Media Room

The Senate Community Affairs Committee has already held hearings in Canberra (12 October 2009) and Sydney (13 October 2009) and more hearings have now been scheduled.

Hearings are scheduled for

• Sydney 11 November
• Brisbane 7 December 
• Melbourne 8 December 2009
• Perth 9 December 2009

You can read transcripts of those who attended so far at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/hearing_health/hearings/index.htm

Contact the Committee secretariat on community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au if you have any questions or phone the committee secretariat on 02 6277 3515.

It is pleasing to see that more submissions have been made to the Inquiry (around 140 so far) so please send your comments in to the Committee if you have not already done so. 

If you have any questions about how you should make a submission, or what is involved in appearing at the hearings, please let us know and we can help. 

On Friday 16 October 2009, Deafness Forum Ambassador the Hon John Howard AC launched the trial of web Captel in Australia.

See ACE media release here

See also http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s2716082.htm

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/howard-reveals-lifelong-hearing-problems-20091016-h04y.html

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/876487/howard-reveals-lifelong-hearing-problems

Draft reforms released today by the Productivity Commission will lead to more efficient delivery of services through a reduction in red tape and a lessened compliance burden on social and community services, says ACOSS, the non-profit services sector’s peak body.

“The Commission’s draft proposals are an excellent first step towards streamlining complex processes so that non-profit organisations can get on with the job of delivering vital services to the community,” said Clare Martin, CEO, Australian Council of Social Service.

The Commission has recognised the invaluable contribution the non-profit sector makes to Australian society. Community and welfare services play a crucial role in tackling social
problems like entrenched disadvantage, unemployment and social exclusion, as well as providing essential policy development and advocacy.”

“The draft recommendations lift barriers faced by non profits so they can achieve more responsive and innovative service outcomes.

“Smart governance practices, reporting and regulation should aid and enhance the operations of non profits not impose onerous burdens.

“ACOSS will be consulting with our sector and we encourage organisations to send their responses to the Commission before 24 November.

”We look forward to working with the Government towards the adoption and implementation of many of these recommendations.”

The Commission commented on the issue of taxation for the non-profit sector, especially the application of Fringe Benefit Tax, but all decisions will be taken within the jurisdiction of the Henry Tax Review.

ACOSS welcomes the draft recommendations including:

- Expanding the application of charitable status to include the broad range of non profit organisations that work towards the goal of social inclusion

- Respecting the independence and autonomy of not-for-profit organisations while amending onerous reporting requirements associated with government funding

- Establishing a Registrar for Community and Charitable Purpose Organisations and providing a cohesive national regulatory framework

- Removing the inconsistencies in taxation and the legal treatment of non-profits

- Ensuring that agreements (like Compacts between government and the sector) are more than just words through the use of robust mechanisms for implementation, monitoring and evaluation

- Gathering better data on the non profit sector and making that available to the sector for its own development

- Actively developing the sector through easing access to capital for social enterprise programs; and increasing funding to cover wages at market rates and legitimate administrative and organisational costs.

- Funding the full costs of services based on independent assessments of those costs, as well as the reporting and evaluative processes that funders require of the sector.

- Recognising the enhanced capacity and contribution of organisations that are well governed, by providing financial support for training boards and management in the non profit sector.

ACOSS’ annual survey of the community and welfare sector reported assistance was provided to over 3.1 million clients last financial year.

A new online forum Australian Web Access Review (AWARe), launched today, gives you an opportunity to have your say on the accessibility, or lack of it, of prominent Australian websites. More importantly, users’ feedback, such as your own, will be used to help drive awareness of and improvements to web access in Australia.

Created by Media Access Australia (MAA), AWARe is unique internationally in the way it deals with the issue of web access.

“Up until now, it has been difficult for individuals with disabilities to both demonstrate the inaccessibility of Government and Industry websites and to make a change,” says Scott Hollier, an expert on access to the Internet for people with disabilities and New Media Project Manager at MAA.

The AWARe site enables you to have your say and shows you’re not the only one facing web access issues; helping support change through real user feedback.”

As part of AWARe, you will have the opportunity to review 5 important Australian websites per month, such as government websites, by answering questions based on the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) internationally recognised 2.0 accessibility standards, and to discuss their findings in an online forum.

Review results are available for anyone to view and provide a breakdown of the question results. MAA will also use its considerable experience in constructive engagement with stakeholders to work with website owners and developers to improve their website’s acccessibility.

Have your say at www.aware.org.au

European Commission proposal for heatlh warnings for personal music players

See http://ow.ly/rlas

World Congress on Mental Health and Deafness

‘A Life to be Lived’, 27-30 October 2009

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia

Visit www.mhd2009.org to register now. Don’t miss out!

For further information email: info@mhd2009.org

Quick links: Register http://mhd2009.org/product

The National People with Disabilities and Carer Council has released its report, entitled Shut Out: The Experience of People with Disabilities and their Families in Australia.  The report collates information from the various consultations held nationwide about the National Disability Strategy, together with the submissions made by numerous groups and organisations.

Nicole Lawder, CEO of the Deafness Forum of Australia, is a member of the Council. Deafness Forum made a formal submission to the consultation. Ms Lawder also attended the Canberra consultation session in her role as a Council member. Other Deafness Forum staff attended the Canberra consultation as Deafness Forum representatives, and Deafness Forum Board members in other States attended the consultations in their own State.

The report was launched in Melbourne on 5 August, and was accepted by the Hon. Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and the Hon Bill Shorten MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction.  Both addressed a small gathering, as did Mr Graeme Innes AM, Disability Discrimination Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr. Rhonda Galbally AO, Chair of the National People with
Disabilities and Carers Council, and Ms Kirsten Deane Deputy Chair of the Council.

The report itself effectively summarises the longstanding complaints and frustrations of people with disability and their families, with the level of exclusion that has been experienced, and highlights in particular the continued lack of access to the same conditions as other people that has existed despite the passage of disability services legislation and disability discrimination legislation in Australia.  It highlights the barriers that are experienced by people with disability, and focuses future efforts on overcoming these barriers, rather than on continuing to pursue impairment-oriented solutions.

The report can be accessed at the FaHCSIA website: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/pubs/policy/community_consult/Documents/NDS_report.rtf
Media release with background information.

The 2009 Captioning Awards took place on Thursday 27 August 2009 at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. The winners are:

The 2009 Roma Wood OAM Community Award  Presented to Kate Locke, a long time advocate for captioning in committees, events and organisations, online and television captioning for people who are Deaf or have a hearing impairment. Photo

The 2009 Members Choice Award  The winner is Seven Network for their consistent and good quality captioning of news and current affairs.Photo

The 2009 Award for DVD Captioning  The winner is The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. FaHCSIA is a long time supporter of captions through a program funding the captioning of educational and community DVDs. Photo

The 2009 Award for Advertising Captioning  The winner is Select Foxtel for promoting the captioned 40th Anniversary Moon Landing to all subscribers. Photo

The 2009 Award for Best Event (Non-TV) Captioning  The winner is Perth International Arts Festival for providing access to their 2009 Festival through the use of remote theatre captioning. Photo

The 2009 Award for Best Promotion of Captioning or Best Consumer Education Campaign, in memory of Ron Miller   HIGHLY COMMENDED Foxtel Backstage Access, for providing educational “hands on” lessons in closed captioning for Deaf and hearing impaired students. Photo

The winner is CMAX Cinemas Palmerston for the promotion of accessible cinema initiative in the Northern Territory. Photo  

The 2009 Award for SubscriptionTV Captioning  The winner is National Geographic Channel for continuing to increase the availability of quality captioned documentaries for educational use and the wider community. Photo

The 2009 Award for Free to Air TV Captioning  HIGHLY COMMENDED SBS Television for the captioning of World Youth Day 2008 and the very popular Tour de France 2008. Photo

The winner is Network Ten for captioning commitment, including excellent coverage of the very popular Master Chef series Final. Photo

2009 Award for Most Consistent Use of Captioning  The winner is ABC Enterprises for consistent captioning of all non children’s DVD’s showing that it is possible to achieve 100% access for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired community. Photo

2009 Award for the Best New Captioning Initiative  The winner is Independent Cinemas Association of Australia for the roll out of the accessible cinema programme to independent cinemas around Australia, incorporating captioning and audio description. Photo

Media release with background information.

Every newborn child will be tested for hearing impairments under a new plan unveiled by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Mr Rudd says only 75 per cent of young children are currently routinely tested for hearing deficiencies, which he says can lead to further complications in later life.

See Deafness Forum's media release in response to this announcement here.

Under the new policy, which could be in place by next year, every newborn child will be tested, and fitted with hearing aids or cochlear implants where necessary.

See http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5688950/every-newborn-to-have-hearing-test-rudd

Deafness Forum welcomes this announcement, which we have been lobbying for. However we also stress the need for unbiased information to be provided to parents at the time of diagnosis to enable families to make the decision about the communication method that best suits them.