TV captions
Changes to the rules on reporting of TV networks captions
standards will be at the expense of people who value
captions.
Media release
Deafness Forum of Australia believes that moving the Community Service Obligation
Program to a commercial arrangement introduces a high degree of uncertainty for very
vulnerable people.
There is no guarantee there will be providers willing to take on this highly complex work, or
they may not have the expertise needed, leaving clients with the greatest need without a
reliable service, particularly those living in rural and remote areas, said Deafness Forum
chairman David Brady.
It is essential to ensure that the needs of these clients are protected, and that client
outcomes are not compromised if the sale proceeds, he said.
There are approximately 20,000 hearing impaired and Deaf children and young adults who
receive their services at Australian Hearings national network of service locations. The
clients range in age from birth to 26 years. A percentage of those young people have
multiple disabilities. 11% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The potential sale of Australian Hearing comes at a time when ten peak disability
organisations, including Deafness Forum of Australia have been defunded by the
government. The funding cuts effectively gag a national voice for the 4 million Australians
who are hearing impaired, Deaf, deafblind, have an ear disorder, and their families.
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When Sue arrived in the Northern Territory she was not surprised by the amount of hearing
problems present.
"We have actually got the highest incidence in the world in our indigenous kids for ear
disease, and you feel in a country like Australia where we have so many resources
available to us, it shouldn't be like that," Sue said.
Sue says otitis media is the most common ear infection she comes across, which is
inflammation, fluid and infection behind the eardrum.
"It can begin in indigenous babies from as young as six weeks of age, which occurs when
bacteria forms into the middle ear," she said.
Sue says contributing factors to this ear infection can result from household overcrowding,
and it is still not fully understood why the immune response of an indigenous child is not the
same of a non-indigenous child.
www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/01/08/4159398.htm?site=tropic
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Hearing Augmentation
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Communicators
A short film following the chance meeting of a hearing man and a Deaf woman as they wait
for a train has been awarded Best Foreign Film at Deaffest in the United Kingdom.
Written and directed by Melbourne filmmaker Jake Willis, watch Here in Silence online at
http://vimeo.com/116647062
Community grants
A total of $2 million will be awarded in individual grants of up to $10,000 to organisations
supporting children and youth up to the age of 21 years old.
Applications for the Commonwealth Bank Community Grants program close Friday 27
February
For more information visit www.commbank.com.au/grants
Jetstar's Flying Start program is now open for organisations in Queensland and the
Northern Territory to enter. Local not-for-profit groups and organisations have until 31
March to submit applications for a $30,000 grant, made up of $15,000 worth of Jetstar
travel to further their reach and impact and $15,000 cash to enhance the lives of people in
their local community.
http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/flyingstart?utm_source=jetmail&utm_medium=email&utm_ca
mpaign=20150114_FlyingStart_au#home