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Information for people with special needs
Print this pageTelecommunications companies generally offer services for people with special needs, such as the deaf or speech impaired; people with other forms of disability that make use of telecommunications services difficult; low-income users with a life-threatening medical condition; and people in rural and remote areas, including remote Indigenous communities.
If you would like information about services for people with special needs, such as Disability Issues, the National Relay Service, or access to equipment which can assist people to use telecommunications services, visit the Services for People with Disabilities page on this website.
That page also contains information about other special services, such as priority assistance for customers with diagnosed life-threatening medical conditions.
As part of its carrier licence conditions, the Australian Government requires Telstra to have a package of products and arrangements for low-income consumers. This package, called ‘Access for Everyone,’ comprises initiatives that address the needs of a wide-range of low-income consumers. It includes access basic phone services such as concessions for eligible pensioners to help offset line rental.
While the package contains measures especially targeted at holders of Pensioner Concession Cards, Health Care Cards and Low-Income Health Care cards, it is mostly a self-selecting package that allows all low-income consumers to claim them.
This package was originally endorsed by low-income consumer advocacy groups through the Low-income Measures Assessment Committee (LIMAC). Representatives on the committee include the Australian Council of Social Services, the Smith Family, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army, Jobs Australia, the Australian Federation of Homelessness Organisations, Anglicare Australia and the Council on the Ageing. Telstra is required to consult LIMAC on subsequent changes to the package.
For more information on Telstra’s ‘Access for Everyone’ package, call Telstra on 13 22 00 or visit the 
‘Access for Everyone website. The 
Services in Indigenous Communities page includes information about the Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC), and other services such as the Indigenous payphones scheme.
Users outside of metropolitan areas and regional centres may be interested in the Regional, Rural and Remote Services page, which can give you information about which services are available in your area, and what the Government is doing to improve services to these areas.
- Document ID: 3480 |
- Last modified: 6 February 2008, 12:18pm