Communications with People with Disability Policy
This policy provides guidance in considering how to improve communication with people with a disability through general communications, involvement of people with a disability in consultation meetings, and producing publications in accessible formats.
People with disabilities make up to 19 per cent of the Australian population. This figure is expected to increase with the ageing of the population.
This policy applies to all Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) communications with the public, including in relation to recruitment, consultation, and the development of pamphlets, brochures, consultation papers, and reports.
GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS
All oral and written communication should seek to be inclusive of and positive towards people with a disability. Avoid phrases that demean people with disabilities (such as unfit, defective or incapacitated), avoid words such as ‘handicapped’, ‘crippled’ and ‘wheelchair bound’; and do not refer to people by categories such as ‘the blind’ or ‘the disabled’.
The ALRC’s TTY (telephone typewriter) number should be advertised on all ALRC publications and the Internet. Reception staff should be trained in the use of TTY facilities, with regular revision of the training to ensure skills are maintained.
CONSULTATION
Careful consideration should be given as to whether consultation methods are inclusive of people with a disability. Consideration should also be given as to whether specific groups should be targeted for consultation in connection with a particular reference.
When organising public meetings, attempts should be made to use facilities that cater for people with disability – eg. ramps, handrails and lifts for people with a mobility disability, inductive loop or radio systems to assist the hearing impaired. Consideration should be given as to the appropriateness of hiring an Auslan interpreter to assist in presentation of the meeting. Where such facilities are available, they should be advertised as part of the information about the location of the meeting.
When organising consultation meetings, consider the environment available for any person with a disability attending the meeting – eg. physical access to the building and meeting room, access to toilets, lighting in the room, external noise.
PUBLICATIONS
When preparing material intended to be distributed to a section of the public, consideration should be given to the format of the material and its accessibility by the target audience. In particular, it should be considered whether alternative formats are required in order to facilitate access by a person with a disability.
Excessive cost can be avoided by carefully targeting the audience. Options for making accessible formats available may include:
-
Distributing standard formats, and developing and providing alternative formats only upon request;
-
Provide a pamphlet or booklet in accessible format, with supplementary documents upon request;
-
Providing accessible formats to peak disability bodies for distribution to the membership;
-
Advertising the availability of certain alternative formats.
Where only standard formats are distributed, consideration should be given to advertising the availability of alternative formats upon request.
Reception and publications staff should be made aware of the availability of alternative formats, and particular formats the ALRC is willing to provide upon request.
One or more of the following formats may be appropriate for development to improve accessibility:
Internet – The Internet is a highly suitable format for many people with hearing, vision, mobility and/or manipulatory impairments where they have access to the Internet. To make the publication most compatible to software that assists people with a disability, it should be posted on the Internet in html or ASCII format.
Disk or CD – Providing information in a portable electronic format may be suitable for people with hearing, vision, mobility and/or manipulatory impairments. The publication should be converted to ASCII format to make it most compatible with accessibility computer software.
Audio Cassette – This format is used by a wide range of people although it is often targeted to people with a vision impairment. They are relatively easy and cost effective to produce and post. The tapes can include voice indexing. Contact the Royal Blind Society or look under ‘Recording Services’ in the phonebook for audio production.
Braille – This format is used by people with a severe vision impairment who have learned the Braille alphabet. The publication should be provided to the Royal Blind Society in electronic format for conversion. As well as full production of texts, Braille is often used for labelling audiocassettes or disks.
Large and illustrated print – Large print is mainly targeted to those with vision impairment. It refers to any printed matter that uses a font that is 14 point or larger. Illustrated print is designed to provide a quick visual outline of a message. It is often preferred by people with an intellectual disability, people with some visual impairment and can also assist people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Easy English – This format is useful if specifically providing information to people with intellectual disabilities or limited reading skills. The information is summarised and expressed in short sentences that each convey a single idea or concept.
Radio – In addition to using local or community radio, the Radio for the Print Handicapped operates in each state. Requests for national presentations should be directed to the Australian Council for Radio for the Print Handicapped. SBS Radio may be appropriate to reach people with disabilities from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.