Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communications, Broadband and the Digital Economy, announced the decision in a media release.“After a successful trial in Victoria, talking set-top boxes will be made available to eligible recipients who receive a maximum rate pension because they are legally blind, or because they care for a child who is legally blind,” Senator Conroy said.
Ofcom’s ‘Proposals for access services on non-domestic channels’ are in response to the European Union’s ‘Audio Media Service Directive’. This states that “Each Member State shall ensure all audiovisual media services transmitted by media service under its jurisdiction comply with the rules of the system of law applicable to audiovisual media services intended for the public in that Member State”.
The Cinema Access Implementation Plan and the role of ACAG
The Review examined policy and regulatory frameworks that apply to ‘converged media’, media that is a combination of diverse communications platforms, for example, television content that is now available online.
On release of the Background Paper last year, The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, said “Media and communications industries affect the lives of every Australian, and the Convergence Review will have important outcomes for our society.”
