Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) develops policy documents and position statements to further our advocacy work, and to uphold the rights of people who are blind or vision impaired.
Through our policy work, we provide information and advice to community and government on issues of importance to people who are blind or vision impaired.
On this page:
We develop our policies and position statements in consultation with members and under the guidance of our National Policy Council (NPC) with support from our Policy Officer. The NPC is an elected sub-committee of BCA’s board and is made up of representatives from each state and the board. To promote continuity and sustainability of the committee, each member has a term of two years, with half of the positions on the NPC being up for nomination at BCA’s Annual General Meeting every year.
The NPC can be contacted through Blind Citizens Australia by phone or by email: npc@bca.org.au
BCA Policy
Below you will find a list of our current policies. These are regularly added to and updated to stay in touch with current thinking.
The policies on this page can be used to guide the expectations and promote the rights of people who are blind or vision impaired through self-advocacy efforts. BCA’s campaigns, submissions and responses to inquiries or reviews are based on our policies and position statements.
All policies and position statements are available in your preferred format, on request by contacting us.
Access to Information Technology and Telecommunications
- BCA Information Access Advocacy Guidelines – 8 steps to Web Accessibility (Word doc)
- Round Table for Information Access – Resources
Education
Employment
- Hello Recruiters (Word doc)
- Hello Employers (Word doc)
- Hello Disability Employment Service (DES) providers (Word doc)
- Government as an Employer (Word doc)
- How the Australian Government can meet their national and international obligations (Word doc)
We have also created a series of fact sheets which challenge assumptions about what people who are blind or vision impaired can do, bust myths, provide guidance on legal blindness, and advise people who are blind or vision impaired on where to find and access information.
- Have you checked your assumptions? (Word doc)
- Busting those myths (Word doc)
- What does the term legal blindness mean? (Word doc)
- Reading information as a person who is blind? (Word doc)
- What Australian and international law say about disability – the law and guidelines (Word doc)
- And now to some useful links (Word doc)
Take a peek at a list of jobs that people who are blind or vision impaired have undertaken.
Health Services
- BCA Access to Health Services for people who are Blind or Vision Impaired (Word doc)
- BCA Hospital Policy (Word doc)
- Information for Hospital Staff regarding patients who are blind or vision impaired (Word doc)
In The Home
Service Providers
Transport, Travel and Built Environment
- Aviation Policy (Word doc)
- Bus Services Policy (Word doc)
- Taxi Services Policy (Word doc)
- Train Services (Word doc)
- Tram and Light Rail Policy (Word doc)
- Ferry and Hydrofoil Services Policy (Word doc)
- White Cane Policy (Word doc)
- Pedestrian Safety Policy (Word doc)
- Audible Traffic Signals Policy (Word doc)
- Safer Streets – A guide to public access advocacy for people who are blind or vision impaired (Word doc)
BCA Campaigns
To support and move policy objectives forward, we will often design and implement a campaign to influence change.