Lisa Singh

I have always understood the importance of captioning on TV for people with a hearing impairment. But I had never understood the importance of audio description for the visually impaired until I met Emma Bennison last year. We were participating in a panel discussion about the future of the ABC in regional Australia, and the importance of access to radio and TV services in rural and regional areas. During this panel discussion, Emma shared her concerns about the ABC failing to provide an audio description service for hundreds of thousands of Australians who are blind or visually impaired. 

Audio description is an extra narration track for television broadcasts, describing what is happening on the screen during gaps in the dialogue. It is intended primarily as a tool to assist blind and visually impaired people, in much the same way that captioning helps people with a hearing impairment engage with TV.

Emma is the President of Blind Citizens Australia, and the CEO of Arts Access Australia. She is an advocate, a musician, and a mother of two. She is also blind.

Emma has been campaigning for the introduction of a permanent audio description service on Australian television, which I believe is a human rights issue. There are more than 350,000 blind or visually impaired Australians, and these numbers are expected to grow rapidly as our population ages. Audio description is essential for all these people, providing them with the chance to engage with popular TV programs that most of us take for granted. It is also crucial for young people who are blind or vision impaired, to help give them an understanding of visual concepts in the physical world.  

The Australian Government has held three audio description trials in the past four years, with the most recent trial on ABC iView ending in July this year. Despite their success, these trials have yet to result in any concrete action. So why is the government trialling this service again if they do not have any intention to implement it permanently? Blind and visually impaired Australians deserve better than a cruel string of so-called trials that all seem to result in them being given audio description for a few months, before having it taken away again when the trial ends. 

I have written to Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, requesting that he mandate audio description on Australian TV. The Minister told the media recently that he is waiting on a report into the recent ABC iView trial before making any decision. But it has been ten weeks since the end of the iView trial and we still haven’t heard anything. Just how long does it take to write a report, and what is it that they are reporting on after three separate trials into audio description?  

Meanwhile, there are over 350,000 Australians who are also waiting for this important decision from the Minister, a decision that will change their lives.

Audio description is already mandated across a number of likeminded countries including the UK, Canada, the USA, and New Zealand. Australia stands out amongst the modern democracies for our failure to mandate this service. It is time we stopped lagging behind and caught up with the rest of the developed world. 

Audio description is not a luxury, it is a basic right. In the lead up to World Sight Day, we should be prioritising legislation to provide audio description on TV. But instead we’re stuck in a cycle of trials and reports that lead nowhere. At the very least, surely the government could fund our publicly owned broadcaster to lead the way on audio description, so that people with blindness or a visual impairment can fully participate in our society. 

At the end of the day this is all about equity and fairness. As Emma Bennison says, “why does the Broadcast Services Act legislate for the provision of captioning, while remaining silent when it comes to audio description for people who are blind or vision impaired? Why shouldn’t we be able to enjoy the full experience of TV like other Australians?”