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In ACCAN's submission to the latest NBN Joint Parliamentary Committee hearings, we outline ACCAN's engagement with NBN Co to date and challenges that may arise around the NBN rollout.

ACCAN comments on the NBN Co Special Access Undertaking (SAU) that creates part of the regulatory framework for service providers' access to the National Broadband Network.

The primary focus of this submission is based on the interests of subscription television viewers with disability.

ACCAN says today marks a major step forward in important reforms to make calls from mobile phones to 1800/13 numbers free or the cost of a local call, as they currently are from landlines.

The Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) has today committed to amend the relevant regulation following further consultation and have industry implement the changes by January 2015.

ACCAN was honoured to receive the 2011 Organisation of the Year Award at the Australian Sign Language Interpreters’ Association (ASLIA) NSW & Deaf Australia (NSW) awards ceremony held in Sydney on Saturday April 21.

As an organisation ACCAN is committed to accessibility issues and we are fortunate to have two specialist disability policy advisers on our team. ACCAN is dedicated to ensuring interpreters and captioning are available at all our public events, that our website is WCAG 2.0AA compliant. We also make information available in Auslan, audio formats and Easy English wherever possible.

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A record 76 groups and individuals applied for a total of $250,000 in funding in the 2012 round of the ACCAN Grants Scheme, which closed on April 2.

ACCAN Research and Grants Officer Robin McNaughton said this year’s applications were of a very high standard and a great mix of projects targeting a diverse range of consumer issues.

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In very good news for people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired, the National Relay Service (NRS) has announced that callers to Triple Zero (000) using internet relay will receive queue priority. But while this update is a step in the right direction, many people with disability still can’t make emergency calls.

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For communications consumers, the challenge of overcoming information overload to choose a new product and service is sometimes just too much. As one participant in the Seeking Straight Answers research puts it, "[I just want] someone to do the work, someone who knows what they're doing to find me the best deal...There's so many things you've gotta do that the inconvenience of doing all that outweighs any benefits you're going to get".

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ACCAN argues that access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an important element to achieving an adequate standard of living and social inclusion, a key human rights goal. 

New research and guides released today by blind internet expert Dr Scott Hollier from Media Access Australia (MAA) aim to make Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter more accessible for people with a disability - to ensure one in five Australians aren’t left behind as social media use becomes more popular.

Social media allows anyone with an internet connection to connect with other people and participate online, but for people with a hearing, sight or mobility impairment, social media websites and applications are not always easy to use. New research by Media Access Australia examines the accessibility of the most popular social media tools and shares practical advice from users on how to overcome inaccessible features.

Wondering how to make Facebook work with your screenreader, or whether LinkedIn is accessible? These tip sheets from Media Access Australia, available in print or audio formats, are full of tips and tricks for getting around the accessibility challenges of popular social media platforms. See below to access easy-to-understand information about how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Skype and YouTube, or to learn more about blogging.

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