The new May 2022 Building Quality Standards Handbook of the Victorian School Building Authority build a bridge between conclusive global research (learn more at https://www.hearandlearn.com.au/review/soundfield-amplification-research-summary) which concludes that all learners benefit from instructional audio being captured – including teacher voices and learner voices – and distributed to avoid speech intelligibility fading over distance.
At page 127 it is stated:
“Each building must also be supplied with at least one sound field system for transmitting verbal instructions”
“Minimum of one hearing augmentation transmitter per 10 learning spaces (primary schools), or per learning community (secondary schools) that is appropriate to the learning population’s devices to enable hearing augmentation (i.e. transmission from fixed amplification systems to personal hearing device receivers)”
“Contracts must include staff training to support staff understanding and use of technology”
Page 127 VSBA Building Quality Standards Handbook
Beyond in-room infrastructure, the rules talk about supplementary products and services.
Hear and Learn supply portable soundfield and advise stakeholders how to design spaces so that voice is also augmented to the hard of hearing.
Transmitters are supplied too as is the Hear and Learn HearAssist training and support program.