Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – 25 July 2019 Freedom of expression and opinion and access to information Recommendation 43: The Australian Government review the captioning exemption and target reduction process under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) and introduce incremental captioning targets for multi-channels and online videos. Recommendation 44: The Australian Government, drawing on the Audio Description Working Group’s report, develop and introduce amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) requiring audio description of not less than 10% of all television content to facilitate greater access to television news, information and entertainment for people with disability. Recommendation 45: The Australian Government work with State and Territory governments to ensure that all information about significant changes to laws, policies, systems and obligations should be provided in a range of accessible formats, including Easy Read. Recommendation 46: The Australian Government update the ’Australia.gov.au‘ website to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. Education Recommendation 47: The Australian Government expand the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability to collect data on: a. the numbers of students with disability who do not qualify for an adjustment b. the number of students who are unable to enrol in their local mainstream schools c. educational attainment and completion rates d. the rates of suspension and expulsion e. the use of restrictive practices. Recommendation 48: In line with General Comment No. 4, targets 4.5 and 4.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals and the recommendations made in the Access to Real Learning report, the Australian Government work with State and Territory governments to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy for ensuring inclusive education across Australia, with clear timeframes for implementation. 46