Paying for live remote captioning

Overview

Providing Live Remote Captioning involves the following steps:

  1. Speaking to the person(s) requiring captions to find out their preferences
  2. Booking live captioning session
  3. Raising an invoice in Themis
  4. Claiming reimbursement from the Employee Assistance Fund

Employee Assistance Fund (EAF)

The Federal Government's Employee Assistance Fund provides financial assistance to employees with a disability or their employer. The assistance covers workplace modifications, equipment or services for staff that are necessary for them to perform their employment duties and required as a result of their disability.

The Employee Assistance Fund is administered by JobAccess. The Fund provides $6000 (GST inclusive) each year for Auslan interpreting or real time captioning for work related activities, such as Zoom meetings.

Eligibility

To be eligible for EAF funding, employees must

  1. Have an ongoing disability that has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least two years and results in a limitation, restriction or impairment that substantially affects Employment and everyday activities;
  2. Require a Modification to their workplace or work equipment as a result of their disability which is essential to carrying out the Employment duties;
  3. Be an Australian resident; and
  4. Meet one of the following criteria
    1. Have an offer of Employment or Employed for a minimum of eight hours per week, for at least 13 weeks; or
    2. Be Employed for a minimum of eight hours per week, where that Employment is reasonably expected to continue for a period in excess of 13 weeks.

Applications

An EAF fund application can be submitted by either an employee with a disability, or their employer. Usually it makes sense for the employee to lodge the application, because they can then provide their personal information to JobAccess directly, rather than via the University. In addition, if the employee changes job, it is probably best if their JobAccess details are tied to themselves, rather than their employer.

Applications are made via the JobAccess web site. Once funding is approved, employees are provided with a user ID. This can be provided to live remote captioning providers who will include it on their invoice.

EAF funding is only provided for items purchased after the application has been approved. So the University may need to cover the costs of the initial adjustment. Whilst the Uni is happy to pay for reasonable adjustments, it would prefer to draw upon existing Government assistance where possible.

More Information