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Enterprise Strategy

Sydney Opera House


Access Strategic Plan
2016–18
CEO’s Message 5

Our Mission 6
Who We Are 7

Our Customers 7

Our Employees 7

Contents
Our Accessibility Commitment 10

Data Profile 12
What is Disability? 13

Key statistics [footnote_1] 13

Social Policy Context 16


NSW Disability Reforms 17

United Nations Convention on the 17


Rights of Persons with Disabilities

National Disability Strategy 2010–20 (NDS) 17

History and Achievements 18


Highlights of the Access Strategic Plan 2013–15 19

Accessibility Vision 2018 22

Consultation Process 24

Review and Monitoring 28


Measurement of Progress 29

Access Strategic Plan 2016–18 32


The Building 33

Performances and Experiences 33

Workplace 34

Community Leadership 34

Operations & Customer Service 35

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Enterprise Strategy

Sydney Opera House


Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

I am delighted to present the The Building;


Performances & Experiences;
Sydney Opera House’s Access Workplace;
Strategic Plan 2016–18. Operations & Customer Service;
and
The plan outlines progress to date & our Community Leadership.
strategy for further improving access &
inclusion at the Sydney Opera House. It also I am confident that these improvements will
fulfils the Sydney Opera House’s obligations enable us to achieve our key goal, which is
under the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) to make the building, precinct & experiences
& Disability Inclusion Act (2014). we offer more accessible to all people,
appropriate to the Sydney Opera House’s
Accessibility has been a key focus at the central role in the nation’s life & identity.
Sydney Opera House in the past decade,
through the development & implementation I would like to thank the many disability
of three successive three-year accessibility organisations that continue to support our
strategies. efforts, not least by providing us with a more
sophisticated understanding of the challenges
Our fourth strategic plan is particularly faced by people with disability in accessing
timely, as it coincides with both a new era the arts.
in the history of the building, the Sydney
Opera House’s Decade of Renewal, & a
period of government policy reform aimed at
giving people with disability greater choice,
independence & agency in pursuing access &
inclusion. This new plan builds on the strong
foundation achieved through its predecessors.
It focuses on improving access across five key
areas:

Louise Herron AM
CEO

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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Sydney Opera House embodies beauty, Through Sydney Opera House Presents,
inspiration & the liberating power of art & the Sydney Opera House also offers its own
ideas. It is a masterpiece that belongs to all programming, ranging from contemporary
Australians. music & dance to talks & ideas events & shows
for children & families.
We will treasure & renew the Sydney Opera
House for future generations of artists, The Sydney Opera House’s spectacular
audiences & visitors. harbourside precinct also includes a wide
range of restaurants & bars, as well as tours
Everything we do will engage & inspire & retail offerings.
people through its excellence, ambition &

OUR breadth. We will strengthen our central role Our Customers


in Australia’s life & identity.

Who We Are
Sydney Opera House customers include:
The public, who attend events, visit the
site, take guided tours & frequent the

MISSION
The Sydney Opera House is Australia’s restaurants, cafes & retail outlets. They
premier tourist attraction & one of the world’s include domestic & international tourists,
busiest performing arts centres. More than as well as local residents.
eight million people visit the Sydney Opera
House each year & more than 1.4 million Performing arts presenters & commercial
attend a performance. partners, who present in & hire venues &
deliver a range of services. They include
A World Heritage-listed “masterpiece of performing arts companies, schools,
human creative genius” that belongs to community groups, corporations,
all Australians, the Sydney Opera House individuals, government departments,
embarked on a Decade of Renewal at its 40th & operators of on-site food & beverage
Anniversary in 2013 to prepare for future & retail outlets.
Sydney Opera House belongs to everyone. generations of artists, audiences & visitors.
As an organisation, our goal is to provide The Sydney Opera House has seven Our Employees
barrier-free access, making the site, performance venues: Concert Hall; Joan The Sydney Opera House has more than
building & the experiences they offer Sutherland Theatre (opera); Forecourt; 850 employees (364 full-time employees)
accessible to all people. Drama Theatre; Playhouse; The Studio; & located in three sites. The diverse workforce
Utzon Room. includes technical staff involved in staging,
The Sydney Opera House is home to seven lighting & sound, theatre managers & ushers,
flagship Australian companies: Opera tour guides, maintenance, security
Australia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The & administrative staff, & management.
Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company, Of these, 15 staff members (2.5%) have
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Bangarra identified as having a disability & four staff
Dance Theatre & Bell Shakespeare. members (0.005%) required adjustment at
work in the past 12 months.

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Accessible
Babies Proms
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Sydney Opera House is Access audits to determine access


requirements for all areas & key initiatives;
committed to the following
Consultation with people with disability for
accessibility guiding principles: all key initiatives;
Access solutions promote the principles of The latest technologies should be
social equity & inclusion, while reinforcing considered to provide flexible, multi-
positive community attitudes about people sensory access solutions (both interpretive

OUR
with disability; & physical); and
Access issues are addressed early in the Access solutions must comply with
planning stage of new initiatives; the Sydney Opera House’s heritage
Preference is given to access solutions that requirements.

ACCESSIBILIT Y
achieve integrated & independent access
(e.g. people with disability use the same
access routes as people without disability);
Initiatives comply with relevant disability

COMMITMENT
access standards & legislation;


Vivid LIVE: Lighting of the Sails,
audio-described tour
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

What is Disability? Key statistics [footnote_1]


The Disability Discrimination Act (1992) 1 in 5 Australians (more than 4 million
defines disability as ‘any impairment, people) has some form of disability;
abnormality, or loss of function, of any part of 43% of people over the age of 55 have one
the body or mind’. This includes: or more disabilities;
Physical; 2.2 million Australians of working age (15–
Intellectual; 64) have a disability; People with disability

DATA
are twice as likely to be in the bottom 20%
Psychiatric;
of gross household incomes.
Sensory;
3.4 million (15%) of Australians have a
Neurological; physical disability;
Learning disability;

PROFILE
1 in 6 Australians experiences hearing loss.
Physical disfigurement; or There are about 30,000 Deaf Auslan users;
Immunological (the presence of organisms Vision Australia estimates there are 357,000
causing disease in the body). people in Australia who are blind or have
low vision ;
45% of the population will experience a
mental health disorder at some point.
People aged between 15 & 64 years with
disability have both lower participation
(53%) & higher unemployment rates (9.4%)
than people without disability (83% & 4.9%
respectively).
Graduates with disability take longer
to gain fulltime employment than other
graduates [footnote 2].
The likelihood of living with disability
increases with age; 31% of 55 to 64 year
olds live with disability.
Almost nine in ten people aged 90 & over
(88%) have a disability.
More than a third (39%) of complaints
lodged with the Australian Human Rights
Commission are against businesses & are
related to disability.

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability,


Ageing & Carers 2012, except where stated.
2 Graduate Careers Australia, GradStats, 2011.
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18


Ensuring that the Sydney Opera
House is accessible to all is an
essential part of Renewal. It is
vital that everyone feels welcome
& is able to engage with the
Sydney Opera House as deeply &
in as many ways as they wish.


Bella in the House Program
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Sydney Opera House’s Access participating fully. This focus on mainstream
service access means that all levels of
Strategic Plan 2016–18 aligns with government, as well as other parts of the
NSW, national & international community, have a role to play in giving effect
social-policy & legislative to the convention.
frameworks that include: National Disability Strategy 2010–20 (NDS)
Supporting people with disability has been

SOCIAL
NSW Disability Reforms
recognised as a key policy priority through
NSW is undergoing a period of major reform the National Disability Strategy & subsequent
to improve inclusion for people with disability. National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Disability Inclusion Act (2014) & the Developed by the Commonwealth, States,

POLICY
Disability Inclusion Regulation (2014) came Territories & local governments in partnership,
into effect on 3 December 2014. Part 2 the NDS 2010–2020 sets out a national plan
of the Act requires NSW Government for Australians with disability, their families &
departments, local councils & other public carers, in support of the commitment made to
authorities (as set out in the regulation), to

CONTEXT
the UNCRPD.
develop & implement Disability Inclusion
The NDS is designed to guide public policy
Action Plans.
across Australia & to bring about change
Disability Inclusion Action Plans itemise in all mainstream services & programs. The
actions to be taken to ensure that people NDS sets out six priority areas that reflect
with disability can participate fully in the the broad scope of the UNCRPD. The NDS
local community. The plans must contain NSW Implementation Plan 2012–14 was the
strategies to support people with disability. NSW Government’s initial two-year strategy
They detail how people with disability were to promote NDS principles. These principles
consulted & how the plan supports the have been aligned with the objects of the
State Disability Inclusion Plan. Disability Inclusion Act (2014) & Disability
Inclusion Plans.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities Other relevant legislation & guidelines
informing the development of the Sydney
The United Nations Convention on the Rights Opera House’s Access Strategic Plan include:
of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was
ratified by Australia in 2008. It acknowledges Commonwealth Disability Discrimination
that people with disability have the same Act 1993 (DDA);
human rights as those without disability. NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (ADA);
This commits participating governments to
NSW Government Sector Employment
ensure these rights can be exercised & that
Act 2013;
barriers to exercising such rights are removed.
Implementing a rights-based approach under Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings)
the convention requires governments to Standards & Australian Standards for
address not only the provision of specialist Design of Access & Mobility 1428.1–4; and
services to people with disability, but also the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web
provision of mainstream services. These are Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
to be provided in a way that does not directly
or indirectly prevent people with disability 17
Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Sydney Opera House’s first Access Highlights of the Access Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan (2007–09) focused on 2013–15
helping people with disability navigate the
Launched inaugural Access Program of
precinct & venues via large-scale building events & experiences in 2014; 2015 program
improvements, as well as introducing a launched by the NSW Minister of Ageing
range of access amenities. For example,
& Disability.
the first public lift was opened in 2009,
providing independent access to most Programmed Oddysea, an immersive

HISTORY
areas of the site for the first time, including sensory theatre experience designed
all Western Foyers theatre venues. specifically for young people with profound
& complex disability – a first for an
The second strategic plan (2010–12)
Australian performing arts centre.
focused on making the experiences

AND
offered by the Sydney Opera House more Expanded Access Program to include a
accessible through touch tours, audio- discount $5 ticket program for people
description, captioning & sign-language- experiencing social or economic
interpreted performances. Dedicated disadvantage, offered through the Balnaves
autism-friendly performances allowed Foundation Open House Program.

ACHIEVEMENTS patrons & visitors with disability to


participate in mainstream performances
for the first time.
Introduced the Starting with Art at the
House & Bella in the House programs of
excursions for students with disability, in
The third strategic plan (2013–15) collaboration with the Art Gallery of NSW
established the first annual Access & Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).
Program, with bespoke sensory Introduced free audio-described tours of
performances & workshops for people the Lighting of the Sails, the centrepiece
with complex & profound disability. The of the Vivid LIVE festival.
Access Program also broadened its remit
to help people facing social & economic Provided the first autism-friendly
disadvantage attend Sydney Opera House performance of a musical, The King & I, in
performances through the Balnaves collaboration with Opera Australia & Giant
Foundation Open House Program. During Steps.
this phase, planning for the next stage of Introduced regular Accessible Babies
accessible building upgrades as part of the Proms series & free Sing & Play sessions, in
Sydney Opera House’s Decade of Renewal collaboration with the Lifestart organisation
also began with development of the & the Royal Institute of Deaf & Blind
Accessibility Master Plan. Children (RIDBC).

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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

Partnered with Accessible Arts NSW & Completed the Sydney Opera House Live-streamed the first signing choir
the MCA to provide an annual accredited Accessibility Master Plan, which includes performing Handel’s Messiah in Auslan,
Professional Development Day for special concept designs to inform building-renewal in collaboration with Accessible Arts &
needs teachers titled: Dance, Theatre accessibility upgrades. Sydney Philharmonic Choirs. The live-
& Visual Art: Engaging Students with stream included both audio-description
Partnered with Vision Australia to provide
Disability. & live captioning.
accredited audio-description training to
Continued to help emerging artists with Sydney Opera House staff. A new Sesame lift was installed in
disability to showcase their work at the Bennelong restaurant, providing
Provided online closed-captioning for
Sydney Opera House. The Can You See mainstream access to the lower dining level
Sydney Opera House Presents talks & ideas
Me? Theatre Company, an initiative of shows & live-captioning of the Sydney for the first time.
Cerebral Palsy Alliance, gave sold-out Opera House’s digital education program Introduced a quarterly online access
performances in The Studio in 2014 & 2015. for students who are Deaf or those who e-newsletter, What’s On in Access,
Offered people with Parkinson’s disease & have hearing loss. informing audiences of accessible
NSW school students a once-in-a-lifetime experiences, performances & programs.
Introduced final-year university students
opportunity to dance at the Sydney Opera with disability to the Stepping Into paid Access Program received $60,000 from
House as part of a series of workshops
internship program. Students joined the Sydney Opera House donors since launch.
hosted in conjunction with New York’s Sydney Opera House’s human resources,
acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group, as Won a prestigious NSW Government Green
finance, building development & workplace
part of its global Dance for PD program. Globe award, reflecting the Sydney Opera
health & safety teams. House’s social sustainability leadership,
including our accessibility programs.

Accessible Babies Proms



Access Program Launch 2015 21
Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Access Strategic Plan The Access Program will continue to broaden
its scope to facilitate:
(2016–18) builds on the
Access for those facing social & financial
foundation established by disadvantage; and
three successive plans. Health & well-being benefits for new
sections of the community, such as
Many access initiatives have become part of
people with Parkinson’s disease, through

ACCESSIBILIT Y
business as usual as a result of those earlier
performing arts experiences.
plans. Yet work remains to remove remaining
barriers to full inclusion. These have been Workplace: We will continue to create
identified through customer feedback & an inclusive workplace culture & provide
stakeholder consultation. employment opportunities for people with

VISION
disability.
The Access Program has also begun to attract
thousands more people with disability to Operations & Customer Service: We will
Sydney Opera House each year. To support enhance customer services for people with
our efforts to attract & sustain these new disability, making the Sydney Opera House a

2018
audiences, it is crucial that we provide an more welcoming & navigable place.
accessible & inclusive environment, physically, Community Leadership: We will continue to
operationally & in terms of customer service. provide leadership in the area of accessibility,
The latest plan focuses on improving access looking at new ways to share both our
in the following five areas: knowledge & resources across the arts &
disability sector.
The Building: The Sydney Opera House’s
Stage 1 Building Renewal program represents
an opportunity to address a number of
remaining physical-access barriers.
Performances & Experiences: The Access
Program will continue to explore ways to
enhance sensorial access to Sydney Opera
House performances & experiences.


Dance for PD Community Class
Utzon Room
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

Key internal & external stakeholder These stakeholders represented a range of


disability & user groups & were asked to share
consultations have informed our their thoughts & experiences about four key
Access Strategic Plan. questions:
What do you see as the main challenges
The consultation identified remaining access
in visiting the Sydney Opera House?
barriers & explored current trends & best
practice in the area of access & inclusion. What do you currently like about the

C O N S U LTAT I O N
Sydney Opera House & why do you visit?
We sincerely thank the following
representatives for their participation in the What additional accessibility measures
consultation process & their ongoing support would you like to see at the Sydney Opera
for improving access: House & what matters most to you?

PROCESS
Dr Jane Bringolf Can you identify locations or buildings,
Liveable Communities, COTA either locally or overseas that are leaders
in accessibility?
Melissa McCarthy
Director, Education Services, RIDBC The Sydney Opera House will continue
to foster strong relationships & work
Greg Killen
collaboratively with our partners in the
Senior Policy & Advocacy Officer, Spinal Cord
disability sector throughout the life of
Injuries Australia
this plan.
Sancha Donald
CEO, Accessible Arts
Carl Southern
Teacher, St Edmunds
Alex Jones
Auslan Stage Left
Vanessa Lucas
Music Therapist, Giant Steps School
Joanna Agius
Deaf Arts Officer, Accessible Arts NSW
Nea Cahill
Project Officer, Strategic Initiatives, Arts NSW
Christian Carter
Sydney Opera House patron
Jennifer Moon
Guide Dogs NSW
Sam Hardy
Sydney Opera House patron

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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18


The Access Program has also
begun to attract thousands more
people with disability each year... it is
crucial that we provide an accessible
& inclusive environment, physically,
operationally & in terms of
customer service.


Vivid LIVE: Lighting of the Sails,


audio-described tour

RJ Mitte and
Benjamin Law
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Sydney Opera House
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18

The Access Strategic Plan will Measurement of Progress

be monitored & implemented The plan’s success will be assessed against


qualitative & quantitative measures, including:
by the Sydney Opera House’s
Annual increases in the number of people
Accessibility Manager, working with disability attending accessibility
with various portfolios across performances, tours, events & using other
access services, measured against baseline
the organisation.

REVIEW
measurements taken in 2015;
Feedback from patrons, visitors & disability Annual decreases in the number of
organisations will be sought throughout the disability access-related complaints;
life of the plan, as the views of people with Positive feedback on the quality of access

AND
disability will help determine the success of events & experiences at the Sydney Opera
the plan’s initiatives. House from post-event customer surveys &
The Sydney Opera House’s Chief Executive disability organisations;
Officer will ensure that progress towards the Annual increases in the number of patrons

MONITORING
plan’s goals is reviewed & reported. & disability organisations subscribing to the
The plan will be available on What’s On in Access e-newsletter; and
sydneyoperahouse.com, including an audio- Increased media coverage of accessibility
file version. Hard copies, including copies in initiatives in both mainstream & disability-
alternate formats (Braille, large print & easy specific media.
English) can be requested from:
The plan will be registered with the Australian
Jenny Spinak Disability Rights Commission & achievements
Accessibility Manager, will be noted in the Sydney Opera House’s
Sydney Opera House, GPO Box 4274, Annual Report.
Sydney, NSW 2001
Australia
Telephone: 61 2 9250 7175
Facsimile: 61 2 9250 7135
Email:
jspinak@sydneyoperahouse.com

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Oddysea sensory theatre
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Sydney Opera House The Building Strategies
Access Strategic Plan
2016–18 GOAL: The Sydney Opera House Implement accessibility improvements (as identified in
is an accessible building & site. the Accessibility Master Plan) as part of new Stage 1
Renewal projects, including the Concert Hall upgrade;
new Creative Learning Centre; Function Centre; Theatre
& Events offices & Foyers & Lobbies. This include access
upgrades to wheelchair seating options; food & beverage
& toilet amenities; accessible passages linking southern
& northern foyer areas; lifts linking box offices to foyer
areas; as well as linking northern foyers with upper levels.
Improvements may either be implemented simultaneously
or staged over time.
Ensure new upgrades & refurbishments are, at a minimum,

ACCESS
compliant with relevant access standards & codes,
while aiming to achieve best practice in accessible
design, subject to heritage & Utzon Design Principle
considerations.
Ensure accessibility is considered as a key customer

S T R AT E G I C requirement during the design phase of any relevant


new building project.

PLAN Performances Strategies


and Experiences

2016–18 GOAL: The Sydney Opera


House offers an innovative
Access Program that allows
Expand awareness & support for the Sydney Opera
House’s Access Program through staging an annual launch
event for key industry, government, sponsor & donor
people with a diverse range of stakeholders.
abilities to engage & benefit Make our festival experiences autism-friendly.
from all that the Sydney Opera
House has to offer. Continue to scope quality sensory theatre experiences
for audiences with profound & complex disability.
The goals of the Access Strategic Plan Increase the number of accessible performances,
will be achieved through the following including captioned, audio-described & sign language-
interpreted performances.
strategies, to be implemented over
the next three years. Expand the subscriber base of What’s On in Access,
the Access Program’s online quarterly newsletter.
Explore & facilitate new collaborations between
the Sydney Opera House, its resident companies &
community groups to provide access to educational
arts experiences for people with disability.
Include key access information for non-designated
accessible performances whenever feasible. The aim is to
clearly indicate the suitability of regular performances for
patrons with disability.
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Workplace Strategies Operations & Strategies
Establish an annual three-month internship opportunity Customer Service
GOAL: The Sydney Opera House
is an inclusive workplace that for a young graduate with disability to work for the Access
Program, & provide meaningful work experience as a path GOAL: The Sydney Opera House Update the Sydney Opera House Customer Access Guide
advances the skills, experiences
to further employment. delivers ‘seamless’ accessibility to include additional accessibility features & facilities,
& employment of people with
experiences through integrated including information on:
disability, & also enables staff Create opportunities to place people with intellectual
customer service & event Seating options in foyers;
without disability to increase disability into successful & satisfying roles within the
operations. This will foster Recommended viewing areas in the venues for people
their understanding of the organisation through engagement with a supported-
inclusion & promote individual with different access requirements;
access needs of people with employment service. This includes scoping an appropriate
choice by providing the First-aid facilities;
disability & how they can best position within the organisation & developing a business
support needed for people with Bennelong restaurant;
support their engagement with case to establish a new paid position.
disability to access the Sydney Parking; and
the Sydney Opera House. Encourage candidates with disability to apply for Opera House independently. Shuttle bus & taxi access arrangements.
Sydney Opera House jobs by advertising employment
opportunities through Enabled Employment, a labour Provide additional accessibility information onsite,
hire company for people with disability. including temporary signage informing patrons of
accessible paths of travel between staff assistance points
Offer customer-facing staff training to facilitate events,
& access amenities.
performances & tours within the Access Program. This
includes: Accessibility Manager to facilitate annual accessible
customer service training for all Front of House, Theatre
Audio-description training; Managers & Host Team staff.
Introductory Auslan (Australian sign-language); and
Facilitating Bella in the House & Starting with Art at Ensure the Sydney Opera House website complies with
the House tours for students with disability. WCAG 2.0 AA, including the seat selection process.
Investigate alternative access solutions for any areas or
functions of the website that cannot reasonably be made
AA-compliant.
Community Leadership Strategies Develop processes & provide staff training to ensure
customer material provided in PDF format on the Sydney
GOAL: The Sydney Opera Expand the scale & scope of the Sydney Opera House’s Opera House website is accessible to customers with
House champions & promotes Access Strategic Plan & Program, & work with the Sydney vision impairments who use screen-reading technology.
improved access to the arts Opera House’s Philanthropy & Partnerships teams to
further diversify & increase funding to this end. Scope the development of an app that provides wayfinding
for all. information to assist visitors with disability. Deploy audio-
Share Sydney Opera House resources with smaller arts description, captioning & Auslan interpretation to convey
organisations & festivals by developing a resource hire access information in accessible formats.
package that includes autism-friendly performance
resources & equipment, as well as sharing Sydney Opera Install a permanent captioning system in the Playhouse &
House audio-describers & audio-description equipment. replace the old captioning screens in the Drama Theatre,
thereby ensuring live-theatre captioning is visible to more
Provide supported venue rental for local arts & disability audience members.
organisations.
Trial additional options for live-theatre captioning,
Support disability organisation fund-raising efforts including through hand-held devices.
through the donation of performance tickets & other
forms of prizes. Install new hearing loops in all Western Foyers venues.

Use International Day of People with Disability to Improve services & facilities for patrons with disability
showcase the contributions made by people with by providing:
disability by programming an annual event at the Additional accessible seating options in foyers;
Sydney Opera House. A companion card booking line;
An adult changing places facility in the Western Foyers;
and
Braille/large-print menus in all food & beverage outlets.
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Keep in touch
Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
T 61 2 9250 7111
sydneyoperahouse.com

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