Hearing Australia is a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

constituted under the ''Australian Hearing Services Act 1991''. Hearing Australia is the largest provider of government-funded hearing services in Australia. One of their areas of interest is hearing testing and rehabilitation of children under the age of 26. Its research division, the National Acoustic Laboratories, broadly focuses its research into the areas of hearing assessment, hearing loss prevention, hearing rehabilitation devices, and hearing rehabilitation procedures.

History

Hearing Australia is the current incarnation of the Acoustic Research Laboratory that was set up in 1942. Its initial purpose was the investigation of

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

on behalf of the

Australian Military The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Fo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war it helped those children whose hearing was affected by earlier

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

outbreaks. The Commonwealth Department of Health (now the

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, previously the Department of Health and Aged Care, is the Australian Government department responsible for funding and regulation of health care, aged care and some disability programs. It also ...

) took over the Laboratory and was renamed the Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories, with the aim of providing hearing services for children and veterans. It was in 1973 renamed the National Acoustic Laboratories. The ''Australian Hearing Services Act 1991'' established it as Australian Hearing Services, a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. The name National Acoustic Laboratories was retained for its research division. When the Department of Human Services was formed in 2004, the agency now known as Australian Hearing was moved into its portfolio.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for subsidised hearing services from Hearing Australia, one must be an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n resident or

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

, and meet one of the following categories: * Anyone under the age of 26 (before 1 January 2012 eligibility was lost at 21) * Holders of Pensioner concession cards, or their dependants * Recipients of a sickness allowance from

Centrelink The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carer ...

, or their dependants * Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Repatriation Health Card holders, or their dependants * Department of Veterans' Affairs White Repatriation Health Card holders where hearing loss is specified, or their dependants *

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

personnel * Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

peoples aged 50 and over * Aboriginal and

peoples participating in a Community Development Employment Project (CDEP). * Those requiring specialist hearing services through the Community Service Obligations (CSO) component of the Hearing Services Program. Hearing Australia also provides private hearing services to anyone who does not fall into the above categories.

References

External links

Hearing Australia

National Acoustic Laboratories
{{authority control Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Medical and health organisations based in Australia Audiology organizations