Revised application for exemption under DDA section 55: Broadcast television captioning

See now submissions in response

The Commission has received an application (attached, MS Word format) on behalf of free to air broadcaster networks channels 7, 9, 10, ABC TV and SBS Television for temporary exemption under section 55 of the Disability Discrimination Act regarding captioning of television programs.

On 27 August 2008 the Commission decided to grant an exemption to Free TV Australia, on behalf of its member networks together with ABC TV and SBS TV. The exemption granted was further to an exemption granted by the Commission in 2003 .

In its most recent decision the Commission granted an exemption for a period of 12 months, on a number of conditions as proposed by the applicants but with additional conditions including that broadcasters achieve 75 per cent captioning levels measured over the last month of the exemption period. The decision required the applicants to notify the Commission of their acceptance of the terms of the exemption and in the alternative noted that they had liberty to apply for exemption on varied terms.

The present applicants seek an exemption on similar terms to the Commission's recent decision but with these important differences:

• the exemption should be for the period to 31 December 2011 rather than 27 August 2009
• at the milestone points of 31 December 2009, 2010 and 2011 captioning levels should reach an average of 75%, 80% and 85% respectively rather than a single requirement of 75% measured over the month of August 2009.

Request for submissions

In accordance with its policy on exemption applications, the Commission seeks to give interested parties an opportunity to participate in the process of considering this application.

The Commission seeks submissions by 24 September 2008, by email to disabdis@humanrights.gov.au. The period for comments in this case has been reduced from the six weeks generally provided by the Commission to a two week period, in view of previous consideration of these issues by the Commission including consultation with interested parties.

To promote open public discussion and exchange of views, the Commission intends to posting submissions made electronically on its Internet site. Any requests for material to be treated as confidential should be clearly indicated.

David Mason

Director Disability Rights policy, HREOC

10 September 2008