It is with much pleasure that I introduce the 25^th Annual Report of Blind Citizens Australia for the year ended 30 June, 2000. Once again, it has been a very good year for Blind Citizens Australia. As this Annual Report will demonstrate, we have again focussed on our mission statement and our core activities of peer support, individual advocacy, systemic advocacy, information dissemination and advice to Governments and the community.

From the outset, I would like to acknowledge the work of Immediate Past President, Michael Simpson. For the year under review, Michael was President of Blind Citizens Australia. As of July 1, 2000, Michael resigned from the position of President due to his acceptance of a senior management position within Royal Blind Society of New South Wales. Michael was President of BCA for six and a half years and throughout this period, he demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities. The aplomb with which he conducted all aspects of the business of Blind Citizens Australia was a fine example to us all. I would like to pay tribute to Michael’s wife, Kerrie, for her tireless support of Blind Citizens Australia. No doubt, during Michael’s presidency, there were times when his presidential responsibilities brought about significant disruption to family life. Nevertheless, Kerrie continued to encourage Michael and to re-affirm her personal commitment to the work of the organisation. Although Michael is no longer on the board, as a new and inexperienced President, I continue to seek his advice and council whenever necessary.

In addition, there were a number of significant staff changes during the year. Of particular note was the resignation of Executive Officer, Bill Jolley in May, 2000. Like Michael, Bill remains close to BCA and is willing to share his extensive knowledge and experience in advocacy, policy development and in the organisational history of BCA. Bill Jolley was Executive Officer of BCA for six and a half years. During this time, the membership doubled, we became more involved in overseas projects and we commenced our foray into cross-disability projects. Bill’s strategic planning ability and his tenacity for identifying and seizing opportunities to advocate for the needs of blind and vision impaired people and to seek funding for the organisation were outstanding. I trust that Bill’s future career opportunities will bring him as much personal satisfaction as did his role as Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia and I am confident that he will always be a keen supporter of the organisation.

Since Bill’s departure, Maryanne Diamond has acted in the position of Executive Officer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maryanne for her diligence, commitment, humour and friendship at a time when both of us, as new and inexperienced incumbents in our respective roles, have had a steep learning curve. My fellow board members – Robert Altamore, David Blyth, Leighton Boyd, Lynne Davis, Peter Johnson and Tony Starkey - have also provided sustained support and encouragement and have worked as a cohesive and committed team throughout the year. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Helen Freris who was a member of the board for most of the year until she elected to take up the position of Victorian Advocacy and Policy Officer in the National Office. Kim Hand and Sondra Wibberley also retired from the board this year. Their work as Directors is much appreciated and it is pleasing to note that both Kim and Sondra continue to be active in their local branches of BCA.

One of the highlights of the year was the BCA Convention held in Brisbane in mid October. This was the first time that Convention had been held in Brisbane and it was a great opportunity for members who normally cannot attend Convention to experience the camaraderie, lively debate and thought-provoking presentations that are synonymous with BCA conventions. The BCA David Blyth Award was presented to Graeme Innes for his community contribution of particular benefit to blind and vision impaired people through his leadership and advocacy over many years. BCA Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Terry Boyle from Queensland and Kylie Partington from Victoria for their outstanding contributions to the work of BCA at a local level. Congratulations to Graeme, Terry and Kylie!

Convention 1999 was also significant in that at the Annual General Meeting, members voted to adopt a new Memorandum and Articles of Association. As a result of these changes, the National Policy and Development Council has been formed. This involves board members, a representative from organisational Members and a representative from each state/territory (providing they have over fifty full members) coming together to drive the key policy directions of the organisation. This group has worked well thus far and we look forward to some innovative policy and development initiatives in the coming year.

We have continued our involvement in cross-disability projects this year. Work in the DDA Standards Project has progressed well under the skilled leadership and coordination of the Project Officer, Maurice Corcoran, despite the fact that progress towards standards is slow. The Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation (TEDICORE) project has also progressed well this year through the commitment of the Project Officer, Gunela Astbrink, and the support and advice provided by members of the Project Advisory Board. Significant gains have been made towards key players in the telecommunications industry listening to the needs of people with disabilities.

Our work in Vietnam and Fiji came to an end this year with no further funding currently available to continue such efforts. We are greatly encouraged by the fact that our work in both countries has increased the capacity of those communities to continue with their work. Congratulations to Bill Jolley who was awarded the "Medal for Happiness of Blind People" from the Vietnamese Blind Association in recognition of his support of blind people in Vietnam. In addition, BCA was awarded the Medal of Friendship by the Vietnamese Government for the support and partnership in implementing a project of such great benefit to blind people in Vietnam.

The year was financially stable. We had strong and generous support from our members, from the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments and from many blindness agencies. We also acknowledge the continued support of Telstra, Commonwealth Bank and Ozemail. We have finished the year with a surplus of $39,946. This is a good result largely due to the management of the Executive Officer and the Board of Directors. However, in the year ahead, Blind Citizens Australia is likely to face some challenges as changing Government policy in the way that the Commonwealth Government funds peak bodies such as BCA may impact upon our current level of funding.

I would like to pay tribute to the dedication of our staff. Without their commitment, BCA would not be such a flourishing organisation. I anticipate another successful year as we approach the new Millennium. It is a great honour for me to lead the National Association of Blind people in our struggle to "change what it means to be blind".

• Karen Knight, President, Brisbane

• Lynne Davis, Vice-President, Sydney

• Robert Altamore, Director, Canberra
• Leighton Boyd, Director, Melbourne
• Lynette Eagers, Director, Queensland
• Peter Johnson, Director, Perth
• Tony Starkey, Director, Adelaide

• David Blyth, Co-opted Director, Melbourne

• Grant Webster, National Advocacy Officer

• Helen Freris, Victorian Advocacy and Information Officer

• Vacant, National Policy Officer
• Alise Wonson, Administration and Finance Manager
• Robert Mascitti, Finance Officer
• Rosalyn Bates, Administration Support Officer
• Cate Litchen, Clerical Assistant

• Tim Noonan, E-Commerce Consultant

Blind Citizens Australia has been busy over the last year ending on a very positive note and in a healthy financial position. I was appointed Acting Executive Officer on June 1, 2000 for a period of six months. The following is a summary of the year’s activity, as I understand it to be.

Like many organisations, BCA goes through periods of change which may include: staffing, directors, projects undertaken and funding opportunities.

Bill Jolley resigned as Executive Officer of BCA at the end of May after almost seven years in the position, which followed a long period as a director and National President. On behalf of all blind and vision impaired Australians, I would like to acknowledge and thank Bill for the contribution he has made to blind people both nationally and internationally, and I wish him great success in his new career. On June 30, Michael Simpson resigned as National President and from the board of BCA when he accepted the position of, Director Client Services at RBS. On behalf of members, staff and all associated with BCA, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael for his tremendous contribution to BCA and wish him great success in this leading role with one of Australia’s major blindness agencies.

During the last year both Aileen McFadzean and Cheryl Gration have commenced maternity leave. Aileen plans to return in February and Cheryl in June 2001. After five years with BCA, Sandra Knight resigned as Office Manager to take up a position with Vision Australia Foundation and I wish Sandra success in her new employment.

The staff in the National Office, at September 30 are: Myself, in the position of Executive Officer, Grant Webster, replacing Aileen, Helen Freris, replacing me as Victorian Advocacy and Information Officer, Alise Wonson who recently joined us as Administration and Finance Manager, Robert Mascitti, the Finance Officer with Cate Litchen and Rosalyn Bates providing administration support.

The objectives of BCA continue to be achieved through five key activities: Individual Advocacy, Systemic Advocacy, Information dissemination, peer support and consultation. These services are provided to members and all blind and vision impaired Australians. Examples of advocacy undertaken during this year include: dealings with Centrelink, employment, access to information, transport and access to the physical environment. Many of these may begin as support for an individual but becomes a systemic advocacy issue and hopefully result in changed attitudes in the community.

Over the past year, there has once again been steady growth in Membership, with over 70 new members joining. There are currently 62 Junior members, 267 Associate members and 2402 Full members. During the year two new branches have been established. The Tasmanian Branch and Young Blind Citizens.

We continue to communicate with members and the blindness field through a variety of alternative format methods.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who support BCA in the National Office and at the branch level providing their expertise covering a range of tasks, from labelling envelopes, formatting braille, copying newsletters, answering telephones, developing submissions etc. Your efforts and time commitment is much appreciated.

For four years, BCA convened and hosted this project on behalf of the National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations with Maurice Corcoran employed in November 1999 as the National Policy Officer. With the resignation of Bill Jolley from BCA and the convenor of the project, the Caucus elected Sue Eagen (Physical disability Council of Australia) the Convenor and Brian Rope (Deafness Forum) the deputy Convenor and hosting organisation. BCA will continue to work and be active in the various committees and working groups established under the project.

The Telecoms and disability (TEDICORE) project has been managed by BCA over the last two years with Gunila Asbrink employed in September 1999 as the National Policy Officer. The project was to advance and represent the interests of telecommunications consumers, with disabilities and to promote equity and accessibility. June 30, 2000 the project finished and at the time of preparing this report, BCA have received confirmation from the Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) of an offer to fund the project for another year, we are waiting for the contract details before proceeding. DCITA have made it extremely difficult to continue work or make plans for future work in this area with the delays in finalising funding.

December 1999, Tim Noonan completed the project Making Electronic Commerce Accessible to People with Disabilities. He is currently undertaking a second project Accessible E-Commerce Stage 2, which will be completed in December 2000. Tim presented papers at the BCA national convention in 1999 and at the CSUN conference in Los Angelus in March 2000 and has conducted a number of workshops around Australia. A great deal of research undertaken by Tim was used in the HREOC inquiry into electronic commerce conducted earlier this year.

Digital Talking-Book Recording Trial

July 1999, Dale Simpson was employed by BCA as a consultant to undertake this project with a grant from the Commonwealth Office of Disability, the project was completed in February this year. It provided a tremendous opportunity for Dale and BCA to obtain first hand experience in the recording and production of talking books using state of the art recording technology. Three issues of Blind Citizens News, BCA 1998-1999 Annual Report and the 1999 Horizons seminar have been recorded.

The World Blind Union 5^th General Assembly

This is by far the largest project undertaken by BCA during the year. The project is managed by a co-alision of partner organisations made up of: RVIB, VAF, RBS, Guide Dogs Association of Victoria, Guide Dogs Association of NSW and BCA. BCA has a significant role in this project as the organisation responsible for the employment of staff and financial management.

Funds to host the event were obtained from various sources, with partner agencies contributed $200,000, Victorian Government $100,000, Commonwealth Government $120,000 and a number of commercial sponsorships. There have been contributions from the World Blind Union, Sweden, Australian Government (AusAID Program), Japan, RNIB, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany and other international organisations to support blind people from developing countries to attend the 2^nd World Blind Women’s Forum and the 5^th General Assembly.

John Simpson leads the project team of five, Marisa Fernandez, Paige Van Every, Allison Lynch and Dale Simpson, who will organise all aspects of the event. The WBU has the responsibility to develop the program for both the General Assembly and Women’s Forum, with Australia having the responsibility to facilitate these programs and arrange all associated events.

Many individuals have taken on and led a range of portfolio responsibilities with support from the project staff.

The success of this project will be known in November 2000 when the blind of the world come to Melbourne Australia.

In recent years BCA have managed overseas projects in Vietnam and Fiji with the support of AusAID. During this year, both projects came to an end. The United Blind Persons of Fiji and the Vietnam Blind Association have expressed their thanks and appreciation to BCA for this work. The Vietnamese Government presented BCA with an award and the Vietnam Blind Association presented Bill Jolley with a medal in appreciation.

• A reduction in the number of Directors to a President, 6 Directors, up to 2 Co-opted Directors and an immediate past President for a 1 year period after his/her term as President.
• The establishment of the National Policy and Development Council. The council is made up of the board of directors, a representative from each state or territory with more then 50 full members and a representative of the Class A organisational members.
• The election of Directors by a postal ballot.
• The term of each Director to be 3 years with the President elected 1 year, 3 Directors the next and 3 the following year.
• National Convention held every two years.
• State conventions held on the alternate year to the National Convention.
• Two classes of organisational members Class A, incorporated organisations where the membership and governing body comprise a majority of blind people or the parents of blind children under the age of 18 years. Class B, incorporated organisations who share the aims of BCA but not eligible as Class A members.

The concern of continued and secure funding is not new to BCA with this year being no exception. In June, the department of Family and Community Services announced that all peak body funding would only be guaranteed until December 31, stating clearly that they plan to change the manner in which government funds and consults with peak body organisations.

A discussion paper was released in July 2000 and all peak bodies were invited to respond by September 30. It is anticipated that the future of this funding be known by the middle of November. The department proposed two models; One suggested that sensory disability could be grouped into one peak body. Both BCA and the Deafness Forum, have of course, rejected this. Currently there are 20 peak bodies and FaCS would like to consult with a greatly reduced number of organisations.

The response made by BCA was based on the resolution adopted at the 1999 convention titled "The Uniqueness of BCA".

Details of all finances and project reports, prepared by a number of directors and staff members, are contained in this report and I urge you all to read these at your leisure. With the forming of the Tasmanian and Young Blind Citizens branches this year, I feel confident the future and involvement in BCA by blind people around Australia is very positive and exciting.

I would like to make special mention in appreciation to both the late Michael Richard Gamble and the late Freda Darrington for their generous donations from their estates. We also highly appreciate the support from our members through our Appeal to Members and Pre-Authorised Credit Card (PACC) program, also the increase in donations from the general public and the National Lottery is a continuing success. We also thank all the Blindness Agencies and other organisations for their continuing support.

This year Blind Citizens Australia transferred $125,000 to the Jeffrey Blyth Foundation.

I would like to thank Karen Knight, our National President, for her support in the short term we have both occupied our current positions and I would like to wish her well for the forthcoming birth of her first child.

I am pleased to commend this Annual Report for the year 1999-2000 of BCA to you.

Aileen McFadzean occupied this position until February 2000 when she began maternity leave. Grant Webster has occupied this position since.

BCA runs many cases that clearly do not seek individual compensation for their resolution. In such cases, the settlement or order sought is agreement by the respondent to do things in a more accessible manner for all blind and vision-impaired people. Complaints lodged in recent times against OASITO and NRMA (prospectuses), Standards Australia (draft standards for public comment), The Age (employment advertisements), ACCC (information booklet), Yarra Valley Water (bills), Optus (bills) and United Energy (bills) all serve to emphasise the policy position that important information should be made available in accessible formats. Ideally, this should be the person’s preferred format. The complaints lodged in the above cases all needed individual complainants who we could justifiably argue had been discriminated against at a particular time by a particular act in breach of anti-discrimination law.

On the other hand, employment and refusal of service cases frequently seek compensation in money for individual complainants, sometimes in substantial amounts. In these cases, the anti-discrimination law expresses a public policy that people with disabilities ought not to not be discriminated against on the basis of their disability. Yet this policy of the law would be worthless if it was not enforced vigorously in individual cases.

There are always difficulties reporting meaningfully on casework. Such difficulties are increased when, as occurred with the National Advocacy Officer position early in 2000, a different worker takes over the role in the middle of a period. As far as I can discern, 48 new case files were opened during the year. Any single case might be resolved and the file closed in the month it was opened, or it might remain open for years. When I took over from Aileen McFadzean, who is on maternity leave till February 2001, there were a number of such files. Some are clearly (at last) in the final process of being resolved.

As well as case files, which are generally opened in anticipation of ongoing advocacy, representation and support, there is what is generally called "short advices", "one-off inquiries" or "one-off contacts". These may range from a short phone call, through to a long phone call, to a call (or visit) followed by some investigation and further phone calls. During the year there were more than 230 such calls dealt with by either Aileen or myself.

Many such calls were concerned with social security issues. These calls took place in a context where new legislation related to the GST was scheduled to come into force, along with other legislation which repackaged family payments and re-organised the bureaucracy dealing with family payments. Also, the welfare reform reference group had been set up and released an interim report in March (and a final report in August 2000). The welfare reform review process had generated a lot of concern about the future of Disability Support Pensions.

One issue these calls highlighted was the general incompetence of Centrelink staff to adequately explain the effect of the new legislation it was their job to administer. Also Centrelink staff have frequently displayed a general ignorance of the status of Disability Support Pension (Blind) as a non-means tested payment. Many calls related to Centrelink making inappropriate requests for information about income, a partner’s income, or assets owned by the pensioner or their partner.

Other calls ranged over a wide number of areas relating to discrimination, services, employment situations, immigration, and other inquiries of a legal or semi-legal nature.

Discrimination cases come in all shapes and sizes, and from all sorts of areas. Some common ones, as indicated in the introduction above, have followed the theme of access to information. To those mentioned we could add Aileen McFadzean’s pursuit in October last year of large print bank statements. There will continue to be others, particularly in relation to government, which remains frequently tardy in relation to the release of information in alternative formats, and I am waiting specifically for someone to complain about Centrelink notices.

The employment area is another major area of concern. We have run a number of cases under both state and federal legislation during the year, with varying success, and there are a number of cases pending. Employment cases are difficult to intervene on prior to a dismissal occurring. The challenge is often to attempt to retain a reasonable relationship between the client and the employer. Often it is difficult to identify an unambiguously discriminatory act. After a dismissal, complaints are frequently defended on the basis that the person dismissed was (the employer argues) unable to do the job and/or had other failings and/or the provision of "reasonable adjustment" would have imposed unjustifiable hardship on the employer.

Other cases have include several in the area of education, some in relation to the provision of services by blindness agencies, other services such as restaurants, taxis, accommodation and many others.

I had the pleasure of working with Aileen for some days before her leave commenced, when she was able to introduce me to some of the files she was working on and give me some initial guidance which proved extremely valuable. My time at BCA, which commenced in early February, was busy in any case but made more so because there was so much for me to learn. I am still learning, but I at least feel that I have been able to develop my knowledge and experience to the point where I can bring a fair degree of professional and independent judgment to most issues that arise.

In July 1999, Aileen McFadzean wrote a submission to HREOC concerning local government compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. In October 1999 she wrote and presented a paper to an employment forum. The paper was subsequently published in Blind Citizen News.

In February 2000 I wrote a submission to HREOC which conducted an inquiry into accessible voting. In May 2000 I wrote responses to the Department of Family and Community Services’ discussion papers about reviewing Disability Services.

Finally, both Aileen and I have presented talks to training sessions run by blindness agencies.

The overarching policy concern has been the direction of welfare reform. Aileen McFadzean and Maryanne Diamond wrote a submission when the reference group first called for submission in November 1999. Grant Webster and Maryanne Diamond subsequently wrote a submission in response to the interim report in April 2000. The final report of the reference group was released in August 2000 and there are many recommendations proposed in the report and BCA will work with the department and other disability organisations to ensure security for all blind and vision impaired Australians. BCA will undertake a "Cost of Blindness" study over the next six months to quantify for government of the non-optional costs of blindness.

Blind Citizens Australia has participated with the other disability peaks and the National Disability Advisory Council in the review of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy and the development of a new strategy. Robert Altamore provided our input into this process. The revised strategy was launched by the Minister for Family and Community Services in October this year.

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy is important to us as it lays down the Government's strategy for complying with its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act. Thus in instances of discrimination by the Commonwealth Government or gaps in our access to Commonwealth Government programs and services, the Strategy provides foundation material on which we can base our arguments for access. The input of blind citizens Australia to this process was important in ensuring that blindness issues were not overlooked particularly information access issues. We were also able to use practical examples of access issues and discrimination to provide a practical test for the political and management theories on which the current strategy is based.

Members of Blind Citizens Australia continue to use our policy statements on transport, pedestrian safety, audible traffic signals and tactile ground surface indicators to improve access to the physical environment at the local level. Our work in this area has suffered in that we have been without a National Policy Officer for much of the year and consequently have not been able to provide as much support as we would like to give to the efforts of our local members. Also, although the principles set out in our Policy Statements are sound, the documents themselves are somewhat dated and require a refurbishment to give them a fresh look. This will be a priority in the future coming months for the Policy and Development Council.

Currently, there is a lot of activity in the access area. This includes the consultations with respect draft AS1428.4 regarding tactile ground surface indicators and signage for blind and vision impaired people and the development of a Disability Discrimination Act Standard with respect to access to premises. Blind Citizens Australia, through the expertise of its members and the experience gained through its group and systemic advocacy services is well placed to influence these processes positively for blind people.

The table below illustrates the growth in membership by State/Territory from September 1996 to September 2000.

State/ 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Territory

VIC 852 888 936 1002 1031

NSW 487 523 572 617 642

SA 131 420 408 394 393

QLD 216 244 257 282 303

WA 171 190 195 207 208

TAS 75 80 78 83 83

ACT 40 39 40 46 47

NT 12 16 15 15 16

Overseas 7 7 8 8 8

TOTAL 1991 2407 2509 2655 2731

The promotional material, which was revised with the official name change of the organisation to Blind Citizens Australia in 1998, is now well recognised. The new logo and corporate identity has become widely accepted and all stationery and BCA publications are now in the organisation’s colours. All promotional materials, including prospective member kits and new member kits continue to be available in accessible formats - large print, braille, audio cassette and electronic.

A highlight of the 1999 Convention held in Brisbane was the presentation of awards to people who have made an outstanding contribution to Blind Citizens Australia and to improving the quality of life for blind people in general.

The BCA David Blyth Award was presented to Graeme Innes: "In recognition of his community contribution, of particular benefit to blind people through leadership and advocacy over many years: as a discrimination lawyer; as a leader of people with disabilities; as a progressive member of Blindness Agencies’ Boards; and as a leader, policy-maker and representative of Blind Citizens Australia."

Graeme is currently the Deputy Disability Discrimination Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as well as the President of the Royal Blind Society of New South Wales.

Certificates of Appreciation are awarded to people who have made a major contribution to Blind Citizens Australia. At Convention 1999, Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Terry Boyle from Queensland and Kylie Partington from Victoria. Terry received his award "In recognition of his contribution to Blind Citizens Australia through leadership as President of the Brisbane Branch, and in recognition of related representation and advocacy in Queensland". Kylie received her certificate "In appreciation of her sustained voluntary work for Blind Citizens Australia, sorting and copying 15,000 cassettes per year for more than five years". Congratulations to Graeme, Terry and Kylie. Their work in the blindness field and for Blind Citizens Australia, in particular, serves as an example to us all.

At Convention 1999, members passed resolutions to adopt a new Memorandum and Articles of Association for the organisation. Since that time, a lot of work has been done to comply with the new Memorandum and Articles of Association. The formation of the National Policy and Development Council (NPDC) is one of the significant changes and the inaugural membership of this group comprises members of the board, a representative of each state/territory provided that the state/territory has over fifty full members, a representative of organisational members and a co-opted representative from the National Women's branch.

The initial meetings of the NPDC have involved:

• establishing working parties such as; Membership & Development, Blind Citizens News Editorial Committee, Transport/Access; and
• determining policy priorities for the coming year.

Once again this year, Blind Citizens Australia Branches have worked tirelessly in their local areas. They have addressed a range of access issues including pedestrian safety, access to transport, access to emerging information technology and other information services. All have had a variety of guest speakers and some varied social activities. National President, Michael Simpson, visited a number of branches during the year and has reported a high level of energy around common issues.

We have also seen the formation of two new branches during the year – the Tasmanian branch and a youth branch in Victoria known as Young Blind Citizens. There were more than 50 members at the inaugural meeting of the Tasmanian Branch held on 24 June. The inaugural branch president is Dale Reardon. Young Blind Citizens will hold its inaugural meeting in the near future.

With the changes to the Memorandum and Articles of Association there has been a change to the structure of organisational membership. There is no longer provision for Class C organisational membership. As a consequence we currently have twelve Class A and six Class B member organisations. The Organisational members are regularly invited to bring issues to the Board through the NPDC and to contribute an article about their organisation to be included in Blind Citizens News. A number of organisations have again accepted this invitation over the past year.

This continues to be important and committees have been active in many areas. BCA has continued to obtain funding to support the work in Victoria and as a consequence forums have been held in the regional centres of Bendigo, Ballarat, Traralgon, Geelong, and Wangaratta. The aim of these forums was to inform blind and vision impaired people of the services available in their area. Other forums have focussed on specific issues such as Service Provision, Employment, and Education. The forums have enabled us to gain feedback on the services provided by BCA and how these services could be improved.

Blind Citizens News continues to be a well-respected publication and a "must-read" for members and those interested in the work of Blind Citizens Australia. The editor, Lynne Davis, continues to do a fantastic job in encouraging feedback and contributions from members, and she is to be commended on how she has developed the publication to foster the discussion and debate of important issues that affect the daily lives of blind and vision impaired people.

Our weekly radio program, Horizons, continues to keep people informed about the work of Blind Citizens Australia. Some community radio stations are now taking the program each week, thereby enabling interested members and supporters in regional areas of Australia to keep in touch. Horizons can also be heard on the Internet by visiting the BCA web page and using Real Audio. This has significantly increased the listenership of the program. Congratulations and many thanks to Neville Kerr for his ongoing work in producing and presenting the program in support of Blind Citizens Australia for over fifteen years.

SoundAbout magazines continue to be produced at least quarterly in all States except Tasmania. These are ninety minute audio magazines which focus on local news and information. This year we have tried to encourage presenters in all states to keep informed about the material being used in other States with the purpose of exchanging information and interviews where appropriate. Some work still needs to be done to enhance the effectiveness with which such information is exchanged.

Barry Chapman has continued to do an outstanding job as Web Master of our Web Page. He is always diligent in updating information and creating additional links where appropriate. It is a vehicle by which members and other interested people can read and learn about our work. Last year's Convention was once again broadcast live over the Internet. Feedback from those who tuned in via the Web described it as amazing - the ability to hear what is happening at Convention while sitting at home in front of one's computer.

VIP-L is yet another communication medium for members and the wider community of blind and vision impaired people throughout Australia and overseas. It is a discussion list on which subscribers post messages covering a wide variety of issues important to blind and vision impaired people. Thanks to Tim Noonan for his efforts as List Administrator. More and more people are joining the list. It is a very effective way of conveying information to a very large audience, a number of whom enjoy reading what others have to say but do not necessarily wish to contribute themselves.

As indicated, there are a number of people who work collaboratively in the area of membership and communication. This is illustrated by the ongoing achievements of BCA in this area. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your diligence and commitment.

We continue to be active in outside organisations. Either we have had representation in our own right, or we have encouraged our members to take part in these various activities. We believe that it is necessary that we are vigilant, active and visible at all levels. A list of involvements in external bodies follows at the end of this section.

We have continued to be involved in co-ordinating bodies in the blindness field, namely: Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities, Australian Blindness Forum, Australian and New Zealand Blindness Agencies

Our responsibility is to serve blind, vision impaired and print handicapped people. In so doing, we believe it is critical to be part of other organisations: to receive information from them, to give advice to them and to ensure that when they speak out or develop policy on blindness or disability related matters they are in conformity with our views. We have enjoyed productive working relations with many external bodies, and we value the contacts we have made and the information and advice we have received.

Blind Citizens Australia is a member of ACROD, Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF), Consumers’ Telecommunications Network and National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations.

We have continued to work with, advise and receive information from our members on various bodies, even though they do not necessarily directly represent Blind Citizens Australia. We believe that it is important that blind people in representative positions have strong links with other blind people, and we encourage our leaders to be involved in their own right in the wider community sector.

Michael Simpson, has continued his strong and beneficial involvement as a Deputy Chair of the National Disability Advisory Council (NDAC). NDAC is the advisory council to the Commonwealth Minister for Family Services. Michael’s major portfolio responsibility on NDAC has been liaison with the peak national disability organisations such as Blind Citizens Australia.

• Australian Blindness Forum: Maryanne Diamond *,

• Australian Braille Authority: Bill Jolley *

• Australian Communications Industry Forum: Tony Starkey *

• Australian and New Zealand Blindness Agencies: Maryanne Diamond *

• ACROD: Maryanne Diamond *, Karen Knight *

• Consumers’ Telecommunications Network: Tony Starkey *

• Telstra Disability Forum: Tony Starkey *

• Optus Consumer Liaison Forum: Tony Starkey *

• National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations: Maryanne Diamond *

• National Disability Advisory Council: Michael Simpson (Deputy Chair)

• Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities: Bruce Maguire *

• Australian Banking Industry Association, Tim Noonan *

• Employment Standard Working Party: John Simpson *

Executive Member of International Council on English Braille: Bruce Maguire

• ME/4/9: Facilities in Lifts for People with Disabilities, Barry Chapman*

• I//T/20: Text Telephone Requirements for People with Disabilities, Tim Noonan

• I//T/22: User Interface Requirements for Interactive Voice Response Systems, Tim Noonan

• ME/64: Access for People with Disabilities, Ivan Peterson *

• ME/64/4: Access for People with Disabilities – Vision, Ivan Peterson

• David Blyth (Immediate Past President)

• Australian Delegates: Bill Jolley *, Maryanne Diamond *

• East Asia Pacific Regional Vice-President and World Executive Member, Bill Jolley *

• Committee on the Status of Blind Women and the East Asia Pacific Regional women’s committee, Maryanne Diamond *

• Committee on Human Rights: Graeme Innes (Chair) *

• Executive Member, International Council on English Braille, Bruce Maguire

• Australian Delegate, International Council on English Braille Bill Jolley

We have continued our involvement in Australian and New Zealand Blindness Agencies (ANZBA). This is an unincorporated association made up of Blind Citizens Australia, Royal Blind Society (NSW), Royal Society for the Blind (SA), Vision Australia Foundation, Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind and Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind. ANZBA is a member of the DAISY Consortium.

Bill Jolley presented a paper "FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION AUSTRALIAN STYLE" November 1999 for Japan Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities International Program of Leadership Training

The paper discusses Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act 1992. It described the Act itself and then explored progress in two key areas: using complaints to remedy discrimination and the development of Disability Standards. The paper included a brief discussion of some interesting case studies.

The 2^nd General Assembly of the ICEB was held in Baltimore from November 2-6 1999. The Australian delegation consisted of Gillian Gale, Josie Howse, William Jolley and Bruce Maguire. Joan Ledermann accompanied the delegation, and participated in the General Assembly in her capacity as President of ICEB.

The ICEB was formed in 1991 resulting from recognition of the need for a more co-operative and co-ordinated approach at the international level to issues relating to English braille. In late 1998, the Australian Braille Authority (ABA) recommended to the Executive of the Round Table on Information Access for people with Print Disabilities Inc. that funding be sought to allow a 4-member delegation to represent Australia at the 1999 General Assembly of ICEB. In making this recommendation, the ABA recognised that important decisions would be taken at the General Assembly in relation to the future of the Unified Braille Code (UBC) Research Project, and that these decisions would have a significant impact on braille usage in Australia. The ABA was also in the initial stages of preparing its blueprint for the future of braille in Australia. This document, produced in April 1999, is titled "Braille 2000: Meeting the challenges of a new millennium". It makes a number of recommendations about the braille codes and practices that will form the foundation of braille usage in Australia in the coming years. The Australian Braille Authority at its meeting in May 1999 endorsed these recommendations.

Australia has played a leadership role in re-focusing international attention on the need for a unified English braille code and for the work of the UBC Research Project to be brought to fruition in the form of a code that can be considered for adoption.

A number of resolutions were proposed, debated and adopted at the General Assembly. There was agreement that a UBC be endorsed in principal with its adoption at the 3^rd general assembly of the ICEB. We will need to wait a further four years for a decision before the proposed changes take effect.

Blind Citizens Australia receives one unit of recurrent funding from the Victorian Department of Human Services to provide advocacy and information to people who are blind or vision impaired. We would like to extend our thanks to the staff of the Department for their ongoing support and co-operation with this project.

The Victorian project is steered by a co-ordinating committee, which sets priorities, determines strategies and identifies issues in Victoria. The committee has been led by Leighton Boyd who has supported the work of Blind Citizens Australia in many roles. We thank Leighton for his hard work. The committee continues to identify pedestrian access as an important issue for blind and vision impaired people, but also identifies education, employment, and access to information as important issues to address.

Blind Citizens Australia is continuing to produce a quarterly Parent Newsletter. This publication is distributed throughout Victoria, although as interest in it has grown, its mailing list has increased to include recipients in other states as well. It contains a variety of items of interest to children, families and workers involved in the education of children with vision-impairments. Particularly, it emphasises current events and news about education, assistive technology and leisure and recreation. Articles describing the experiences of vision impaired people and families have also been contributed. We would like to extend thanks to everyone who has contributed articles, or has worked in other ways to make "Parent News" a success.

Earlier this year the State Government re-established a Disability Transport Advisory Committee, with Maryanne Diamond being appointed by the Minister of Transport as Blind Citizens Australia’s representative. This committee is constituted by representatives of the disability and transport sectors, and we hope that it will act as a useful vehicle for advocacy for more accessible public transport services.

Addressing issues relating to public transport is time consuming and complex as there are a number of companies providing public transport in Victoria.

We work with many local governments with varying co-operation and success. This year saw the establishment of Melbourne City Council’s Disability Advisory Committee, with Helen Freris appointed as the representative of Blind Citizens Australia. Although the committee is in its earliest phase of setting priorities for its activities, it is to be hoped that it will give us access to Councils planning and legislating processes in order to ensure equitable environments and services within Melbourne. In this way, the work begun by Ivan Peterson to ensure a safe pedestrian environment within the City of Melbourne can continue.

Two forums were held in Victoria this year.

The first took place last November and focused on issues of employment of blind and vision impaired people. A number of service providers talked about the services open to blind people in their quest for employment, and the options available to them should any dispute or discrimination occur. A panel of vision-impaired employed people then discussed and took questions on the various issues relating to participation in the work force as a blind person. This forum generated much discussion, and was well attended, particularly by young people who have not had much contact with Blind Citizens Australia previously.

Our second forum addressed the theme of services provided by the major blindness agencies in Victoria. Again, this forum was well attended by people of varying age groups and interests. Agency representatives described services they offered and a fruitful discussion followed. Apart from providing attendees to the forum with valuable information about services they could access, the discussion gave some indication to Blind Citizens Australia staff of issues which are of concern to Victorian members. This will be useful in directing advocacy in the coming year.

We thank the members of the Victorian Co-ordinating Committee, led by Leighton Boyd, for their advice and voluntary contributions during the year. We also thank our SoundAbout team: Stephen Jolley (on-air magazine host), Dale Simpson (audio production) and Kylie Partington (cassette sorting and copying). They continue to do a great job, without fuss or bother, and SoundAbout Victoria maintains its high standard and continues to receive positive feedback from members and staff of blindness agencies.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) allows for the making of Standards, approved by the Federal Parliament, in the areas of Transport, Employment, Education, Accommodation, Commonwealth Laws and Programs and Accessible Premises. The Attorney General's Department has a budgetary allocation to support the development of DDA Standards, which includes funding for the DDA Standards Project.

The DDA Standards Project’s overall role is to consult with and coordinate comment from the disability sector. Blind Citizens Australia has been the host organisation for the DDA Standards Project since July 1996, and has had a contract with the Attorney General's Department until June 2000. Bill Jolley was the Convenor of the DDA Standards Project on behalf of the National Caucus of Consumer Organisations.

Bill was re-elected in February 2000 by Caucus but when he resigned from Blind Citizens Australia, the Caucus reconsidered who would take on this role and the Deputy Convenor’s role. Sue Egan from the Physical Disability Council of Australia (PDCA) was elected Convenor with Brian Rope from the Deafness Forum Deputy-Convenor. The Deafness Forum have also agreed to take on the role of the Host organisation for the DDA Standards Project. It was judged to be very problematic for Blind Citizens Australia to continue being the Host organisation given that they are no longer involved in the management executive.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank BCA and Bill Jolley for the long term commitment, guidance and support to the DDA Standards Project.

As was reported in last year’s annual report, Rose Ross, the National Coordinator resigned from the Project in July 1999. The position was advertised nationally within the disability sector and Maurice Corcoran was appointed to the position in November. Maurice was able to negotiate a secondment from his position of Executive Officer with Disability Action Inc., a very successful advocacy agency in Adelaide.

Maurice has a background in Social Work and Management and was a representative of the DDA Standards Project on the Transport Standards. Although the position was previously located in Canberra, it was agreed that with the benefit of Internet access, telephone and fax that the Project could be coordinated from Adelaide. One of the first tasks that Maurice identified was the need to review and evaluate the Project and its operations.

The National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations, which had as a primary goal to review the management of the Project, the Project’s purpose and function and current administration initiated the evaluation of the Project. In order to do this thoroughly, it was important to undertake a retrospective study into the earlier development of the Project and its initial function and role.

Until this current review, there had been no ongoing review process, nor an overall Project planning process. The review was seen to be more in line with current management practices of ‘continuous improvement’ with the potential of making adjustments that could improve the performance and outcomes of the Project.

The aims of the review were to obtain open and honest feedback from all participating organisations about the:

• management of the Project by Blind Citizens Australia and how effective that was;
• role of the Convenors and how they performed in their respective roles;
• model in which the Project was being managed and whether that could be changed or improved;
• policies and procedures in place for the Project and how effective they are;
• reporting measures of BCA to the Funding body;
• role of Consumer Representatives and their reporting practices;
• accountability levels of the Project and whether they needed improving;
• function and purpose of the Project and whether it is achieving its objectives;
• administration of the Project;
• future directions of the Project.

The initial funding contract for the development of Disability Standards stipulated that the purpose of the proposed Standards is to "make rights and obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act clearer and easier to understand, comply with, and enforce. DDA standards could do this by:

• setting out in more detail how the Disability Discrimination Act applies to particular issues;
• giving more detailed definition to concepts which the Disability Discrimination Act does not define, or only defines in general terms; and
• setting out more detailed principles to guide key decisions under the Disability Discrimination Act (for example, in relation to employment Standards, deciding what changes to work practices may be required as reasonable adjustment)."

Funding through the Federal Attorney Generals was initially to:

• "Provide for a secretariat to support both the National Coalition and disability community representatives on Standards Working Groups;
• Assist in consultation with the disability community in general;
• Provide a central point for dissemination of information; and
• Provide a forum for peak disability organisations to meet and discuss issues relating to disability Standards and to attempt to arrive at national views."

The review of the DDA Standards Project and the retrospective study into the development of Standards has been a very important process for the ongoing development and refinement of operations. The results and discussion clearly tell us, that although much has been achieved through the Project, there are still a number of policies, procedures and operations that needed to be developed and/or further improved. This work is not too extensive or difficult and the report identifies these gaps and provides a series of recommendations to remedy the situation in the future.

In general terms however, there is very clearly a great need for the ongoing functioning of this Project as the body to coordinate disability sector input into the DDA Standards development in Australia. The Project, as has been reported, clearly has the mandate from both Government and the disability sector to fulfil that role.

The following statements of respondents encapsulates the overall benefits of the Project; "considering the funding constraints, the process of developing Standards has brought about enormous change in creating disability awareness, raising issues effecting people with disabilities, and placing these on the table with decision-makers for consideration. "

The completion of Standards in all areas designated would have been the ideal outcome of the Project but, as it was acknowledged within the review, we are endeavouring to make major structural and cultural changes and this can not happen overnight. In terms of whether the Project achieved its objectives, the following response is significant "Yes for the most part. Once it would have been hard to believe that Public trains and buses would ever be accessible, and I believe the work of the Project has made an enormous impact on achieving much of this. I also believe that in the fields of Education and Employment, more is known and thought about disability and access than ever before."

The Project needs to be able to successfully measure and report on these very important outcomes in the future and this report suggests a means for this to occur. A review on the progress of each of the Standards with the aim of developing the direction and strategy for each area is a crucial step in any further work on the DDA Standards. Fundamental to all of this of course is secure, realistic funding.

The National Caucus has endorsed the review and final report and in doing so, agreed to the public release of the document. The vast majority of recommendations within the review report have now been implemented.

The accessible transport Standards were finally approved by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) in April 1999 where they "agreed that the Draft Standards as developed by the Disability Discrimination Act Transport Standards Taskforce be adopted subject to the exclusion of dedicated school buses, charter services and ferries in open waters.

Noted that any jurisdiction has the ability to apply to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for exemptions from the Standards. Noted that NSW and Tasmania endorsed the Standards, subject to the Commonwealth funding their implementation.

Agreed that the implementation of the Standards be subject to an audit after one year and that the Standards themselves, which were developed in 1996, be reviewed after two years." (ATC communique, 30 April 1999)

Even at the ATC meeting in May this year, "Ministers agreed to finalise implementation as quickly as possible and report on progress to ATC" (ATC communiqué, May 19, 2000).

However, we still do not have Transport Standards tabled in parliament. We understand that a cabinet in confidence submission is going through a coordinated comment process or consultation with all Commonwealth Departments for approval. The Standards will then be prepared for parliament.

The Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Task Force prepared Draft Disability Standards for Education in March 2000. Education Ministers for public consultation approved the Standards. The DDA Standards Project has planned and facilitated a national consultation on the Draft Education Standards with an average of 25 people attending each of the forums held in all Capital cities. Sandi Seymour and Graham Smith developed a Position Paper. The paper provides a critical analysis of the Draft Standards. All are available on the web site. The official closing date for submissions is November 24. Comments/submissions are being posted on the DDA Standards website under current consultations.

The Federal Attorney General announced the development of a Disability Standard under the DDA in April 1999. In essence, the Building Code of Australia will be amended to incorporate provisions for Accessible Premises, which may then be accredited as a DDA Standard on Accessible Premises. However, this will only occur if the amendments are sufficiently strong and beneficial to qualify in their own right as a DDA Standard.

The committee who will do this work is the Building Access Policy Committee (BAPC). The BAPC comprises of representatives of:

• DDA Standards Project
• Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)
• Property Council of Australia
• HREOC
• Attorney General’s Department

The committee is just completing its Terms of Reference. The DDA Standards Project is establishing a Reference Group for this very important work to help support and guide its 3 representatives on this committee.

The development of DDA Standards has been much slower than first envisaged by the disability sector. This has been for a number of reasons which includes such things as issues within the Standards fields are technically complex; decision-making is by consensus; and stake-holders have a range of perspective’s, priorities and interests.

At the same time the importance of this work can not be underestimated as key decision makers are confronted by the very complexities of barriers and discrimination that effects people with a disability on a regular basis. This enables all stakeholders to jointly problem solve ways or means to develop policies that will eliminate as far as possible, discrimination against people who have a disability. It is a form of engagement that would have never occurred if it were not for the DDA Standards process.

Thank you again to Blind Citizens Australia for the major role you are playing in this process.

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) provided funding for a second year to Blind Citizens Australia to advance and represent the interests of telecommunications consumers, with disabilities and to promote equity and accessibility.

The first Policy Officer employed to achieve the aims of the Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation Project; Dr Elizabeth Casling resigned in July 1999. The foundations she laid have been built upon with the employment of a new Policy Officer, Ms Gunela Astbrink on 15^th September 1999.

Some of the specific achievements of this project during the last year are outlined below.

Dr Casling first raised this issue in April 1999 in relation to the following concerns about customer equipment designed to meet specific disability needs:

• The item or the required modifications to the item are not expensive in themselves;
• Such equipment is generally imported into Australia in non-commercial quantities; and
• Demonstrating technical compliance is impractical due to the current compliance process being too costly and taking too long for the developer.

After Dr Casling’s representations to the Australian Communication Authority’s (ACA) Communications Technical Regulatory Advisory Committee (CTRAC) on 29^th July, 1999 just prior to her leaving the Project, it was decided that a CTRAC Working Group be set up to discuss the matter.

The Working Group, comprising representatives from ACA, IBM, Telstra, Nortel, Regency Park Centre for Young Disabled and TEDICORE, resolved in December, 1999 after several meetings to revise the technical compliance requirements for specially developed disability equipment imported at a level of 50 items or less per year. A peak disability body will confirm that the equipment is specifically designed for people with disabilities and issue a certificate to this effect so that the equipment can undergo reduced compliance testing.

The decisions and recommendations of the Working Group were approved in principle at the CTRAC Board meeting in March 2000.

Dr Casling wrote an overview of the regulatory framework of Australian telecommunications. Work continues towards having this document published. Once published, this booklet will be very helpful for people with disabilities in gaining a better understanding of the telecommunications regulatory environment.

After discussions with Telstra about the importance of incorporating the principles of universal design in the development of products and services to cater for a broader proportion of the population, Telstra agreed to host a seminar on universal design. This was held at Telstra in Melbourne on 14^th April 2000. Gunela developed the program, suggested the speakers and coordinated all aspects of the seminar. The information on universal design obtained at the CSUN Conference and at the COST 219bis meeting was extremely valuable in building a good and convincing presentation. In addition, through discussions with Chris Law of the Trace Centre at the COST 219bis meeting Gunela attended, she arranged for Tim Noonan to demonstrate a newly completed software program on information kiosks at the Telstra seminar. The importance of ensuring industry awareness and action on universal design is that this concept allows products and services to be designed in such a way as to cater for a broader proportion of the population with a variety of functional skills and abilities. It recognises that people may be in low light conditions, may have their hands full or be in a noisy environment and thus require equipment, which can cater for these needs. Designing products in this way will meet more of the needs of people with disabilities.

Following the universal design seminar given to Telstra staff in April, an additional seminar was presented by audio conference to ATLINKS, an offshoot of Alcatel. ATLINKS manufactures phones and previously has manufactured phones such as the T400 rental phone for Telstra.

Rob Garrett (Head of Rehabilitation Engineering, Regency Park Centre) and Gunela Astbrink presented papers by audio conference from Adelaide and Brisbane with synchronised PowerPoint slides being shown to six staff in Sydney. The presentation went well on both a practical and strategic basis. ATLINKS staff had a detailed discussion after the audio conference on the possibility of incorporating universal design into their products. It is likely there will be further discussions about universal design with ATLINKS as well as Telstra.

Telstra’s introduction of Big Print phone bills is a welcome addition to the Braille phone bills introduced a few years ago. Blind Citizens Australia had approached Telstra about the importance of blind and vision impaired people being independently able to check through their phone bill without the need for intermediaries. This has now been achieved for a large proportion of Australia’s blind and vision impaired population.

Gunela attended the CSUN Conference on Technology and Persons with a Disability held annually in Los Angeles and participated at the COST 219bis Management Committee meeting, working groups and seminar in Norway. The value of international information exchange and collaboration cannot be underestimated. It provides the opportunity to learn about new developments in legislation, regulation, product and service development as well as develop important contacts.

During the year, Gunela has also developed a draft set of guidelines to raise awareness of the telecommunication needs of people with disabilities among members of ACIF Reference Panels and Working Committees. The guidelines are based on issues raised by representatives of disability organisations and TEDICORE during the development of ACIF draft Codes and Standards. These guidelines are an initiative of the ACIF Disability Advisory Body.

This body was set up as an initiative of Elizabeth Casling, the previous TEDICORE Policy Officer. The group has now become more formalised with regular meetings and minute taking. For example, the last Partnership meeting in May 2000 was co-chaired by James Galloway of ATIA and the TEDICORE Policy Officer. Key initiatives are the development of a web site by ATIA, which will list products that meet the soon-to-be registered Disability Standard as well as other products, which meet accessibility criteria. Rob Garrett of the Regency Park Centre and Gunela Astbrink are developing these accessibility criteria. The criteria are based on existing international guidelines and recommendations by the Consumers’ Telecommunications Network. This web site and database will be unique internationally and will hopefully reflect an ongoing communication between industry and consumers to achieve better access to telecommunications.

TEDICORE’s directions in future need to reflect the changing trends in telecommunications. Therefore, it is expected that while continuing with the current activities, additional focus needs to be given to the following areas:

In addition to these specific achievements, Gunela has undertaken a lot of ongoing advocacy and policy work in the telecommunications field. On behalf of BCA, I would like to thank Gunela for her diligence, ongoing commitment and for sharing her expertise with us. Her work is much appreciated and she has certainly made a significant impact on our efforts to improve the accessibility of telecommunications products and services for people with disabilities.

Thanks to all members of the TEDICORE Project Advisory Board for there continued support and enthusiasm for this work. President Michael Simpson chaired the majority of meetings with assistance from Lynne Davis when Michael was unavailable. Thanks to Michael and Lynne for their leadership of the advisory board. Tony Starkey has been the BCA representative on the TEDICORE Advisory Board and I would like to thank Tony for his ongoing work in this area. Depending upon the outcome of government funding submissions, we look forward to the continuation of this project in the coming year.

During the year under review, BCA has undertaken two projects in the area of E-Commerce. Tim Noonan has been the consultant who has carried out this work. His ability to negotiate and share information with such a wide range of stakeholders is outstanding and BCA congratulates Tim for his diligence and commitment to making e-commerce accessible to blind and vision impaired Australians.

The first project that BCA undertook during the year was with funding received from the Commonwealth Government’s Accessibility grants Program. This research project investigated the impact of electronic commerce on Australians with disabilities - particularly people who are blind or vision impaired.

The scope of the research methods employed in the project included literature & web searches; correspondence with specialists, organisations and individuals locally and abroad; monitoring mailing lists and newsletters; sending out brief requests for input; making public presentations about the project and attendance at the leading international disability-technology conference.

The current and likely future accessibility implications of a range of E-Commerce-related activities were examined - both in terms of threats and opportunities. These include: Smartcards; Currency, digital cash and emerging digital payment systems; public terminals and information kiosks; Encryption and authentication; Internet-based banking and shopping; Privacy issues; and Australia's stated E-Commerce plans. The research scope includes Accessibility implications for all disability groups, as well as local industry and international standards efforts, which have an impact on E-Commerce.

Some of the significant activities of the project have included:

• Attending the CSUN 'Technology and Persons with Disabilities' conference in Los Angeles where key contacts were made with the Trace Centre, Judy Bruer of the Web Accessibility Initiative, Henter-Joyce, City Bank, and The Productivity Works;
• Attended the Web Accessibility Initiative meeting held in March;
• Gave project presentations to Standards groups, industry bodies and disability meetings;
• Developed associations with E-Commerce & disability specialists locally and abroad.
• Visited Canberra to meet with a variety of Government and industry specialists in E-Commerce and Disability Access;
• Produced two public reports, one dealing with the broad E-Commerce area and accessibility, the other with smartcard developments;
• Both reports, a separate written submission and extensive consultation made up comprehensive input to the Attorney General's Inquiry into E-Commerce and other technologies on people with disabilities and older Australians;
• Provided input to AusInfo on their Commonwealth online Documents guidelines;
• Made presentations as well as leading two workshops to a conference on Technology and the Ageing in Armidale;
• Conducted three E-Commerce Workshops for consumers and people in the disability industry in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane;

The research clearly showed up two very major barriers to accessible E-Commerce. While these findings weren't a total surprise, the severity of the problem was certainly underestimated. These two barriers were:

• The huge lack of disability research in the area; and
• An amazing lack of awareness by the E-Commerce industry regarding disability and accessibility.

For these reasons a short way into the project, the researchers concluded that the most important and productive activities of the project (which also make up the proposal for stage two) were:

• Awareness raising for the E-Commerce industry;
• Standards involvement; and
• A focus on two Internet-based E-Commerce growth areas – Internet banking and Internet shopping.

Two other substantial reports have been completed by the researcher on the topics of 'Accessible E-Commerce' and the implications of smartcards in Australia for people with disabilities.

These reports were made available online on the Blind Citizens Australia web site and were promoted widely in Australia and overseas.

Blind Citizens Australia carried out a digital talking-book recording trial through a grant of $20,000 from the Commonwealth Office of Disability. This project used the Sigtuna recording software, and has given us expertise in this new talking-book recording technology.

Dale Simpson was appointed as the Research Consultant in July 1999. Dale was experienced in recording talking books and conferences from previous employment with Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind and voluntary work with Blind Citizens Australia.

The computer system used was based on a Hewlett Packard computer, includes a second disk drive, a CD writer and a professional quality digital audio card.

Three editions of Blind Citizens News were professionally recorded and structured. Each edition lasts for almost ninety minutes. Each recording is structured with two heading levels so that the listener, using the DAISY-compliant playback machine or computer software can search through the recording by article and by sub-headings within some of the articles.

A structured digital recording of the Annual Report of Blind Citizens Australia for 1998-99 has been produced. The recording lasts for three hours. The CD includes the playback software, which the reader must install on a PC in order to play structured audio books in this way. This is the alternative to having a special playback machine, each of which cost $500 and must be imported from Japan or Canada.

The BCA 1999 Convention has been recorded and edited.

In 1996 BCA commenced a project funded by AusAID, Australia's overseas development agency, to support the development of the United Blind Persons of Fiji (UBP). The final report for this project was submitted earlier this year.

Over the years of the project, Bill Jolley made regular monitoring visits to Fiji, usually timed to coincide with the annual general meeting of UBP. The project assisted our sister organisation to increase its membership; develop fund-raising campaigns and strategies; publish a newsletter; initiate an annual awareness week to coincide with International White Cane Day; train its Board members; and generally to develop advocacy for blind and vision impaired people in Fiji. The final report from UBP's Secretary-General states: " UBP has grown and achieved a lot since the establishment of this project. Full-time staff now manage the office. The yearly awareness campaign has brought about changes in the attitude of the public but there is still a long way to go. At the conclusion of the project, BCA's Board allocated a final amount of $1000 to assist UBP with its future work.

We wish UBP much success in its continuing work on behalf of the blind and vision impaired people of Fiji, especially in the current difficult circumstances in that country. And we thank ACROD for its support and willingness to work in conjunction with BCA on this project.

BCA began its work in Vietnam in 1993, when Rhonda Pryor made the first visit to establish the project. Since that time, June Ashmore, Leslye Thiess and Michael Simpson have made visits, and in recent years Bill Jolley has made regular monitoring visits, the final visit being in February 2000. Our work in Vietnam has been funded by AusAID and auspiced by ACROD. Our partner organisation in Vietnam has been the Vietnam Blind Association (VBA) and several of its provincial branches. Sadly, our most recent proposal to continue assisting Braille literacy projects in Vietnam was unsuccessful, and our work in Vietnam has come to an end, at least for the time being. Efforts to secure further funding have, to date, been unsuccessful.

Blind Citizens Australia has worked in partnership with VBA to support teacher-training courses in six provinces: Thai Binh, Long An, Ha Tay, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa and Thua Thien Hue. With funding totalling $280,000 from AusAID, 125 women, three quarters of them blind or vision impaired, have been trained through nine-month residential courses as teachers of blind people in Braille literacy, vocational skills and daily living techniques. They have since opened Braille literacy classes in their local districts. VBA is considering following up the Braille literacy training with some teacher-training courses at their centre in Hanoi, using largely the same curriculum as in the BCA project.

In 1998 VBA evaluated the project, concluding that:

In February 2000 the Vietnamese Government honoured Blind Citizens Australia with the Medal of Friendship in appreciation "For many helpful contributions in partnership and implementation of beneficial projects which have greatly helped the Vietnamese blind community." Normally the Medal is awarded to individuals rather than organisations, and BCA is only the second organisation to receive the award. Bill Jolley has been personally honoured by VBA, by being awarded the "Medal for Happiness of Blind People", "For much help to Vietnam Blind Association in Braille Literacy."

Robert Altamore

President ACT Branch

6 Taroona Place

LYONS ACT 2606

Phone: 02-6282-2805

Tony Starkey

President Adelaide Branch

PO Box 3103, Rundall Mall

ADELAIDE SA 5000

Phone: 08-8223-7622

Fax: 08-8223-7836

Terry Boyle

President Brisbane Branch

54 Panorama Street

ASHGROVE QLD 4060

Phone: 07-3366-2128

Jane Carter

President Illawarra Branch

194 Rothery Road

CORRIMAL SOUTH NSW 2518

Phone: 02-4283-1474

Richard Mackay

President Macleay Nambucca Branch

3 Laurels Avenue

KEMPSEY NSW 2440

Phone: 02-6562-7174

John Simpson

President Melbourne Branch

18 Prosper Pde

GLEN IRIS VIC 3146

Phone: 03-9899-0392

Trish James

President Sydney Branch

2/5 Deane Street

BURWOOD NSW 2134

Phone: 02-9745-6715

Ian Harrison

President Tweed Valley Branch

Site 28B Tweed Heritage Caravan Park

Pacific Highway

CHINDERAH NSW 2487

Phone: 02-6674-3243

Greg Madson

President Blind Citizens WA

Locked Bag 2

MAYLANDS WA 6931

Phone: 08-9371-2111

Fax: 08-9371-2155

Dale Reardon
President Tasmanian Branch
P.O. Box 72
Battery Point Tas 7004
Ph: 03 6224 9214
Bus: 03 6224 1606

Robert Byers

President Computer Users Group

Phone: 03 9555 1190

Fiona Woods

President National Women's Branch

Phone: 02-4739-5101

Ivan Molloy

President Overseas Service Branch

8 Morrisons Avenue,

MT MARTHA VIC 3934

Phone: 03-5975-1858

Sean Tyrell
President Youth Branch
36 Carlton Street
Carlton Vic 3053
Ph: 03 9347 0225

Class A

Naomi Clark

Executive Officer - Association of Blind Citizens of

New South Wales Inc.

11A Ethel Street

BURWOOD NSW 2134

Phone: 02-9744-1516

Fax: 02-9744-1575

Len Clothier

President - Association of Blind Citizens SA

Box 1336

GOLDEN GROVE SA 55125

Phone: 08-8289-9880

Darryl Hicks

President - Blind Workers Union of SA

PO Box 30

GREENACRES SA 5086

Phone: 08-8232-2444

Neil Gillies

President - Blind Workers Union Victoria - RVIB

201 High Street

PRAHRAN VIC 3181

Phone: 03-9521-3050

Marj Barton

President - South Sydney Blind Community and Friends

C/- The Factory

67 Raglan Street

WATERLOO NSW 2017

Phone: 02-9698-1873

Lisa McNeil

Secretary - Albinism Fellowship of SA

18 Baden Terrace

O’Sullivan Beach SA 5166

Phone: 08-8326-4323

John Martin

President - Northern Territory Blind Association

PO Box 40294

CASUARINA NT 0810

Phone: 08-8932-3271

Phillip Jenkin

Secretary - Retina Australia

PO Box 340

KENT TOWN SA 5071

Phone: 08-8362-1111

Dr John Vance

President - Retina Australia

PO Box 12544, Elizabeth Street

BRISBANE QLD 4000

Phone: 07-3229-0482

Robyn Richards

President - Retina Australia (NSW)

PO Box 397

STRATHFIELD NSW 2135

Phone: 02-9744-7738

Fax: 02-9715 1314

Kate Giles

President - Retina Australia (Vic)

4th Floor - Ross House

247-251 Flinders Lane

MELBOURNE VIC 3000

Phone: 03-9650-5088

Phillip Jenkin

President - Retina Australia (SA)

PO Box 340

KENT TOWN SA 5071

Phone: 08-8362-1111

John Finch

Chief Executive Director

The Deaf-Blind Association

PO Box 267

CLIFTON HILL VIC 3068

Phone: 03-9482-1155

Fax: 03-9486-2092

Paul Creedon

Manager - Sensory Options Co-ordination

21 Blacks Road

GILLIES PLAINS SA 5086

Phone: 08-8366-7333

Fax: 08-8366-7366

Stephen Jolley

Manager - 3RPH, 2APH, 3SPH & 3MPH

C/- 3RPH

454 Glenferrie Road

KOOYONG VIC 3144

Phone: 03-9864-9333

Anthony Schimck

Manager - Senswide Services

Level 7, 250 Queen Street

MELBOURNE VIC 3000

Phone: 03-9642-8848

Fax: 03-9642-8750

Deb Lewis

Manager – State Wide Vision Resource Centre

PO Box 201

NUNAWADING VIC 3131

Phone: 03-9841-0242

46000 Agency Grants 60,000

Bequests 140,802

31965 Charged Services 14736

19992 Specific Purpose Income 42759

23536 Contributions – Members 28653

3721 General Donations 10375

1,000 Grant – Jeffrey Blyth Foundation --

4911 Interest Received 10055

5121 Fundraising 38374

527463 Projects 493284

Project Reimbursement 109789

87776 Victorian Service 9000

$751,485 TOTAL INCOME $957,827

1999 LESS EXPENDITURE 2000

970 Bank charges 1140

14912 Charges Services 5410

27149 Communication 38675

1091 Consultancy & Fundraising 15125

9959 Council 17662

3665 Corporate/Legal/Accounting 6920

20223 Depreciation 20206

-- Donation Programs 1097 Grant – Jeffrey Blyth Foundation 125000

2998 Insurance 3554

15405 Maintenance, Equipment, Consumables 10978

8177 Membership & subscriptions 7075

41112 Meetings & conferences 53173

6798 Membership support 4117

7367 Policy Implementation 6054

7299 Postage & Shipping 6699

32037 Printing & Stationery 16145

-- Project Expenses 15080

33950 Project Grants 5288

2755 Project Support 2000

3000 Project Management 3000

37940 Project Consultant 26421

15000 Rent & Services 11250

257997 Salaries & wages 332802

3424 Staff Training & Recruitment 3836

2486 Staff Amenities 3045

344 Sundries --

46683 Superannuation 52134

38324 Telephone 39761

75239 Travel & Accommodation 77584

6338 Victoria -

5674 Workcare 6559

$728,316 TOTAL EXPENSES $917,881

Operating profit or loss before abnormal

23,169 items and income tax 39,946

Income tax expense attributable

-- to operating profit --

23,169 Operating profit after income tax 39,946

-- Profit on extraordinary items --

Income tax expense attributable

-- to profit on extraordinary items --

Profit on extraordinary items after

-- income tax --

Operating profit and extraordinary

23,169 items after income tax 39,946

Retained profits (accumulated losses)

121,434 at the beginning of the financial year 144,603

144,603 Total available for appropriation 184,549

-- Dividends provided for or paid --

Aggregate of amounts transferred

-- from reserves --

Retained profits at the end of the financial

184,549 financial year 184,549

The accompanying notes form part of these financial accounts. These accounts should be read in conjunction with the attached disclaimer

212,434 Opening Balance 144,603

23,169 Surplus/Deficit for period 39,946

210 Cash on hand 210

3,845 Cash at Bank – Cheque Account 6078

4,368 Sundry Debtors 11,705

-- Prepaid expenses --

8,423 Total Current Assets 17993

INVESTMENTS

90,496 NAB 135,449

40,000 Trust Co. of Australia 40,000

1999 2000

FIXED ASSETS

16,026 Furniture & Fittings 16,951

(5,152) Accumulated Depreciation (5,973)

92,196 Plant & Equipment 92,196

(38,940) Accumulated Depreciation (47,198)

50,067 Computer Equipment 58,631

(27,505) Accumulated Depreciation (36,291)

86,692 Total Fixed Assets 78,316

225,611 TOTAL ASSETS 271,758

9,838 Creditors & Accruals 37,348

7,990 Prepaid Income 1,000

41,626 Unspent Project Grants 31,768

15,554 Provision for annual leave 17,093

6,000 Jeffrey Blyth Foundation --

81,008 Total Liabilities 87,209

1. This is not a general purpose financial report. It is a special purpose report prepared for the members of the company to enable compliance with the requirements of the Corporations Law and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law including the disclosure requirements of Schedule 5.

The accounts have been prepared from historical cost records, except where stated otherwise. The accrual and going concern basis of accounting have been adopted.

2. Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment are included at cost, independent of directors’ valuation. Assets, excluding freehold land and buildings are depreciated over their useful lives or depreciation rates set by the Commissioner of Taxation.

 

 

3. Inventories

Inventories are measured at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Costs are assigned on a first-in first-out basis and include direct materials, direct labour and an appropriated proportion of variable and fixed overhead expenses.

4. Unearned revenue

The unearned revenue shown in the accounts will be brought to account over the life of the contract based on the interest rate implicit in the contract.

5. Income Tax

The income of the Company is exempt from income tax by virtue of Section 23 (e) of the Income Tax Assessment Act.

6. Employee Benefits

In accordance with its Memorandum and Articles of Association the Company has no less than seven members and each member undertakes to contribute a maximum of $2 in the event of winding up.

NOTE 3: OPERATING PROFIT 2000 1999

Operating Surplus has been

determined after:

Charge as Expense

Auditors Remuneration:

- Auditing Accounts 1600 950

- Other Services -- --

Capital profit on sale of investments -- --

Included in Current Receivables are:

Term debtors -- --

Less unearned revenue -- --

Freehold land and buildings

Directors’ valuation -- --

Plant and equipment at cost 167778 158289

Less accumulated depreciation 89462 71597

78316 86692

Blind Citizens Australia has no Capital

and Leasing Commitments

NOTE 8: CONTINGENT LIABILITIES -- --

NOTE 9: EVENTS SUBSEQUENT -- --

TO BALANCE DATE

The Board has allocated $20,000 of current National Office surplus to be used to purchase and install 4 new computers and 1 File Server.

Note2000

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Payments:

Wages & Salaries (327615)

Suppliers and Other Operating Costs (537344)

Receipts:

Members Contributions 28653

Interest 10055

Grants, Projects, User Charges, Donations 894934

Net cash used in operating activities 2 68683

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Payments for purchase of plant and equipment (15497)

Jeffrey Blyth Foundation ( 6000)

Net cash used in investing activities (21497)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Proceeds from borrowings 0

Net Cash provided by financing activities 0

Net increase (decrease) in cash held 47186

Cash at the beginning of the financial year 134551

Cash at the end of the financial year 1 181737

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NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW

1. Reconciliation of Cash

For the purposes of the Statement of cash Flows, cash includes cash on hand, cash at banks and investments in money market instruments. Cash at the end of the financial year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the balance sheet as follows:

2000

Cash on hand 210

Bank Cheque Account 6078

Bank Investment Account 135449

Trust Company 40000

181737

=====

2. Reconciliation of Net Cash used in Operating Activities

to Operating Result2000

Operating result 39946

Depreciation 20296

Increase in trade creditors 27510

Increase in annual leave 1539

Increase in debtors ( 7337)

Decrease in prepaid income ( 6990)

Decrease in unspent project grants ( 9858)

Net movements in fixed assets 3577

Net cash used in operating activities 68683

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3. Tax Status

70,967 State Government Funding 72,016

14,767 Capital Grants -

803 Training Grant -

19,970 Special Projects -

5,000 Convention Sponsorship -

830