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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.

You can support Deaf Australia by making a donation to Deaf Australia. Contact us and we will help you how you can best contribute.

How can you make donations?

Donations over $2.00 are tax deductible.

Deaf Australia is very grateful for the support we receive. It makes a difference to us, and to all Deaf people in Australia.

If you would like more information about what we do or how you can help, please contact us.

Thank you for your support.

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