Govt consulting on National Relay Service reforms

The federal government has launched a consultation into improving communications accessibility for Australians with disabilities.

The government has launched a discussion paper seeking feedback on ways to improve the delivery of the National Relay Service (NRS), which helps the deaf, speech and hearing impaired make and receive phone calls.

Communications ministry statistics show that the NRS fielded nearly half a million successful connections during 2014–15, and that usage has continued to grow in the current financial year.

According to the consultation paper, the growing ubiquity of smartphones, tablets and other smart devices has created more real-time options for people with disability to communicate with friends, family and businesses without needing specialised equipment.

The paper accordingly suggests repositioning the NRS as more of a safety net communications option, while devoting more effort to improving take-up of mainstream service options such as smartphone-based messaging.

The paper also proposes increasing funding for the NRS by around 20–25% and introducing more specific requirements to support access to the NRS, including greater enforcement of fair use policies.

The department is exploring whether to retire the legacy teletype (TTY) service, which has seen usage decline steadily over the last 18 months, and replace it with mainstream communications options such as SMS, live chat and email.

In light of the increasing adoption and affordability of smartphones, the department is also considering removing specific regulations requiring Telstra and Optus to make specialised TTY equipment available to consumers at a price comparable to mainstream devices.

Image courtesy of daveynin under CC