From conversation to action: what accessible communication looks like in practice

Accessibility discussions often begin with policy frameworks, strategy documents, consultation and public commitments. But for many Australians who are Deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or living with hearing conditions, accessibility is ultimately experienced in much smaller, more immediate increments when going about daily life.

Too often, accessible communication is still treated as an optional layer rather than a core part of customer experience. And we are encouraged when organisations move beyond acknowledging these realities and begin acting on them.

At the National Disability Strategy Forum in late 2025, Deafness Forum Australia Vice Chair Hannah McPierzie helped facilitate conversations between Deafness Forum Australia CEO Rhonda Locke, me and representatives from Qantas regarding accessible communication for Deaf and hard of hearing travelers. We raised several issues that concerned our consumer members and offered a range of suggestions.

“When advocating on behalf of our consumers, we often see nodding heads, but rarely do we see swift action.”

On a recent return trip to Melbourne, I was overwhelmed to experience several practical improvements firsthand. Almost all inflight entertainment included English captions, not just a limited selection. Boarding passes included clearer group information. Boarding processes were supported by visual displays rather than relying solely on audio announcements, and when returning from Canberra just last week, our CEO Rhonda Locke noticed a phone notification alerting passengers to the gate and commencement of boarding her flight.

These may appear like relatively modest operational changes. In reality, they significantly reduce stress, confusion and exclusion for many travelers. They also demonstrate something important: accessibility improvements do not always require years of redesign, major infrastructure overhauls, or lengthy implementation cycles.

Sometimes progress begins with listening carefully to customers, understanding where barriers exist, and treating communication accessibility as a shared responsibility rather than a compliance obligation. Accessible communication benefits far more people than we often acknowledge. Captions support travelers in noisy environments, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, older Australians, neurodivergent passengers and families travelling with children.

For Deafness Forum Australia, this work is part of a broader national conversation around accessible communication across public life. We often see accessible communication like captions and Auslan interpreters when an event has a concentrated focus on attendees with disability. However, in a mainstream capacity, suddenly accessibility is not considered. But of course, people with disability are in mainstream environments.

Whether in transport, healthcare, education, workplaces, cinemas or digital environments, communication access should not be considered a specialist add-on. It should be embedded into how organisations operate from the outset.