC.

The undertakings which the broadcasters have committed to should the application be successful include increasing captioning to 90% of programs shown between 6am and midnight on their primary channels by 31 December 2012. This is consistent with proposals made by the Federal Government’s Media Access Review, according to which the increased caption levels would be included in amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act. It is expected that these amendments will be legislated early in 2012.

The application also includes an undertaking by the ABC to caption approximately 1,000 hours of pre-school and children’s programs annually.


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