Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01210:reg:12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L01210
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 12
Character Range: 8169–9700

12  Comprehensibility of captions

    (a)    When providing a captioning service for a program, broadcasters and narrowcasters must use captions that are comprehensible.

    (b)    When determining whether captions are comprehensible, the following factors must be considered in the context of the program as a whole:

        (i)            whether the captions clearly identify and distinguish individual speakers, including off-screen and off-camera voices;

        (ii)          whether the captions are displayed for a sufficient length of time to allow the viewer to read them and follow the action of the program;

        (iii)        the extent to which the appearance of the caption coincides with the onset of speech of the corresponding speaker, sound effect or music;

        (iv)         the extent to which the disappearance of the caption coincides with the end of the speech of the corresponding speaker, sound effect or music;

        (v)           whether the words used in the captions have been spelt correctly;

        (vi)         where a word is not spelt correctly, whether the spelling provided nevertheless conveys the meaning of the actual word;

        (vii)      whether explanatory captions are provided for long speechless pauses in the program;

        (viii)    the extent to which a caption over-runs a shot or scene change; and

        (ix)         the extent to which the appearance or disappearance of the caption, as the case may be, coincides with the relevant shot or scene change.