Advocacy
Hearing Link Tasmania and Tasdeaf are committed to advocating on behalf of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to the community, all levels of government and the business community across a range of issues.
If you have any difficulties created by your hearing loss you would like support for contact us.
Smoke Alarms
Hearing Link Tasmania and the Tasmanian Deaf Society believe that Deaf and Hard of Hearing Tasmanians should have access to subsidised visual smoke alarms in order to ensure they remain safe in their homes in the unfortunate event of a house fire.
Further information:
- Tasdeaf Smoke Alarm Subsidy Policy Document (PDF 99KB)
- Deafness Forum of Australia statement on Communication Access in Airports (PDF 106KB)
Captioning
You can participate in the campaign to lobby cinema owners to provide captioning for movies. Drop in and pick up a postcard from our offices to send off or visit the Media Access Australia website (external link).
Captions are available on all TV programs shown between 6.00-10.30pm on all free-to-air networks and on many DVDs and videos.
Captions differ from foreign language subtitles as they are coloured and positioned to indicate who is speaking, and provide information on music and sound effects which may be crucial to understanding the program. Subtitles are simply a translation of a foreign language into English which appears on the bottom of the screen
Why caption?
Captioning ensures that every member of every viewing audience has the ability to access broadcast messages through TV, video, DVD, webstreaming and even live events.
Who uses captions?
Deaf and hearing impaired people
People who are deaf rely on captions to follow the soundtrack on television or videos.
People who have some degree of hearing loss use captions to help them understand the soundtrack. (There are around 3.5 million hearing impaired people in Australia.)
People learning English
Many language schools use captioned videos and television to help teach people spoken English. It is easier to follow a soundtrack reading the captions and listening to the pronunciation of words.
People viewing in noisy areas
Captions can be used by anyone who is trying to watch a television program or DVD in a noisy environment or where the volume cannot be adjusted, such as shopping centres, airports, gyms, shows, banks, pubs and clubs.
To find out more about captioning:
- Contact us
- Visit the Media Access Australia website (external link)
- View the Media Access Australia Access to Cinemas FAQs (PDF 272KB)
- View the Deafness Forum of Australia oneinsix July newsletter articles on captioning (PDF 372KB)
Access to public spaces and facilities
Deafness Forum Australia has a number of positon papers on access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to public spaces.
- Communication Access in Airport Facilities. In the paper they put forward 30 recommendations covering all aspects of airport travel apart from being in the air. View the full statement on Communication Access in Airport Facilities (PDF 106KB)
- Accommodation Industry Voluntary Code of Practice for the Provision of Facilities for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. View the full HMAA Code of Practice for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired July 2005 (PDF 266KB)
- Communication Access for Entry to Secure Facilities. View the full policy statement on Communication Access for Entry to Secure Facilities (PDF 90KB)
