Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

DEPUTY LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE

National Relay Service outreach services contract extended

The Australian Government has extended its contract with WestWood Spice to deliver outreach services for the National Relay Service (NRS) until June 30 2011, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced today.

"The NRS is a government initiative which provides those Australians who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment with access to a standard telephone service on a comparable basis to other Australians", Senator Conroy said.

"WestWood Spice has successfully delivered the outreach service since its initial contract commenced on 1 July 2006, raising awareness of the relay service and providing training and support to users and potential users of the NRS."

The NRS acts as a bridge between people who use text based communication devices such as teletypewriters (TTYs) and voice telephony. Specially trained officers relay what is said by each party, converting text to voice and voice to text as required.

The outreach component of the NRS includes a telephone/TTY accessed helpdesk, a website, personalised training for potential users, community and professional outreach events, media advertising and printed, video and DVD resources.

The annual cost of the outreach program is $3 million (including GST).

WestWood Spice is a specialist consulting group with expertise in the community and human services sectors, working in partnership with the Australian Federation of Deaf Societies.

ends

Date: 13 August 2008
Contact: Tim Marshall 0408 258 457

Background

The National Relay Service (NRS)is a legislated consumer safeguard provided for in Part 3 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999. It provides access to a standard telephone service for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment on terms and in circumstances that are comparable to the access that other Australians have to a standard telephone service.

It is funded by a quarterly levy on eligible telecommunications carriers. The cost to NRS users for most calls made within Australia is around the equivalent of the cost of a local call. Premium rate and international calls are available at an additional cost to the user.

In addition to the outreach component, the NRS also has a relay service component, with specially trained relay officers working from a Brisbane-based call centre who relay calls between text and voice users of telecommunications. It is operated under contract to the Australian Government by Australian Communication Exchange, a not-for-profit organisation based in Brisbane.

The relay and outreach contracts are managed on behalf of the Australian Government by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.