QNS and Print Disability

Queensland Narrating Service (QNS) is an institution assisting people with a print disability as defined in Part VB Division 3 of the Copyright Act 1968 and operates under the provisions of Sections 135ZP and 135ZQ of the Act.

A print disability is defined in schedule 6, subsection 10(1) of the Copyright Amendment Bill 1997 as:
A person without sight
A person whose sight is severely impaired
A person unable to hold or manipulate books or to focus or move his or her eyes; or
A person with a perceptual disability

There are many causes of print disability. One common cause is old age. Temporary print disability is often seen in hospitals where people may not be able to use their eyes or hands due to an illness, making reading difficult or impossible. People suffering renal failure who use dialysis machines for hours per day find listening to audio books is one of the few activities they can do.

QNS requests permission from publishers to narrate books for people with print disabilities. These books can be listened to by borrowing from public libraries and closed libraries such as Vision Australia Information and Library Service and Association for the Blind, Western Australia.

QNS is a member of Round Table On Information Access for People With Print Disabilities.