Captioning rules for subscription television

Consultation Period: 1 October 2021 0900 AEST to 1 November 2021 23.45 AEST

Captions on broadcast television are an important accessibility feature for Australian viewers.

The captioning rules for subscription television (STV) are currently complex, lack flexibility and are not transparent to users.

The recently passed Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 allows for the current captioning rules for STV services to be removed from the Broadcasting Services Act and for new rules to be set out in a STV Captioning Scheme.

We're seeking feedback on:

• the number of STV captioning categories
• the annual captioning targets and levels
• current exemptions available to STV licensees
• a new racing channel exemption
• a new 'low audience share' channel exemption
• the publication of captioning information for prospective and current subscribers
• maintaining some current STV captioning arrangements.

The STV industry, which includes key players like Foxtel and Fetch, has changed significantly since captioning rules were introduced in 2012. STV services are now competing for audiences with subscription video on demand services such as Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, and Binge.

A new STV Captioning Scheme will allow us to develop rules that are simpler, clearer, more transparent and appropriate for the current environment. It also allows for future changes to be made more efficiently.

We are seeking comments from interested parties on proposals for an STV Captioning Scheme, set out in Part 3 of the Issues Paper.

Issues Paper

• A Captioning Scheme for Subscription Television

Summary video

The key issues relating to STV captioning and proposals for the STV Captioning Scheme are summarised in Auslan and captions in the below video.

Upload your submission or email captioning@infrastructure.gov.au by AEDT 11:45 pm on Monday 1 November 2021.