Responsibilities of training providers
Draft CD resource - Home > Responsibilities of training providers (CD)
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Training providers have responsibilities to provide fair and accessible services. These responsibilities are described in federal and state laws and policies. Most people expect to be able to have the materials to learn subject matter as soon as they commence their studies. Many materials are still developed with access only considered when someone with a print disability enrols. Then panic sets in as we try to work out how to make the materials accessible, and try to find the money to pay for it. Meantime, time is ticking away, and the student is losing valuable study time.
National and state anti-discrimination laws aim to eliminate unfair discrimination against people with a disability. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) administers the federal Disability Discrimination Act (1992). The commission has received many complaints from students in a range of educational settings. See http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/education/education.html#access Access to information applies to any communication that a provider generally has with a student or learner, including:
In February 2005 the Federal Parliament passed the bill endorsing the Disability Standards for Education. These standards are written to clarify the application of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, within the specific context of education (from kindergarten through to tertiary study). The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act (1991) also provides for access to services for people with a disability. For more information, go to: http://www.adcq.qld.gov.au/pubs/impairment.html Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) is a nationally agreed framework to ensure the quality of vocational education and training (VET) services across Australia. The standards specifically mention compliance with anti-discrimination legislation (Section 2) and access to learning and assessment (Section 9). The Australian National Training Authority has long had a commitment to building a vocational training system that has includes a wide range of learners. The most recent national strategies to increase opportunities for people from equity groups include:
The Australian Council for Private Education and Training has recognised the importance of meeting the needs of learners with a disability. According to their newsletter http://www.acpet.edu.au/newsletters/edition_127/welcome_to_new_newsletter/article_1 dated 28 February 2005: Greater attention to the development of social inclusion strategies to assist students with a disability and those with literacy problems to study with private providers was recognised by the Board... Over 2005, the Board will develop an Equity and Access Policy to assist members and their students in this regard. The Queensland government works with the federal government and other states in implementing national training strategies, including those mentioned above. An example of Queensland government policy aimed at ingraining universal design into information provision is the captioning policy. In 2002 this 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. General information about responsibilities of training providers
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