Hearing is a bridge
Just as a bridge connects us to the world around us, our ability to hear connects us to others. The threat of hearing loss is like losing that bridge, isolating us from communication and experience.
Hearing loss occurs across the life course. It is the biggest disability per head of the population in adulthood. It affects 1 in 6 Australians. The annual financial cost to Australia exceeds $30B and is rising.
Deafness Forum’s purpose is to support Australians to live well in the community by making hearing health & wellbeing a national priority. The Australian Government recognises Deafness Forum Australia as the national independent citizen representative peak body for all Australians with hearing challenges, ear or balance disorders, and their families and supporters. We are the trusted, national, independent citizen voice for the whole hearing health and deafness sector – the impartial advocate representing all voices that need to be heard.
Hearing health and community inclusion are absolutely crucial to general health and wellbeing
Deafness Forum Australia’s commitment to ear care and hearing health complements the human rights model of disability by acknowledging the fundamental right to health and participation in all facets of life.
Our approach acknowledges that while disability is a part of human diversity and life, the barriers people with disability face are often created by societal attitudes and environments, not just by the medical aspects of their conditions. Therefore, our efforts in ear care and hearing health are aimed not only at medical intervention but also at removing barriers to inclusion and promoting the rights and dignity of individuals with hearing loss. This holistic approach, which combines health and human rights perspectives, reflects a deep commitment to the principles of the human rights model of disability.
Hearing Our Way to 2030
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Hearing health is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of global wellbeing that aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As we approach 2030, the target date for achieving these ambitious global objectives, it’s crucial to recognise hearing health’s profound impact on individuals, communities, and nations worldwide.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a plan adopted by the United Nations in 2015. They are a “universal call to action” for all countries to work together to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure everyone has peace and prosperity by 2030. The SDGs address global challenges and promote sustainable development by balancing social, economic, and environmental needs.
SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
The most direct connection between hearing health and the SDGs is evident in Goal 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all ages. Hearing loss, if left untreated, can have far-reaching consequences on an individual’s quality of life, affecting not only communication but also mental health, cognitive function, and social engagement. By addressing hearing health, we directly contribute to populations’ overall health and wellbeing worldwide.
The World Health Organization has set concrete targets for improving ear and hearing care by 2030, including a 20% relative increase in the effective coverage of newborn hearing screening services and adult use of hearing technology and a 20% relative reduction in the prevalence of chronic ear diseases and unaddressed hearing loss in school-age children. These targets align with the spirit of SDG 3 and provide a clear roadmap for action.
SDG 4: Quality Education
Hearing health plays a crucial role in education, particularly for children. Untreated hearing loss can severely limit speech and language development, cognitive growth, and academic performance. By ensuring access to hearing care, we can break the cycle of poverty and isolation that often traps children with hearing loss, enabling them to fully participate in educational opportunities and reach their potential.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
The economic impact of untreated hearing loss is substantial. The WHO estimates that unaddressed hearing loss costs countries approximately $750 billion annually in direct health costs and loss of productivity. By investing in hearing health, we not only improve individual lives but also contribute to economic growth and productivity on a national and global scale.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Currently, 80% of people with hearing loss live in developing countries, where hearing aids are often unaffordable and trained professionals are scarce. Addressing this disparity is crucial for reducing global inequalities. Expanding access to hearing care in lower-income countries through innovative approaches and training local specialists can help bridge this gap and ensure more equitable health outcomes.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
This goal focuses on inclusivity, non-discrimination, and equitable access to services that support the integration of people with hearing loss into society. It fosters inclusive societies where individuals with hearing impairments are not marginalised and can fully participate in social, economic, and cultural life. It also ensures universal access to information by mandating accessible formats, such as closed captioning and sign language interpretation.
This goal emphasises equal access to justice, which is particularly important for addressing the disproportionately high incarceration rates of Aboriginal people with hearing loss in Australia.
We Connect, Collaborate and Impact
Our Vision is “All Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing live well in the community everywhere throughout Australia.”
Our Mission is “To make hearing health & wellbeing a national priority in Australia”.
Member Driven: Deafness Forum Australia is a membership-based body, which elects its Board of Directors from among its member organisations, ensuring equal representation of each group to provide balance and fairness across our large and diverse sector. Within our resources, we work hard to meet our members’ expectations.
Our membership also includes people and organisations that provide services that promote hearing health.
Peak Body: Deafness Forum Australia is the peak representative body, trusted by governments, public sector organisations, the hearing health sector, the general health sector and the disability sector to represent this constituency.
We are also a part of the effort to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among First Nation people – an essential component of Closing the Gap. We work with indigenous advocates to achieve improved hearing health in indigenous communities.
International Representative: We represent Australians in the World Hearing Forum, a global network of stakeholders coordinated by the World Health Organization.
We are Australia’s member of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People and an associate member of the World Federation of the Deaf.
We are Unique
Deafness Forum Australia is different to other consumer peaks in the sector because it represents ALL consumers, in an impartial and non-partisan way. Through consensus, it develops public policy and actions to improve the lives of 4 million Australians. This is why Deafness Forum Australia enjoys the trust and support of all consumers and others within the hearing health, general health and disability sectors of Australia.
We speak at the national level on behalf of all consumers.
Our ‘scope of work’
Social problems demand social solutions – it’s not just about hearing devices. We work to end negative community attitudes to deafness, hearing loss and hearing difficulties, and ear/balance disorders. We lead the discourse about how we can create a positive community where hearing is recognised and supported, and the strengths of individuals and groups are acknowledged and celebrated, supported by effective public policy and systems.
While we prioritise what we focus on in any one strategic period, Deafness Forum Australia will advocate in all areas, including public policy, that impact on people experiencing hearing related issues.
We address environmental factors that inhibit peoples’ participation in society. Our strategy and approach align with Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31 and The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, viewing people not as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection but rather, as full and equal members of society, with human rights.
Our work encompasses the full human experience and includes advocacy for:
- accessibility in communications
- accessibility to the built environment
- human rights
- justice
- education
- employment
- transport
- health
- aged care
- equitable access to quality innovation and technology
- hearing services accessibility and affordability.
We have three areas of strategic focus.
Read about them here.
A set of principles guide our strategies and daily work.
You can read about them here.
Our Four Goals.
To achieve our mission to ‘support all Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing to live well in the community by making hearing health & wellbeing a national priority’ we have four goals and you can read a summary here.
Our network of influence.
Read the list of our 45 influential member organisations representing all facets of the hearing health and disability advocacy sectors.
Deafness Forum represents Australia as a Foundation Member of the World Hearing Forum (part of WHO), as a member of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, and as an associate member of the World Federation of the Deaf.
Deafness Forum is a member of:
- Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee
- Coalition for a National Strategy for Prevention of Avoidable Hearing Loss
- National Disability Insurance Scheme Forum
- Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
- Australian Electoral Commission Disability Advisory Committee
- Standards Australia committees
- Transport for NSW Accessible Transport Advisory Committee
- ACCAN Standing Committee on Disability Issues
Deafness Forum created the:
- Federal Parliamentary Friends of Hearing Health and Deafness
- NSW Parliamentary Friendship Group for Hearing Health and Deafness
- Western Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group for Hearing Health and Deafness
Deafness Forum is a Registered Charity. Donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible. To donate, go to https://www.givenow.com.au/organisation/public/534
We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community: we pay respect to them and their cultures, to elders past, present and future. We want to be part of the effort to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and we understand that it is an essential component of Closing the Gap. We also understand the risk of the disappearance of indigenous sign languages and the cultural loss it would cause.