International Deafness Symbol

Rules relating to use of the International Deafness Symbol

The International Symbol for Deafness is a registered trademark in Australia, held by the Deafness Forum Limited. This provides various rights to the Deafness Forum including the right to license or sell the symbol use within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

The Deafness Forum encourages the correct use of the Symbol to identify and promote venues that provide hearing augmentation or access. Wherever possible the Symbol is to be accompanied by an explanatory caption, indicating the location and types of hearing augmentation.

While primarily intended to identify the existence of assistive listening systems (induction loops, FM and infrared), the International Symbol for Deafness also may be used to identify the existence of other forms of hearing access. For example the symbol may be used on material that identifies a Deaf or hearing impaired person and indicates a need for special communication tactics. Another example could be that staff at a facility have undergone training in communication tactics for Deaf and hearing impaired people. There are, however, alternative symbols that can and should be used to identify such facilities as TTYs and Auslan interpreters.

The International Symbol for Deafness may NOT be used by commercial enterprises as an advertising logo or in any way to promote or identify commercially available goods or services. In practice, this means that manufacturers, distributors and installers need to avoid placing their own contact details or logos too close to the Symbol (or too large relative to the Symbol). By way of illustration, it would be considered reasonable if the installing company’s name and contact number took up less than one percent of a poster on which the actual International Symbol for Deafness took up approximately 15% of the total poster. The more space that was taken up by the installing company’s name and contact number relative to the Symbol, the more likely that approval for use of the Symbol might not be given by Deafness Forum.

Generally speaking it is not considered appropriate for the International Symbol for Deafness to be used on letterheads. This is because it is not the letterhead (or indeed the letterhead’s organisation) that needs to be identified as providing hearing access. It is the actual location of an assistive listening system (or other form of hearing access) that needs to be identified to a user. On the other hand it is appropriate for organisations to advertise to clients that they provide hearing access. For example, public venues (cinemas, theatres, lecture halls, etc.) are encouraged to inform potential patrons that they have hearing access facilities. In the same way, conference organisers and the like are encouraged to advise potential attendees that a venue they are using has a particular form of hearing access. There are, therefore, situations in which use of the Symbol will be appropriate to promote the existence of a facility at a planned event. These situations are considered to be quite different from manufacturers, distributors or installers seeking to promote their commercial goods or services.

It is important that the International Symbol for Deafness is not used incorrectly. If you have any doubts or wish to confirm the suitability of the use of the symbol in a specific situation please contact the Deafness Forum of Australia for advice.

The colour of the International Symbol for Deafness shall be white on a blue background. The blue shall be B21, Ultramarine of AS 2700, or similar. (See also Australian Standard 1428.1 1998, Clause 14.)

Download a copy of the Symbol to use in accordance with these guidelines. EPS JPEG

APTNAC Hearing Augmentation Information Guide