National Relay Service (NRS) Vivienne Ireland Service Access and Monitoring Section International Training Program 12 September 2006

National Relay Service People who are Deaf or have a hearing or speech impediment may have difficulty in using standard telephone services Often reliant on text-based methods of communication The NRS provides a bridge between users of voice and text-based communications

National Relay Service The NRS is intended to provide comparable access to the standard telephone service It is funded by a levy on eligible telecommunications carriers Provided under contract by third parties to the Australian Government

National Relay Service ACMA, with the assistance of DCITA, manages the contracts with the NRS providers Under legislation, ACMA is also responsible for collecting the NRS levy from telecommunications carriers and providing the Minister with an annual report on the provider’s performance

National Relay Service The NRS has two components Firstly, the actual relaying of calls There are a range of options to meet the needs of those using the service Voice, text, voice carry over (VCO), hearing carry over (HCO) and speech-to-speech relay. Internet Relay is expected to be introduced in 2007.

National Relay Service Voice Carry Over

National Relay Service Hearing Carry Over

National Relay Service Speech to Speech Relay

National Relay Service Text Emergency Service Text users dial 106 in an emergency situation to be connected to fire, police or ambulance

National Relay Service Secondly, providing an community outreach service The outreach program is designed to increase awareness of the NRS and to offer information, support and training to interested parties Outreach activities include advertising, promotion of the service to relevant professional organisations, presentations to interested groups and training for users in specialist equipment such as the Teletypewriter (TTY).

National Relay Service The current NRS Relay Service provider is Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) The NRS Outreach provider is Westwood Spice (WWS) This change in arrangements came into effect on 1 July 2006 and represents the first time that the Relay Service and Outreach components have been delivered by different providers

National Relay Service Current funding arrangements for the NRS Relay Service are based on the number of call minutes relayed Funding for the NRS Outreach Service is now based on a fixed annual budget Total cost of providing the NRS in was $12 M The funding is shared among carriers according to their total share of telecommunications revenue

National Relay Service Key performance standards for the NRS Relay Provider are outlined in the contract Call blockage Text emergency call blockage Text emergency call answer time Performance Indicators for the delivery of the NRS Outreach Program and under development and will be included in the NRS Plan for the Outreach Provider

National Relay Service The NRS Relay Service provider is now required to convene a consumer consultative committee The committee will have representatives from the communities served by the NRS and will provide feedback on the delivery of NRS services ACMA and DCITA are observers on the committee

National Relay Service Any questions?