At the conference Dr Byrne said equal opportunity laws had been successful in achieving positive outcomes for people with a disability in the area of goods and services; however it was a different story when it came to employment.
He said equal opportunity laws allowed his negotiations with TV, pay TV and cinema industries to get a positive outcome for him and other people whose disabilities made them reliant on captions.
"The industries knew that if negotiations failed, court action under equal opportunity legislation would succeed and force them to caption," Dr Byrne said.
He said one of the reasons impairment complaints in employment were unsuccessful was because it was very difficult for complainants to prove they didn't get the job because of their disability.
"Nowadays employers are aware that they should not discriminate and are unlikely to provide evidence that they have done so," he said.
Dr Byrne said people with a disability have significantly higher rates of unemployment.
"For people of working age, 50 percent of people with a disability are not seeking employment compared to 20 percent for those who do not have a disability," he said.
Dr Byrne said one solution would be to change equal opportunity laws.
"In Western Australia the Law Reform Commission is reviewing the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and one of its terms of reference is to review the onus of proof.
"Another term of reference is to place a positive duty not to discriminate on employers," he said.
