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A challenge announced last week by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) could see a suite of apps developed to help boost employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA has called for nominations for the Chairman’s Advancement in Accessibility Awards 2012, in recognition of innovation in technologies that are accessible to people who have a disability.

Blind or vision impaired people who receive the Disability Support Pension will now be given a free talking set-top box as part of the switchover to digital TV. These devices assist viewers in navigating through menus, program guides and settings, and will be able to receive audio description once the trial on the ABC commences in August.

Apps that are accessible to people who have a disability are few and far between. So when an app qualifies as accessible, it’s a cause for celebration. The music streaming service Spotify launched in Australia yesterday, and while it has been commended by many in the accessibility world for its consideration of the needs of disabled users, its integration with Facebook still presents a significant barrier for potential users.

For something different, Media Access Australia’s Eliza Cussen takes readers behind the scenes at one of Sydney’s most beloved theatres to reveal how audio description has become a vital part of what they do.

Update: Google made its Indoor Maps feature available in Australia on 13 March 2013. Indoor maps can be viewed once a user zooms in on a building. The Sydney Morning Herald has published a list of 200 locations in Australia where Google’s indoor maps is available.

An upgrade to the Google Maps app for Android smartphones has the potential to increase mobility for blind and vision impaired users through the introduction of navigation for indoor environments.  The app combines global positioning system (GPS) technology with voice-guided directions to help people find their way around indoor spaces. 

The Accessible Cinema Advisory Group (ACAG) is a body convened by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to oversee and advise on the implementation of captioning and audio description in Australian cinemas. The group has released a fourth report to the public from its meeting held in March.

An art gallery in Poland has shown an exhibition featuring only audio description of artworks. The exhibition is intended to reveal how visual art is made accessible for people who are blind or vision impaired and celebrate audio description as an art form in its own right.

An agreement reached between the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) will see captioning levels on FOXTEL and AUSTAR increase over the next three years.