Over the next three years, captioning levels will increase on subscription television services after an agreement was reached with the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA). According to the agreement over the next three years, captioning of some subscription movie channels is intended to increase from 55 % to 75 %, captioning of some subscription general entertainment channels from 35 % to 55%, and captioning of subscription sports channels from 5 % to 15 %. In return subscription TV providers will be exempt from Disability Discrimination Act complaints about levels of captioning until 2015 so long as they adhere to the agreement.
“This agreement will ensure that over 2 million Australians who are deaf or have a hearing impairment will have more choices in the programs they can watch,” Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes.
Commissioner Graeme Innes also pointed out that the agreement would not only benefit people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, but the captions could also be used by many other people, such as in noisy environments like sports bars or airports, or family homes.