Draft captioning quality guidelines

We are seeking feedback on new draft captioning quality guidelines designed to give broadcasters and their viewers a clearer understanding of how the ACMA assesses the quality of television captioning. 

The draft guidelines address captioning quality matters where stakeholders have previously requested clarification. These matters include how we assess captioning provided on television shows that have distinct program segments – such as news or current affairs, whether captions must be in a particular font or colour, and how soon captions must appear on screen after the corresponding audio.

The draft guidelines have been developed in response to feedback the ACMA has received from broadcasters during investigations and audits, and in response to the recent consultation undertaken before the Broadcasting Services (Television Captioning) Standard was remade.

We are seeking feedback about whether the draft guidelines sufficiently explain the interpretation of the captioning quality rules, and if there are any other matters to be included. The deadline for submissions is 5.00 pm, Monday 11 December 2023.

Use the ‘Make a submission’ button at the top of this page to upload your submission. 

Submissions by email can be sent to captioning@acma.gov.au or please post to:

Manager, Media Diversity Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority
PO Box Q500, Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230