2007 PhD Thesis Final Revised.pdf - Curtin University

disability-related discrimination issues. The CDS operates within the legislative
framework of the DSA of 1986 and the DDA of 1992.
Although the Federal government has the primary role in legislation, the
states and territories have passed complementary legislation to address additional
disability-related issues. This legislation also included measures aimed to make
government information accessible. The Federal government also acknowledged
that part of the Federal government’s role was the provision of online services. An
interview with a representative of the Australian Government Information
Management Office, formerly known as NOIE, said that there were several internal
reports which suggested that there is a direct saving to people with disabilities in
travel costs and logistical issues by providing services online. At a state and territory
level, the role of government in relation to the IT needs of people with disabilities is
somewhat different in terms of the views between state and Federal policy. In order
to gain an understanding of state and territory issues, interviews were carried out
with representatives of the WA government and the ACT government.
In terms of active policy, interviews with representatives of both the WA and
ACT governments revealed that the primary responsibility of these and other states
and territories in terms of IT and Internet-related technologies was the provision of
state and territory-based government information online. The advantage of this is
that people can access the information as they want, when they want. The Federal
Shadow disability spokesperson Annette Ellis and Shadow IT Minister Senator Kate
Lundy believe that the states should play an important role but that the issues of
disability-related access to Internet-related technologies would be better served by a
national framework. According to Senator Lundy, the current government is trying
to keep IT legislation technologically neutral to ensure legislation applies to future
technological developments.
In essence, the Australian policy and legislative framework provide direct
control over how services are provided to people with disabilities and how
discriminatory matters are addressed. These issues are handled by the DSA of 1986
and the DDA of 1992. Although there is no direct Federal legislation to support the
IT needs of people with disabilities, the CDS offers guidance regarding the provision
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