Blind Citizens Australia (BCA): National Policy


Access to Information


Equal access to information is a right for all Australian’s. For people who are blind or vision impaired information needs to be made available in specific formats for it to be accessible. These formats include braille, audio, large print and plain text electronic documents. If these formats are not made available, people who are blind or vision impaired are greatly disadvantaged when compared to the general population.


Important information on the inaccessibility of Portable Document Format (PDF) for people who are blind or vision impaired.


Blind Citizens Australia: ‘Getting the Message’
This document provides important information for organisations on how to provide information in accessible formats for people who are blind or vision impaired. Getting the Message: Information In Accessible Formats: Who Needs It, And How To Provide It (Second Edition)


Blind Citizens Australia: Library Services Policy
Recently adopted in January 2006, BCA’s Library Services Policy mandates that library services should be equitable and accessible because they are vital “in the achievement of equal access to work, education, recreation and community participation for blind people”.

Statistics have indicated that blind people have access to approximately three in every thousand printed publications, falling well short of the equity achieved by sighted people in the community. Taking into account this figure, the policy is based on the fundamental principle that “equitable access to library services is a basic entitlement of all people in the Australian community, including people with print disabilities such as blind people. Therefore, this Policy requires that all library services in Australia provide equitable access to their systems and their collections”.

Read BCA’s Library Services Policy in full.


Audio Described DVDs: Visit the home of audio description. This website is maintained by Media Access Australia and includes general information on audio description, how audio description began in Australia, titles available and where to buy them.






Today's Date: 30/08/08    Last updated:11/02/2007

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Blind Citizens Australia. Ross House, 247 - 251 Flinders Lane, MELBOURNE VIC 3000. Telephone: (03) 9654 1400 or 1800 033 660. TTY: (03) 9376 9275. Facsimile: (03) 9650 3200. E-mail: bca@bca.org.au