BLIND CITIZENS AUSTRALIA

 

POLICY ON CRITERIA FOR SUPPORT OF DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT (DDA) CLAIMS RELATING TO ACCESSIBLE FORMATS OF INFORMATION

Whilst BCA is committed to supporting the rights of all people who are blind or vision impaired to receive information in their preferred format it does however have a finite amount of resources and needs to develop criteria on how it can optimise the use of those resources.

This Policy outlines the criteria adopted by BCA in considering whether or not to support an application under the DDA for the supply of information (eg, braille, large print, audio, electronic format, etc).

The report is therefore limited to the question of information supply and does not deal with such issues as employment, education or the like.

In any consideration of criteria to be applied, one first of course must concede that in any such consideration there are always subjective issues to be taken into account, and that there will always be the exception that will prove the rule.

 

The General Principle

BCA’s basic position is that all information should be supplied to all blind people in every alternate format.

This paper is therefore not meant to detract from that general principle, but rather is to be a consideration of the issues to be considered by BCA as a practical matter and noting the harsh realities of real life, and that one cannot always obtain what one would ideally like. It is also a reflection of the fact that BCA’s resources are limited (and indeed the resources of the supplier might be limited).

BCA’s resources should be applied to instances which have a substantial impact on the ability of people who are blind to participate independently in the community.

In any test that is applied there will always be exceptions, as justice and the needs of the matter require, and it is difficult to be prescriptive in an area where there are so many possibilities.

 

The Test

BCA adopts a five fold test in determining whether or not to support the bringing of a DDA claim.

  1. What steps have been taken to resolve the matter?

    2. It is submitted that the bringing of a DDA claim should not generally be the first method adopted to resolve the matter. Other attempts should be made to resolve the issue (with or without the support of BCA). Hence before considering the bringing of a claim BCA should inquire as to what steps have been taken to resolve the matter, and with what result.

  2. Is it "reasonable" to bring the claim?

In determining whether it is reasonable to bring the claim it is proposed that all of the circumstances of the matter be examined. Obviously this will need an examination of each application on a case by case basis, looking at the particular circumstances of each applicant’s claim. This will doubtless also bring in certain subjective elements. However, the following guidelines may be of assistance:

Would such a claim (if successful) benefit a large number of the blind community, or is it a matter that is really only relevant to one or a very small number of persons. Generally one would hope that BCA’s resources are used in an application which would benefit a number of blind people. Hence priority would be given to those matters of general application. However, there will always be exceptions and indeed there may well be many circumstances where it is appropriate to support a claim of very limited application because of the significance to the blind person or persons involved, of the matter being considered.

How important is the provision of the material for the applicant or applicants, and what effect would the denial of such provision have upon the life of the blind person or persons? Here one would need to consider issues such as :-

 
      1. The financial impact. If the failure to provide the service could result in loss of employment, or a failure to obtain employment, or a substantial financial loss, then this would strongly recommend the support of the claim. However not all matters having a financial impact may warrant support, particularly if the financial impact would be minor.
      2. The effect of obtaining or completing appropriate education. The obtaining of education by blind persons is exceedingly important, and accordingly support would need to be given for obtaining or completing appropriate education. However, BCA would need to consider the impact of that education on the overall life of the person. If the education is necessary for employment or the like, then obviously it strongly recommends itself to support. However if it is a matter of pursuing a course for "recreational" or general interest reasons, then the support of such a claim would have less merit.
      3. The impact on employment. Again BCA strongly supports the employment of blind persons. Hence the effect on employment of the denial of the information sought will need to be considered.
      4. Recreational factors. Although generally factors (i), (ii) and (iii) would recommend themselves more strongly, there may be circumstances where denial of information for recreational purposes has a significant impact. However here one would have to look very strongly at the impact on the life of the person (or persons) affected. For example, denial of certain recreational materials to a person in an isolated situation may be quite devastating, where as the denial of the same materials to a person with an otherwise "full life" may have minor impact.

    1. The effect of a DDA claim on the supplier.

As a responsible corporate citizen, BCA must also be conscious of what is reasonable to expect members of the community to provide. What is the likely effect of the claim on the person against whom it is to be brought? For example, it may be quite reasonable to bring a claim seeking that the information be provided in alternate format from a major national supermarket chain, where as it may not be so reasonable to bring such a claim against a small struggling local delicatessen. Indeed the bringing of a claim against an inappropriate defendant may have adverse consequences to BCA and its constituents as a whole.

  1. Is it in BCA’s interest or the interest of the blind community for the claim to be brought?

    2. Circumstances may arise where a person indeed has a strong claim, even considering the above factors. However BCA may take the view that it is not in the best interest of BCA, or the blindness community, for the claim to be brought. It may have political, social or financial reasons why it would be in the best interest of BCA (and the blindness community) for the matter not to be pursued. For example, if the claim were likely to bring the organisation or the blind community into disrepute, or have other adverse consequences. Obviously BCA has the discretion not to support a claim.

  2. The likelihood of success.

    3. BCA’s resources are limited. Hence if it is believed that there is little likelihood of the DDA claim succeeding, then it would not appear prudent to use those resources in support of such a claim. Such could only therefore be justified if the matter of concern was of extremely great importance to the overall blindness community.

  3. What method of provision is reasonable in the circumstances?

Whilst obviously it is desirable that all materials be provided in all formats, nevertheless there are circumstances which warrant some compromise recognising perhaps the costs to the supplier and the limited application of the material sought. It is not possible to be prescriptive in any list as to what should or should not be included in the various categories. However, I propose the following three categories. I provide the following possible examples.

    1. Class 1 - Materials that need to be provided in all formats.
    2. Class 2 - Items of which a compromise level will be accepted. For example, it may be acceptable for this material to be provided in audio and not braille, or electronic format and not audio, or some other means. Of course sometimes the circumstances of the applicant will determine this issue (for example, if deaf-blind).
    3. Class 3 - Items for which generally BCA will not lend support.

SCHEDULES

CLASS 1

CLASS 2

CLASS 3

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