Media Access Australia (MAA), formerly known as the Australian Caption Centre (ACC) and more recently as the Centre for Inclusive Design (CFID), formally notified its members on 10 February 2025 that it would be closing its doors after 43 years of service.
Given the importance of the organisation, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the great work the ACC, MAA, and CFID have provided over four decades in supporting people with disability in the community.
Co-founded by Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes in 1982, the ACC sold its commercial operations in 2005, including captioning services, to Red Bee Media, forming Media Access Australia as a dedicated not-for-profit focused on the inclusion of accessible media. Although it no longer produced captions directly, the organisation shifted its focus to supporting people with disability under the direction of CEO Alex Varley and its dedicated board. MAA worked to ensure that all Australians had access to captions in television, cinema, and the arts, promoted audio description to support media access for people who are blind or have low vision, and addressed the growing need for accessibility in what was then referred to as “New Media” as video content increasingly moved online.
As the organisation grew, it expanded its efforts to support people with disability in primary and secondary education, with an increased emphasis on the accessibility of websites and, later, mobile phone apps.
Dr Scott Hollier, a former employee of Media Access Australia for eight years in his role as New Media Manager, reflects on his time with the organisation: “It was a great time with great people, watching the birth of the smartphone era and the critical role the organisation played in making sure people with disability were supported—from the technology carried in a pocket to the ability to take the family to the cinema and have an accessible experience. It was also an exciting time to be part of Australia’s journey in adopting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 standard as a national initiative.”
In 2018, the organisation again moved in a new direction as the Centre for Inclusive Design, expanding its ability to support people with disability.
In all its forms, the organisation is credited as a pioneer in providing captions for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing on broadcast television in Australia. It played a key role in the development of Australian disability-related media policy and legislative frameworks, provided the first guidance in Australia on the use of mainstream accessibility features in mobile devices, led breakthrough technology projects in schools, and achieved the delivery of captions and audio descriptions in cinema.
MAA also partnered with the University of South Australia to create the first tertiary-backed digital access short course, the Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility, which continues today through Adelaide University, supporting organisations in incorporating accessible work processes.
Dr. Hollier, CEO and co-founder of Centre for Accessibility Australia, noted the impact the organisation had on his digital access journey and career: “Moving to Sydney from Perth in 2008 to take up the MAA role was only possible thanks to the incredibly dedicated staff, several of whom remain friends to this day. Later in my career, the passion for digital access—both as a person who is legally blind and through the great work we did at MAA—led me to co-found the organisation I currently lead. While I am sad to see the organisation that supported me in my early career go, its legacy will live on through my ongoing work and the many others touched by the work of MAA.”
Though MAA is closing its doors, its contributions to accessibility will have a lasting impact, ensuring that people with disability continue to benefit from the foundations it helped build.