• How to check for existing copies in this format

• State Government Policy

• Suppliers

Text captions on videos can help make audio aspects of the video accessible for people with a hearing impairment. 

Open captions appear when the videotape is played on a regular recorder.  A tape with open captions cannot be viewed without the captions being visible.  Closed captions can be viewed if the tape is played using a video player with a decoder.

State government policy

In 2002 a Queensland Government policy was introduced requiring that all videos produced by government agencies be captioned: 

It is compulsory for all Queensland Government departments, including regional offices, to caption television commercials, videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs that are being viewed by the public. This includes general information videos/DVDs playing in a customer service area, public function or trade show, and videos/DVDs that the public can request, hire or buy.

For a copy of this policy, go to:

http://www.auscap.com.au/export/auscap/captionview/legislation.htm#14

If the link to the policy does not work, go down the page to the relevant section and use the link there.

Suppliers

The Australian Caption Centre [http://www.auscap.com.au/]is the major supplier of captioned videos in this country.  See their web site for information on the cost of captioning, how captioning works, and what it looks like.

State Library of Queensland

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/

Search the film and video database using the keyword 'captioned'.

Education Queensland Video Library (includes captioned videos)

http://education.qld.gov.au/information/service/libraries/resource/currtopics/caption-vi.html

Training providers can apply for registration as borrowers from this library.  there is an annual subscription fee, and the collection targets resources relevant to preschoolers to senior school students.

For more important information on converting materials, go to:

What to consider when converting materials in accessible formats (CD)

You might also want to look at information on notetakers and sign language interpreters.