All Australians are entitled to have reasonable access, on an equitable basis, to affordable standard telephone services and payphones, whether they reside or carry on business. The performance standards of such telephone services and payphones must reasonably meet the social, industrial and commercial needs of the Australian community.
People who are deaf, deafblind, or have a hearing and/or speech impediment must be enabled to make and receive telephone calls on terms, and in circumstances, that are comparable to those on which other Australians have access to a standard telephone service. The Australian Government delivers this responsibility through the National Relay Service (NRS).
Following the introduction of a Captioned Relay Service under the NRS in 2015, calls through the NRS steadily increased from 40,000 to more than 100,000 calls per month to 2019. Since the Captioned Relay Service was removed from the NRS in 2020, calls through the NRS have dropped to approximately 16,000 calls per month (and falling) at the end of 2023.
A range of NRS services and mainstream services are promoted for people who are hard of hearing and or d/Deaf and elect to write. Neither of the two recommended substitute NRS services – NRS Captions and TTY Speak and Read – have filled the loss of the Captioned Relay Service (at 50 and 1,000 calls per month respectively). Indeed, the NRS performance continues to decline. This means that the current NRS offerings may not be meeting the needs of the users it exists to serve, especially users who rely upon captioning.
Following an analysis of the capabilities of each service promoted by the NRS for users seeking access to voice telephony and captioning, significant issues include:
• For an NRS user to receive a telephone call, all callers must first know (1) that the person is an NRS user and (2) which of the nine NRS service options the person uses. This is impractical, especially in business, where telephone calls are often received from unknown persons.
• In many services, NRS users are subjected to administrative and time-consuming processes simply to place or receive a telephone call. This hinders the effectiveness of the telephone as a common communication tool for instantaneous, simultaneous conversations, especially where matters are urgent and sensitive. Some processes are especially impractical in business and emergency situations.
• Many mainstream services, while effective communication tools and help to increase accessibility, are not a functional equivalent for a telephone service. Many are not real-time and instantaneous – a critical feature and capability of a telephone service.
We advocate for access to a standard telephone service that simultaneously provides for voice telephony and captioning. We are concerned that should this gap not be closed, employment prospects may be hindered and the impacts of social isolation, loneliness, frustration exacerbated through the inability to connect via telephone. Hear With Us is collaborating with Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) to advocate for the inclusion of functionally equivalent captioned telephony services under the NRS.
We are grateful to other organisations and individuals who champion other user requirements for the NRS, including Auslan video relay services.
Contact us to learn more.
Public transport venues offer year-round public engagements that need to be communication accessible. Over half a million commutes are undertaken on public transport across our country on a (work) day. Where there is a lack of access to information, some people are unable to participate equally in these situations unless specific provisions are made.
One communication barrier is access to public (verbal) overhead announcements - the go-to instrument for instantaneous, time-sensitive communications, alerts and warnings. Public announcements are made to alert passengers of changes to travel plans, impending arrivals/departures, safety messages and emergencies, for example. Existing or planned accessibility requirements for this communication barrier are typically limited to the provision of hearing loops, which does not provide a text equivalent translation. While there is Next Train information messaging on some platforms and carriages, there are limited to no text equivalents for other public announcements.
Major public transport projects with significant lifetimes can benefit from current and emerging accessibility considerations. The multi-billion dollar Cross River Rail network includes new trainlines and stations through Brisbane, Queensland, and is a keystone project for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games. With the proliferation of visual screen displays (and less than 50% of new hearing aids being fitted with telecoil capability), Hear With Us is advocating for the inclusion of captioning technologies within the Cross River Rail infrastructure so that commuters and employees can access the important messages communicated overhead.
We are keeping abreast of the dynamic work being undertaken by the New South Wales Government’s Department of Transport with captioning trials at Epping Station, multilingual translations apps and Auslan converters.
In the public information/entertainment domain, Hear With Us is engaging with the Queensland State Library and Queensland Museum to include the provision of captioning in the accessibility of their services to the public, including special events, presentations, tours and other communications relayed auditorily. Captioning is complementary to Auslan interpretative sessions and hearing loop technologies to enhance the experience of visitors.
The world-famous Crocoseum at Australia Zoo entertains visitors with a wildlife action show. Commentary complementing the experience can be difficult to hear. While the Crocoseum is fitted with an assistive listening system, Hear With Us is working with Australia Zoo to increase the enjoyment for more people through access to captioning.