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Media Access Australia (MAA) is a not-for-profit, public benevolent institution providing information about technological solutions to media access issues. This includes, but is not limited to, captioning and audio description.

MAA was formerly known as the Australian Caption Centre, it is based in Sydney, Australia and works in collaboration with consumer organisations, government and industry across the country

History

MAA began life in 1982 as a not-for-profit company under the name of the Australian Caption Centre, co-founded by Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes.

In 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, the Australian Caption Centre received a one-off grant from the Federal Government for establishment and equipment. A further grant was provided in 1982 to maintain the Centre until it commenced full operations.

The Australian Caption Centre subsequently managed to achieve and maintain financial self-sufficiency.

In 1991, the Caption Centre established the National Working Party on Captioning in order to actively involve more consumers in the growth and development of the captioning service. The NWPC included consumer representatives from all Australian states and representatives from all major organisation for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. Representatives would organise public meetings in their own states and visits to local TV stations by groups of viewers who use captions.

In February 2006, its business assets were sold to Red Bee Media, a London-based media business specialising in broadcast playout and associated services. These services are now part of the multinational Red Bee Media Group.

MAA no longer engages in the provision of commercial access services. MAA works extensively with community organisations, media organisations, access suppliers and government, and maintains extensive links with overseas organisations looking at media access from a global perspective.