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Independent Disability Equipment Program Feasibility Study
On 16 February 2009, Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, announced that his Department would undertake a feasibility study into whether to establish a disability equipment program that is independent of telecommunications carriers.
The Minister made the announcement at the 'Signposts for change: people with disabilities and telecommunications' forum in Melbourne. A transcript of the forum is available on this website in accessible formats.
Comprehensive public consultation was undertaken as part of the study and included:
- a discussion paper
- focus groups with individuals from the disability community
- face-to-face consultations with disability and consumer advocates, carriers, health professionals, industry representatives and government departments.
The discussion paper
The discussion paper was prepared around the Terms of Reference for the study, which outlined some of the key issues relating to the supply of specialised telecommunications equipment to people with disability.
Submissions to the discussion paper closed on 17 April 2009 Copies of the submissions are available on this website.
A draft report was provided to the Minister in December 2009.