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Deaf Australia Advocacy

As the national consumer organisation that represents Deaf people who use Auslan (Australian Sign Language), Deaf Australia practices systemic advocacy. Systemic advocacy means that Deaf Australia lobbies for improvements that affect all of the Australian Deaf Community, not only an individual Deaf person.

Deaf Australia lobbies on issues of human rights and ensuring that Deaf people achieve equality of opportunity and full participation in society and the economy. The Deaf Australia Board decides what issues Deaf Australia will work on. The Board makes these decisions based on their knowledge of the Deaf Community, and on what our members tell us about what is important to them. Deaf Australia holds community consultation meetings to find out the Deaf Community’s views on particular issues. Members can also contact the Deaf Australia office to discuss issues.

The particular issues that Deaf Australia works on at any given time is also influenced by what is happening in the world around us – for example, reviews of legislation that has an impact on Deaf people, government inquiries into particular issues, changes in government policy and programs, changes to services and products.

Deaf Australia advocates for the rights of Deaf people. Deaf people have a right to participate equally in the Australian society and economy and they want to participate fully and equally. Deaf people have much to contribute.

Unfortunately many barriers stand in their way, and these barriers can be very difficult to break down. It takes a long time and a lot of effort to make even small changes. But Deaf Australia endeavours to break down these barriers.

Some examples of barriers faced by Deaf people, and what Deaf Australia is trying to do about them:

Lack of access to the language that is most accessible and natural for Deaf people, Auslan.

So Deaf Australia is working at finding ways to make sure that parents of Deaf children receive full and unbiased information early enough in the decision making process about language acquisition; and for education programs to include Auslan as a language of instruction.

 

Lack of access to quality education.

So Deaf Australia is lobbying for Deaf people to be educated bilingually in both English and Auslan.

 

Lack of access to information.

So Deaf Australia is lobbying for such things as a National Deaf TV program in Auslan; captioning on TV and at the movies; and for information generally to be available visually, in Auslan and plain English.

 

Difficulty in gaining employment. Deaf people generally are capable of doing a wide range of jobs, but many employers have incorrect ideas about their abilities.

So Deaf Australia is working with government and other organisations to try to educate employers about the benefits of employing Deaf people.

 

Telecommunications. This is a huge area that is continually changing. Deaf people’s access to telecommunications is very poor compared with the services that hearing people enjoy.

Deaf Australia has a project specifically dedicated to improving Deaf people’s access to telecommunications – the DTAN project.

 

And much more...

Deaf Australia also works within the Deaf community to help make our community strong. We run information sessions and workshops for Deaf people, in Auslan, so that they can have access to information in a language they understand. We work with our state branches to develop the skills of Deaf people.

Deaf Australia organises many community events such as Deaf TV and film nights and National Week of Deaf People.

Deaf Australia receives some funding from government. From time to time we also receive funding from other organisations for special short term projects. A recent example has been the "Networking Australia's Deaf Youth" project that was funded by the Telstra Foundation. We always need more funding to help us do all the things that need to be done to make life better for Deaf people.

There are a number of ways to practice systemic advocacy. Some of the things we do to represent the Deaf Community are:

• Meetings with Government, regulators, industry bodies, service providers and other peak organisations in the disability sector.
• Writing submissions and letters to Government and other organisations, and in response to Parliamentary and other public inquiries.
• Attending conferences, forums, meetings, consultative committees, advisory groups, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) forums and working parties.
• Meeting directly with politicians and other people who make decisions that affect Deaf people.
• Responding to government requests for comment on policies, standards, discussions etc.
• Making policies and position statements of our own about what is appropriate for Deaf people, and making sure that relevant people know what these policies and positions are.

Deaf Australia currently sends a representative to regular meetings of the following:

• Telstra Disability Forum
• Telstra Disability Equipment Advisory Group
• Telstra Payphones Advisory Group
• Australian Communications Authority – National Relay Service Consultative Committee (NRSCC)
• Australian Communications Industry Forum Disability Advisory Board (ACIF DAB)
• Optus Consumer Liaison Forum
• Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation group (TEDICORE)
• Cinema Captioning Working Party
• Disability and Employment Participation Alliance

Deaf Australia works closely on a regular basis with the following organisations:

• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (Deaf Australia is a founding member and has a representative on its Board)
• Australian Federation of Deaf Societies
• Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association
• Deaf Children Australia
• National Auslan Interpreter Booking and Payment Service

This section of the website contains information about specific areas that Deaf Australia is currently working on – telecommunications, education, captioning, employment etc.

You can also find out what Deaf Australia has already achieved for Deaf Australians through systemic advocacy, in Deaf Australia Achievements.

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