There is currently no regular audio description service on television in Australia, or any policy or legislation for broadcasters to provide audio described programs. However, a trial of audio description commenced on ABC1 on 5 August 2012 and ran for 13 weeks. The trial was one of the recommendations of the final report from the Federal Government's Media Access Review.
The audio description broadcast during the trial was receiver-mixed, so only those with digital televisions or set-top boxes with receiver-mixed audio description capability were able to hear it.
In the UK, where audio description on free-to-air television is receiver mixed, an increasing number of models of digital televisions and set-top boxes on the market are capable of receiving it, and they are now becoming available in Australia too.
For more information on the latest developments in AD on Australian TV refer to an April 2017 article on the AD on TV Working Group formed by the Government.
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