Technology & People with Disability – The ‘Great Equaliser’ or Deepening Inequalities?

Patric Phelan

Technology & People with Disability

– The ‘Great Equaliser’ or Deepening Inequalities?

Technology empowers us to live more connected and productive lives; it is fundamental for communication, independent living and participation in community life. This is particularly the case for the almost one in five Australians with disability, for whom technology is often an enabling right – a right which facilitates the realisation of other human rights. It is essential that people with disability can access technology on an equal basis with others, in order to see other fundamental freedoms (such as the rights to work, education, and freedom of expression) protected. This has never been clearer than today, in the midst of a global pandemic which shifted the worlds of work, study and the arts online virtually overnight.

“With regard to technology, some of the changes implemented as a consequence of the pandemic have benefitted people with disability, but for others it has imposed new barriers to achieving the rights to work, education, and freedom of expression.

Australians with disability possess human rights which are enshrined in international law through treaties and given effect in domestic law through legislation. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’) imposes obligations on States to take measures to ensure that these rights are protected, promoted and enforced. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (‘DDA’) facilitates the realisation of these rights by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. Article 9 of the CRPD requires that States take appropriate measures to ensure the accessibility of information and communications technologies (‘ICT’) for people with disability. This is an important provision because inaccessible ICT can be a major form of employment discrimination. The Australian Government has declared that it is committed to ensuring online services are accessible and inclusive, however, the Committee on the CRPD has urged Australia to do more to implement the full range of accessibility obligations under the Convention.

Digital technology has the potential to be a great equaliser, supporting the autonomy and inclusion of people with disability. Unequal access to technology will only serve to widen existing employment, education, and social inequality. The societal shifts brought about by COVID-19 have given the need for accessible digital technology greater urgency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly and dramatically changed our way of living, with the implementation of strict public health measures to minimise the risks of infection. Everyone has been restricted in some way, however, people with disability have suffered disproportionately. As the Chair of the Disability Royal Commission, Ronald Sackville QC, observed at the August public hearing, ‘In one sense we are all in this together. But we have not all been affected equally’. People with disability have experienced challenges obtaining support, increased incidents of abuse and violence, and been left feeling confused, forgotten, and expendable. As a society we’ve failed to uphold a number of essential rights, and some measures have impacted certain groups particularly hard. For example, mandates on the wearing of masks have presented major difficulties for people with a hearing impairment, as they rely on lipreading and facial expressions to communicate. With regard to technology, some of the changes implemented as a consequence of the pandemic have benefitted people with disability, but for others it has imposed new barriers to achieving the rights to work, education, and freedom of expression.

On the one hand, the shifts in employment and education towards remote working and learning from home have been welcomed by many people with disability who have long advocated for more flexible conditions. It has also benefitted other groups such as those living in rural or remote areas and those with parental or carer responsibilities. This societal change has also opened up more opportunities to participate in cultural and community life. When COVID-19 shut down the arts and entertainment industries, many organisations moved online. This allowed people to access virtual tours of museums and art galleries, theatre performances, and live music streams from musicians’ homes – all online. It also moved community events and religious services to online platforms. For many people with disability, including those with limited mobility, these activities became accessible for the first time through digital technology.

While there have been a range of benefits in moving to the online world, not everybody has access to technology that enables them to work or learn from home, and not all aspects of remote employment and study are provided in accessible formats, programs and applications. For example, virtual meetings and telephone conference calls can present serious challenges for employees with a hearing impairment, as can remote lectures and tutorials for students when they are not captioned or accompanied by textual presentations. People with a vision impairment have also faced difficulties using their employer or educational institution’s online platforms and accessing materials. Screen reader software has made many websites accessible, however, a significant proportion of web content is unnavigable or unreadable, including scanned documents (as opposed to digitally-native content). The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that people with disability already experience poorer outcomes in educational attainment and employment than the general population, and these kinds of digital accessibility issues are threatening to exacerbate existing inequalities.

While digital technologies have transformed the lives of many people with disability and the opportunities available to them, there are others who are excluded or face significant obstacles to accessing these benefits. It is important that Australia’s laws, policies, and regulations are appropriate and effective in removing barriers to accessibility if we are to fulfil our international and domestic obligations and ensure that people with disability can participate in all areas of life on an equal basis with others.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has embarked on a project examining how new and emerging technologies may affect human rights now and into the future. The Human Rights and Technology Project will develop a roadmap for reform, specifically addressing digital accessibility. A discussion paper released in December 2019 proposed a range of preliminary recommendations, including: the formulation of a Digital Communication Technology Standard under s 31 DDA; requirements for increased audio description and captioned content on commercial, national and subscription broadcasters; consideration of a concessional broadband rate for people with disability; and the adoption of a ‘human rights by design’ approach by governments, tertiary institutions, and the science and technology sectors in the development and delivery of digital technologies. These are just a sample of the reform ideas which would employ technology as an effective mechanism to achieve substantive equality for people with disability. The Human Rights and Technology Project is in its second phase of consultation, and is expected to release a final report this year.

Technology has played an important role in improving the quality and productivity of the lives of people with disability, enabling greater autonomy, participation, and inclusion. Unfortunately, it has also excluded others, and can represent another barrier to equality and the realisation of a range of human rights. In some respects, COVID-19 has exacerbated the extremes, both levelling the playing field and also imposing additional hurdles. Accessibility must be prioritised in discussions about technology law and policy to ensure that people with disability in Australia are empowered to exercise control over their lives and achieve their full potential. And as society re-emerges into the physical world, we must ensure inclusion is the new normal, not something we leave behind.

And as society re-emerges into the physical world, we must ensure inclusion is the new normal, not something we leave behind.”