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Center For Accessibility Australia

This project was funded by ACCAN to explore the issues raised with CFA Australia by people with disability regarding the difficulty in cancelling mobile phone plans. To identify potential issues in cancelling plans provided by SIM providers, a comprehensive assessment was taken of 44 SIM providers in relation to user testing and conformance against the WCAG 2.2 standard.

The results identified that there are currently (at the time of publication) no telco apps or websites that completely support people who are blind or have low vision, and a very low number of apps that can completely support people that are deaf or hard of hearing in cancelling their plans. All apps or websites had some form of accessibility support for people that have a cognitive disability, but none of the apps were entirely accessible across the board. People who are blind or have low vision face an additional challenge in that there were accessibly issues with both using their preferred assistive technologies such as screen readers, and accessibility issues with the app or website itself not conforming to WCAG standards.

While all SIM providers have room for improvement, it is encouraging that there are some leaders in this area and providers are encouraged to look at the accessibility and service offerings of companies that provide effective support in this space to provide broader improvements going forward. The data table for all 44 SIM providers in Appendix A is published on the CFAA projects page. Training support to SIM providers is included as part of this project to support the improvement and awareness of digital access processes.

See the CFAA projects page for their suite of reports: 

  • Cancellations for All main report
  • Cancellations for All supporting document (a guide to the audit results for each telco)
  • User Efficiency Table (provides a 'traffic light' system for the accessibility of each telco app)
  • Cancellations for All companion report (looks at the accessibility of telco plan sign up processes)

 

This work is part of a series looking at accessibility for people with disabilities, and includes Telcos for All which was also funded by an ACCAN grant, in 2020.

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Griffith University

While cybersecurity self-help advice is readily available to consumers, most resources are focused on preventing unintended sharing of devices, passwords, accounts, and personal information. This advice is ill-suited to intimate relationship contexts where sharing is common. A lack of baseline knowledge about smartphone-sharing practices and the reasons behind them has hampered Australian efforts to strengthen consumer cybersecurity. This project will create a new evidence base to understand everyday consumer smartphone sharing in intimate relationships using a survey and interviews with diverse consumers, to improve privacy protections and cybersecurity for all Australians.

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Western Sydney University

Indigenous people in Western Sydney are experiencing digital divide. This interdisciplinary project will co-design with an Indigenous scholar and will be overseen by an Indigenous Research Governance Committee. By building on established relationships with Indigenous residents in Western Sydney, the project will provide needed data on Indigenous digital exclusion in Western Sydney and will provide Indigenous co-designed recommendations for closing the digital gap.

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Deakin University

This project will explore how communication is defined and implications for reforms to the laws of information privacy, telecommunications surveillance, and digital markets. The team will conduct focus groups with diverse communities to enhance consumer advocacy and representation in submissions to proposed reforms and improve consumer protections.

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Digital Literacy Foundation

Working towards universal digital inclusion is critical. In partnership with local Council and community organisations, this project will operate locally-based, face-to-face digital mentoring services for people in the Hawkesbury region. Workshops will build on a successful pilot program focused on increasing consumers’ access to online information, communications products, and services.

With many services digitised, older Hawkesbury residents are increasingly isolated, as the region’s rivers, bushland, unsealed roads, and devastation following fires (2019) and multiple floods (2022) has reduced access to physical services. The Hawkesbury region has a higher proportion of 50 to 84-year-olds than Greater Sydney (Census 2021), a group which, according to the Australian Digital Inclusion Index, are more likely to experience digital exclusion. The program aims to improve access to communication channels with community, family and government, including telehealth, and provide opportunities for increased social connectedness, and participation in online social and economic activities.

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South Australian Council on Intellectual Disability

People with intellectual disability are at greater risk to the dangers of the online environment. However, there is limited educational information presented in formats accessible to people with intellectual disability. This project will build on an existing co-designed introductory online safety workshop to develop a series of accessible training resources focused on online safety. A co-design approach will be used to develop, test and refine the products, and gather information about communications related barriers to inform future advocacy. 

Visit SACID's website.

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Australia’s peak communications consumer advocacy group, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has today announced 7 projects that it will fund through the 2023 Round of its Independent Grants Program.

The ACCAN Independent Grants Program funds consumer-focused projects to undertake research, represent consumers, and create educational tools which empower consumers to make decisions in their own interests.

The operation of ACCAN’s Independent Grant Program is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.

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CommsDay Forum Speech – 14 June 2023

Andrew Williams – ACCAN CEO

 

Good afternoon everyone and thanks to Grahame and the Commsday team for the invitation to present to you today.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today. I would also like to pay my respects to Elders past, present, and emerging

It’s been a while since I’ve been up on stage at one of these events

As you no doubt are aware, there’s a lot going on in this space at the moment, so I thought I’d use this time to give you an update on some of the key issues as we see them.

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ACCAN recently submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) consultation on the sunsetting of the Broadcasting Services (Television Captioning) Standard 2013.  This submission was developed in consultation with our members, including Deafness Forum of Australia, Deaf Australia and the Centre for Inclusive Design (CfID). ACCAN’s submission recommended:

  • That the Standard is redrafted with minor amendments to require broadcasters to address issues of latency and synchronicity in the captions used on their television programs.
  • That the redrafted Standard is implemented by the ACMA with stronger compliance and enforcement measures.
  • That the ACMA further investigates and provides information on the implementation of a metric model such as the Number, Edition error, Recognition error (NER) model.

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National Reconciliation Week banner - Be the voice for generations

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Every year workplaces, schools, early learning services, community groups, reconciliation groups, and people right across the country host a whole range of activities.  ACCAN employees, who for the most part work remotely, were encouraged to visit or research a site of significance in their local area and report their discoveries.

You can download some of the ACCAN employee reports below:

docxArcadia, Magnetic Island - Wayne H13.01 KB

docxBerry Island Reserve - Yuriko H2.43 MB

docxCooks River Strathfield - Elise A4.55 MB

docxDharawal National Park - Kate E15.09 KB

docxEllesmere Camp - Laetitia K1.3 MB

docxGrotto Point Engravings - James OB477.4 KB

docxJibbon Aboriginal Rock Engravings - Kelly L351.41 KB

docxKurrajong of Dharug - Tanya K1.8 MB

docxLake Bummiera - Amelia R62.14 KB

docxRock Shelter at Undercliffe Earlwood - Elie A55.5 KB

docxTerrey Hills petroglyphs - Andrew W534.6 KB

docxTicehurst Park - Richard V1.24 MB

 

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ACCAN recently provided comment on further pricing documents regarding the Variation to the NBN Co Special Access Undertaking Draft Decision consultation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

ACCAN’s submission details our first assessment of the further documentation provided by NBN Co. In our view the additional material does not adequately address the concerns raised by ACCAN in our previous submissions. With respect to the further documentation provided by NBN Co. We consider that:

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ACCAN recently submitted to the Senate Environment and Communications Reference Committee’s Inquiry into greenwashing. Greenwashing is where a business or organisation misleads consumers about their products or services as being in some way environmentally friendly.

ACCAN supports RSPs establishing practices to decrease their environmental impact and sharing those practices with consumers. However, consumers should have confidence that the RSPs they choose for their sustainability claims are substantiating those claims. In response to greenwashing in the telecommunications market ACCAN recommends:

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