Media Access Australia
We believe that all Australians have the right to access all forms of media and information, through technology, so they can participate fully in society.
Media Access Australia is Australia’s only independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to increasing access to media for people with disabilities.
At the core of our work is the understanding that exclusion from mainstream audiovisual media has profound effects on educational outcomes, workforce participation and social inclusion.
Access to media through technology empowers people to be independent, gain knowledge, make their own choices, and be active members of our society.
Our expertise
We promote inclusion by providing expert knowledge and advice on existing and emerging mainstream technologies to government, industry, educators, consumer organisations and individuals.
We demonstrate how media accessibility can be improved in practical ways, by piloting innovative ideas and major projects.
We work as a catalyst for change in areas of access that include television, DVD, cinema, the arts, education, computing and the Internet, with a primary focus on people who are blind or vision impaired, or Deaf or hearing impaired.
We seek to improve national and international Internet accessibility standards as a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international online community where the general public and organisations work together to develop web standards.
We are a national organisation, based in Sydney, with a satellite office in Perth.
Our education strategy
Audiovisual media is increasingly being used to support the curriculum in Australian classrooms. It is essential that this media is available with captions so that students who are Deaf or hearing impaired are fully included in the education process, preventing isolation and poor educational outcomes. Media Access Australia's work in education helps schools find and use technological solutions to enable full access for these students.
Our heritage
Media Access Australia was formed out of the Australian Caption Centre, a not-for-profit organisation co-founded by Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes in 1982.
The Centre aimed to promote and produce captioning for Deaf or hearing impaired Australians. At the Centre’s inception, captions were non-existent, however, over its life the organisation grew to provide captioning services on TV, video and DVD.<
In 2005, the Centre sold its commercial operations including captioning services to Red Bee Media, and became Media Access Australia. We no longer provide services to business, allowing us to focus on promoting inclusion without the conflicts of commercial operations.
As Media Access Australia, our focus broadened to include people who are blind or vision impaired and others who are disadvantaged in access to media.
We recognised that, while some needs are different between disabilities, there are important similarities in terms of solutions, technologies, industries and regulation. By focusing on these similarities we can achieve better results for all.
