In the last few weeks, Deaf Australia has seen and heard the deaf community’s concern and confusion about our Ambassador Program and how we determine who we appoint as our Ambassadors.

For many years, Deaf Australia did not have a Patron. A Patron is a high-profile person who can lend their name to help raise the profile of our organisation. It was difficult to find someone who would take on this role.  

In 2014, Deaf Australia created a new program, ‘Deaf Australia Ambassador’. This allowed us to have several people to increase awareness about Auslan, deaf people and Deaf Australia through their expertise, rather than having just one Patron.

Based on the recommendation of a board member, we agreed to appoint Ms Drisana Leviztke-Gray and Mr Andy Dexterity as our inaugural Ambassadors for Deaf Australia.

As part of our Ambassador Program, we were to develop guidelines on how Ambassadors should conduct themselves in their role to align with our values and principles.

Unfortunately, due to demands on our time and lack of human resources, we were unable to develop the guidelines. This led to confusion about what the role was for and concern within the deaf community. Mr Dexterity stepped down from his role as an Ambassador in 2019.

Deaf Australia regrets that we were unable to develop the guidelines and we apologise for the confusion and concern that this caused.

Deaf Australia is suspending the Deaf Australia Ambassador Program.  We will be reviewing the program and ensuring that we have appropriate guidelines, code of conduct and agreements in place before re-commencing the program.

Deaf Australia would like to express our appreciation to Ms Levitzke-Gray with her ongoing support for Deaf Australia, including through her success as Young Australian of the Year in 2015. Drisana raised funds of over $13,000 for Deaf Australia through her connections with Woolworths and the Dick Smith Foundation.  

Download Public Statement

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Deaf seniors over 65 years of age can finally access Auslan supported services with the Aged Care Services.

Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, has announced yesterday that a free sign language interpreting services will soon be available for seniors who are deaf and deafblind or hard of hearing and allow them to access appropriate assistance to aged care services.

Deaf Australia is pleased that the Government has ‘heard’ the call from the deaf community, including the Australian Deaf Elders, to fill the gap with the existing services that leave deaf seniors vulnerable and at risk of negligence.

Auslan (Australian Sign Language) is the primary or preferred language of many sign language users and rely on Auslan to gain information and make informed decisions that otherwise cannot be acquired without Auslan service.

‘This comprehensive new sign language interpreting service will make our aged care system far more accessible for people who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing’, said Minister Colbeck.

Auslan Connections will be responsible to provide interpreting services for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing seniors to access aged care services.

Additional Information:

National Auslan Booking Services (NABS) will continue to be provided to non-registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants until 31 March 2021 to access interpreting assistance for private medical appointments. From 1 April 2021, this service will be available only for seniors over 65 and/or who are ineligible for NDIS. 

Download Media Release

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MAJOR WIN FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY

For the first time, the National 2021 Census will refer to ‘Auslan’ as a language option. This is a major win for the Deaf Community in their struggle to have Auslan users   recognised in the population. Deaf Australia has been working with the Australian Bureau of Statistics since 2007 to address the issue of adding ‘Auslan’ as one of the language options.

Deaf Australia had attempted to amend the 2011 and 2016 Censuses without success. The Deaf Community conducted massive campaigns for its members to write down ‘Auslan’ in the ‘If other, please write’ option in both Censuses. Despite this, Deaf Australia views that previous data collected is not reflective of the actual numbers of Auslan users in Australia. This was due to the limited reach of the campaigns and many Auslan users still unaware they could write it as an ‘other’ language.

The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreting has stated that Auslan interpreting is third highest language provision behind Arabic and Mandarin (Chinese) languages in Australia. Despite this – and based on the Census 2016 – Auslan is ranked 44^th as an ‘other’ language and as such does not warrant a significant profile as the top 5 languages.

Statistics show Auslan was first recorded in the 2001 Census. Since then, every Census has noted a significant increase of Auslan users.  In 2001 Auslan users numbered 5,306. This increased to 11,682 in 2016.

In the 2021 Census, the question asking ‘Does (person) use a language other than English at home? the prompt question in the ‘other language’ will state, “If other, for example, Auslan, please write here’.

Speaking about the Census 2021 new language option, Deaf Australia Chairperson, Todd Wright, said,

‘The inclusion of “Auslan” as a prompt in the ‘other’ language option is a significant win for the Deaf Community. This will make it easier for us to determine more accurately the number of Auslan users in Australia enabling us to work more effectively towards greater participation, awareness and addressing the community’s needs.’

We, Deaf Australia, stand by people who are wrongfully discriminated, and experience abuse and racism. Australia too has its own problem.

Racism, unfortunately dominates in Australia. This past week we celebrate National Reconciliation Week to highlight many racial issues in our community. Yesterday Australia gathered in major cities to protest the BLM ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. I I showed my support by joining the Darkinjung community here in the Central Coast NSW.

We held a minute silence to remember the 432 indigenous people who have lost their lives in police custody since 1991. The Royal Commission investigating into indigenous deaths in custody is a result of the 432 deaths recorded.

Many Indigenous Australians do not receive fair justice, and as many as 85% of Indigenous Australians currently in jail have undiagnosed hearing loss. They couldn’t access adequate supports and services that they needed in their life, instead their lives have broken down and now it’s difficult to move on without adequate support.

This deep-rooted discrimination and systematic oppression must stop.

We are all responsible for educating ourselves, learning and working hard to change this.

#BlackLivesMatter

1 June 2020

Deaf Australia and the members of the Deaf Community in Australia wish to express sincere appreciation for the Australian government (both state/ territory and Federal) providing Auslan interpreters during COVID-19 briefings and announcements.

Having accurate knowledge ensures Deaf people can make informed decisions and take appropriate action to protect themselves, their family and the community. Deaf people as citizens, have helped to flatten the curve and been part of assisting to get Australia back on its feet.

This is not the time for Government to become complacent regarding the provision of Auslan interpreters during important briefing to all citizens of Australia. As restrictions are slowly being eased, everyone, including Deaf people, need to know what is happening. When an Auslan interpreter is not provided, the Government is perceived as being discriminatory to Deaf citizens.

Governments have the responsibility to ensure every citizen in Australia is informed, including Deaf people. This occurs through media conferences and briefings. Information delivered to all Australian citizens takes place on a number of important topics in addition to updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.

On behalf of the Deaf citizens in Australia we request that the government consider the communication needs of Deaf people in a proactive manner, not as an afterthought. This provision requires planning and processes that are clear and mandated. This provision of services needs to be imbedded into each government’s communication strategy.

Broadcasters share the responsibility for ensuring interpreters are displayed appropriately. Broadcasters are returning to their pre-COVID-19 processes where Auslan interpreters (when present) are cut out of the footage displayed on the TV screen, on social media postings and the internet, leaving deaf people without access to Auslan interpreted briefings. This needs to be addressed urgently. The current situation in many cases is that broadcasters are actively discriminating against Deaf people.

Deaf Australia calls on the Australian and state/territory Governments to ensure all media briefings and announcements are accessible to all citizens which requires the inclusion of Auslan interpreters and captions.

Deaf Australia calls on Broadcasters to ensure that the Auslan interpreters are included in all media footage and are able to be viewed clearly at all times.  This requires at least 1/3 of the TV screen displaying the Auslan interpreter and is unobstructed from all network banners and captioning displays.

We request these changes in good faith and recognise that in order to regulate this service, legislation may need to be introduced to ensure compliance. We request this be investigated and actioned to ensure the rights to media access are afforded to Deaf citizens as is the case for all others.

On behalf of Deaf citizens, Deaf Australia request an urgent common-sense approach to this issue that ensures Deaf people are afforded dignity. Deaf Australia believes that all levels of government are responsible to provide duty of care to all citizens of this great country.

Download Open Letter

References:

• Broadcasting of Auslan Interpreter on Broadcast and Digital Networks
• Provisioning of Accessible Emergency Announcement and Disaster Support