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Category: Deaf Australia Activities
2024 Deaf Australia Awards Recipients
Congratulations to our 2024 Deaf Australia Awards winners!
Special General Meeting Notice
Transcript
Hello all. Deaf Australia will have its 37th Annual General Meeting on Saturday 18th November 2023 at 2PM Sydney/Melbourne time. Our AGM will be at Meat Market in North Melbourne. We will utilise a hybrid model, which means the AGM will be in person and live streamed online. Please register for the AGM so we can organise catering for those who will be attending in person.
There are some important information related to voting at the AGM.
Our new Constitution with big changes eg. length of membership becoming annual not lifetime. Please make sure you read the proposed new Constitution prior to the AGM. You will get a copy of the new Constitution along with this Notice.
Deaf Australia plans to change from an incorporated association to Company Limited by Guarantee. The change needs to be voted by members.
Board nominations as there are three positions available. If you are interested in joining the Deaf Australia Board, please send your nomination form by Sunday 5th November 2023.
If you are unable to attend our AGM but would like to vote, please send your Proxy and Apology form by Sunday 12th November 2023.
If you have any items to be added to the Agenda, please email our CEO by Sunday 5th November 2023. The email address is [email protected].
During the AGM, we will also present three awards: Deaf Australian of the Year, Deaf Youth Australian of the Year, and Community Volunteer of the Year.
Deaf Australia will also facilitate a Q&A evening on Friday 17th November 2023, the day before our AGM. This is to give you an opportunity to get clarification or ask questions about our new Constitution. More information will be shared soon. Hope to see you there!
Attachments
Letter from Chairperson
Dear Members,
We are writing to inform you of a Special General Meeting that has been called by the Board of Deaf Australia. The purpose of this meeting is to vote on several important matters that will shape the future of our organisation.
Date: Thursday, 15th August
Time: 7:00 PM AEST
Location: Zoom
Agenda:
1. Vote on a special resolution to update the constitution of Deaf Australia
2. Consider a name change for the organization
3. Amendment to the 37th Annual General Meeting
4. Appointment of Prolegis Lawyers to oversee the process of applying on behalf of Deaf Australia
Please see the attached letter for detailed information regarding the Special General Meeting and the proposed updates to the constitution.
Your participation and input are crucial to the decision-making process, and we encourage all members to attend this meeting. Please mark your calendars and make every effort to register and join us on the specified date and time.
You can register and join the meeting by Zoom by using this link.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to Deaf Australia.
Sincerely,
Debra Swann
Chairperson
Deaf Australia
eLearning Website Release Announcement
Transcript
Exciting news! Deaf Australia have an exciting opportunity for you all to win a gift card after completing a survey! We have just released a new eLearning website available online that includes the following topics: Advocacy, Convention on the Rights of People with Disability (CRPD), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Writing an Advocacy Letter in English, and Disability Law.
Complete one course of your choosing and the feedback survey for a chance to win $100 gift voucher! Only the first 10 people to complete a module and survey will receive the gift voucher prize so get in fast for your opportunity to win!
These courses are in Auslan and have optional English captions and voiceover. We have a Deafblind version of the videos, as well. You will see that some course contents are supposed to have quiz, but we experience some technical difficulties and will release the quizzes soon.
Good luck!
Visual description
Raquel is wearing a black shirt and standing against a white wall background with white doors. She signing in an excited manner to match the content of the video.
2022 Deaf Census Report Now Available!
Transcript
Hello Australian Deaf Community,
My name is Gab Hodge, I'm Deaf and work as a researcher. I want to give you a summary update about Deaf Australia's 2022 Deaf Census.
Maybe you remember two years ago Deaf Australia released an online survey? This was the 2022 Deaf Census. Our aim was to collect information about who uses Auslan and other sign languages in Australia.
Deaf Census had different questions asking about who you are, where you live, your age, gender, sexuality, and cultural background. We also asked about your experiences of barriers and/or access at school, work, hospital, GP, Centrelink, and NDIS, plus many other questions.
Deaf Australia received over 1200 responses to the 2022 Deaf Census. This included about 850 responses from Deaf, Deafblind, Deaf disabled, and hard of hearing people. This is a really good result. It is important because Deaf Australia is responsible for advocacy, and strong numbers will support this advocacy.
Deaf Australia is excited to announce that the final summary report of the 2022 Deaf Census is now published and available online. You can download the 200 page report with many graphs, tables, and other information.
Soon there will be different Auslan videos available on different topics from the Deaf Census. This means you don't need to read the Deaf Census report. You can watch the videos in Auslan and learn about it that way.
We will also have infographics that pull out important information from the Deaf Census and display in visual format. You will be able to use these infographics for your own advocacy too.
During National Week of Deaf People in September, we will also host an online event for the Deaf community, where you will be able to learn and discuss about the Deaf Census in more detail.
The Deaf Australia team would like to thank everyone who was involved in the 2022 Deaf Census. Thank you to all who completed the Census and everyone who encouraged others to complete it too. It is really important work. Thank you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch.
Visual description
Video: Gab Hodge is sitting against a plain white background and wearing a dark red turtleneck jumper. She is signing towards the camera in a professional and friendly manner and smiling.
Researcher information slide: The image shows the "Deaf Australia 2022 Deaf Census Project Team" with four smiling members: Dr. Gabrielle Hodge, Independent Researcher; Mx Jen Blyth, CEO of Deaf Australia; Mx Lee Murray and Ms Darlene Thornton, both Project Officers.
Deaf Australia information closing slide: Graphic features white Deaf Australia logo on a green and blue gradient background. Text reads “Deaf Australia is a Deaf-leg advocacy and information organisation in Australia representing all Deaf, Deafblind, and hard-of-hearing people and others who use Auslan (Australian Sign Language) as their language of preference. Contact us: [email icon] [email protected], [website icon] www.deafaustralia.org.au, [Instagram and Twitter icons] @deafaustralia, [Facebook icon] DeafAustraliaInc”
Perth Thinking Lab 2024 Update
Transcript
Hello! Exciting update about Thinking Lab in Perth 1-5 July. We've now got FAQ videos up on the website with Stef answering different questions. Maybe you're not sure about where will stay, what we will eat or if you can pay using NDIS funding? All this information is in the FAQ videos. There is also an application form. It's simple: you just put your name, age, where you live, and answer a few questions about who you are. Are you interested? Please apply!
Visual description
Gab is standing in front of a plain white background. She is wearing a plain brown swearer and signing in a friendly and informative manner.
Announcing Perth Thinking Lab 2024
We have an exciting new event to announce! Coming this winter, we are hosting…
PERTH THINKING LAB 2024 Thinking Lab 2024 is a space bringing many deaf people together to figure out what and how we think. Our aim is to develop and improve our deep thinking skills. We are busy preparing the application and FAQs for you, keep an eye on our social media and website for the latest updates.
Transcript
Hello Australian Deaf Community! My name is Gab Hodge. I'm Deaf from Melbourne and now working in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh in sign language linguistics.
Have you ever dreamed of spending one week at a beautiful location, thinking, learning and signing with other Deaf people? Yes, me too!
I’m excited to partner with Deaf Australia in hosting a new event in Perth from 1-5 July 2024.
Thinking Lab 2024: a space bringing many deaf people together to figure out what and how we think. Our aim is to develop and improve our deep thinking skills. Thinking Lab will not be like sitting in a row in a classroom watching boring lectures. We will watch different films. [Note for Deafblind attendees we can use different prompts on request]. We will draw on different ideas from these films, depending on all of our different interests. These ideas will be taken into group or one-on-one discussions, and we'll also do different creative activities designed to support development of our deep thinking skills.
Thinking Lab 2024 will be facilitated by myself and four other wonderful Deaf people:
- Annelies Kusters (Belgium) who is extremely knowledgeable about Deaf people, language, culture and film-making.
- Jody Barney (Australia) who has extensive experience relating to First Nations knowledge, culture, language and advocacy.
- Stef Linder (Australia) who is skilled with interpreting, translating and community development.
- Marta Morgado (Portugal) who is knowledgeable about linguistics, Deaf culture and visual notetaking. This is different to English notetaking, as it relies on transforming ideas into visual or tactile notes.
We are very excited to host this event together. Jody, Stef and myself all use Auslan. Annelies and Marta use BSL or International Sign.
There are 25 spots available for Thinking Lab. These limited places ensure we can provide a good quality learning experience for everyone who attends.
The registration fee is $2,000 per person and includes all food, accommodation and learning for the week. We also have five free places available for people who do not have access to funding.
Would you like to join? You must be:
- Deaf, Deafblind, Deaf disabled or hard of hearing and age 18 or older
- Comfortable using visual or tactile sign for the week
- Open minded, curious and interested in other people and ideas
We hope you will apply! Stef explains the application process in another video. We also have a series of FAQ videos that you might like to check for answers to any questions.
Hope to see you there! Thank you.
Visual description
Gab is standing in front of a plain white background. She is wearing a dark red turtleneck and signing in a friendly and informative manner.
NRS Poll
Take the NRS poll here: https://forms.office.com/r/VcVX0jzYpa?origin=lprLink
Transcript
Hello! We would like to share an update with you about the NRS. The National Relay Service is under the responsibility of the Australian government. This means that the government will contract one company to manage the NRS for all people around Australia.
Every three years (sometimes extended) the government creates a new contract through a tender process. The government will pick a business and continue NRS. The contract is responsible to provide services to all people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech communication difficulty.
We can see that the NRS still has some issues. We (being a group of key disability organisation stakeholders) and us (Deaf Australia), are disappointed with the government because they didn’t follow proper procedure during this latest tender process. They didn’t consult with us prior to launching the tender regarding any issues. Unfortunately the tender process has already begun.
We are working on a collaborative approach to advocate for the best quality, because we can see how it is dropping each year. Don’t worry because we are currently working with ACCAN who are the peak national advocacy group for Australian communication consumers, similar to us at Deaf Australia. Also, they are knowledgable about what to do when communication issues arise and liaise with the government on possible solutions.
We have full spreadsheet of all the areas we want to improve, remove or add to regarding the NRS. Now, we are asking you all, the deaf community, to let us know if you support our work and respond if you’re happy. Then we can show the NRS our proposal and make sure it’s right and we have picked through the proposal with the relevant deaf topics.
I will give you a list and you let us know if it’s all good! This is a list of different types of support and services like:
Funding of NRS – need to keep ongoing funding, not less.
NRS chat 24/7 – keep this service the same, no changes.
VRS (video relay service) – right now has limited time and day we want to expand this to 24/7 availability.
TTY Services – keep this the same.
SMS Relay – keep this the same.
Captioning Services – like accessible captioned telephone for people who are oral – keep this the same.
Also we want to add education and training program to teach hearing people how to use NRS, and visit schools and teach deaf students how to use it.
Also to educate general hearing public about NRS and to avoid such incidents and misunderstandings when they receive NRS call and hang up or think it is a scam.
Also, how to improve 000 emergency calls though NRS.
Oops, there is one more! We want to remove NRS registration before using service. Meaning no requirement to register or login. You can start using NRS chat and video right away anytime. You won't have to log in or create an account to use service. It will be automatic and easy.
We also want to make sure this is an accessible platform for deafblind people and include them for any issues, discussion or design collaboration.
That is all for now. If you are happy with this proposal so far please fill out the poll to show your support. If you have any feedback or to raise another matter, please add it in the poll, we will be collecting all further notes. I will use to prepare for the next meeting and present. I want to show the connection to you, our community, and present to the government that the deaf community supports this advocacy endeavor!
Just to let you know, the poll closes Thursday 29th February 5pm AEDT. Meaning Sydney / east coast time. Thank you!
Visual description
Shirley Liu is wearing a black t-shirt and standing in front a plain green and blue gradient background. Her hair is pulled back . She is signing in an engaging way towards the camera.
Deaf Focus Group at the City of Sydney Fire Station (Paid Opportunity) – NSW
Updated: 5 February 2024
Transcript
Hello! My name is Nick Craig and I want to share an update on behalf of Deaf Australia about the focus group for deaf and hard of hearing in NSW through the “Fire Proofing At-Risk Communities” project. This focus group is your opportunity to share any experiences or barriers to accessing fire safety information. More information about this project is in the first video (see below).
The focus group was planned for tomorrow, 6 February 2024, but it had to be postponed due to interpreting issues. This has been rescheduled to:
When: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Time: 1 pm to 3.30 pm
Where: City of Sydney Fire Station
Deaf Australia wants to make sure deaf and hard of hearing people from different groups have opportunities to share their experiences. We have already contacted Deaf organisations and service providers in NSW for 3-4 clients or community members each to join the focus group. Deaf Australia is also looking for 3-4 community members in NSW to participate.
Each participant will be paid. The focus group is available in person or online.
If you are interested, the deadline to register is 12 February 2024. Please see the first video below for more information about the project and registration process.
Remember, this is your opportunity to have a say about improving fire safety information!
If you can’t make it to the focus group, there is an online survey about fire safety messages sent through social media. This survey is to see if the language for fire safety messages online is easy or hard to understand. This will help emergency services improve their emergency messages.
The survey has Auslan videos, too. If you are interested, please go to this link: https://forms.office.com/r/Cpfwi4dfqV
I also want to clarify that participation in the focus group is paid. The online survey is voluntary.
Thank you and hope to see you there!
Visual description
Nick Craig stands in front of a white background and is wearing a dark grey button down shirt. He is white, has a short beard, and is signing in a friendly manner towards the camera.
Posted: 25 January 2024
Transcript
Hi everyone, my name is Nick Craig. I want to share a focus group organised by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) and Fire and Rescue NSW. AFDO and Fire and Rescue NSW are working on a project called “Fire Proofing At-Risk Communities”. They are organising focus groups for people from different disability groups.
What will this focus group include? It will talk about:
- Access to information about fire safety-is it easy or hard?
- What do you need from disaster preparation information-for eg, need in Auslan?
- Your experiences and challenges that you went through a disaster.
- Past experiences with fires or emergency services.
- What you already know about what to do in emergencies.
AFDO asked Deaf Australia to assist in organising a focus group for deaf and hard of hearing people. The focus group will have Auslan interpreters. One firefighter from FRNSW and a deaf person will co-facilitate the focus group. I will be the deaf co-facilitator on behalf of Deaf Australia.
Good news—each participant will get $80 for participating in this focus group.
When: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Time: Please arrive at 9 am as there will be a form for you to fill out before the focus group starts at 9.30 am to 11.30 am
Where: City of Sydney Fire Station: 211-217 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW
If you are also interested, a short fire station tour can be provided after the focus group to learn about its history, pictures and building.
If you want to attend the focus group, please contact Ainslie Whitburn from AFDO through either email or SMS:
Ainslie [email protected]
SMS 0431 927 276
Thank you and hope to see you there!
Visual description
Nick Craig stands in front a grey background and is wearing a dark grey button down shirt. He is white, has a short beard, and is signing in a friendly manner towards the camera.
NDIS Roundtable for Remote, Rural and Regional
Reminder, published on 9th February 2024
Transcript
Hello! I want to remind you about next Thursday night from 6.00pm to 7.30pm. We will have a roundtable about the NDIS, to talk about your experiences involved in the NDIS from people who live in remote, rural and regional areas. Don’t forget; next week on Tuesday night RSVPs will close. We will provide interpreters and captioning for those who’ve requested them. Thank you to those who’ve finished register for next week on Thursday night; we are looking forward to it. Bye!
Visual description
White woman with shoulder length hair wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt sitting against a creamy background. She is signing in Auslan about the NDIS roundtable event happening next Thursday night from 6pm to 7.30pm.
Transcript
Hello! I’m Catherine, and I work at Deaf Australia as a policy officer. I want to let you know that Deaf Australia will have a roundtable to focus on NDIS experiences from people who live in remote, rural or regional areas. We want to know about your experiences with NDIS both good and bad, including access to services, things like that. We will have a series of questions to ask, to encourage discussion. We will have the roundtable on zoom, on Thursday 15th February from 6pm to 7.30pm. We’re really keen to see your experiences so please RSVP by 13th February (that’s on a Tuesday) in two weeks. If you have any accessibility requirements please let us know. If you’re keen to be involved please RSVP to [email protected]. Hope to see you there! Bye!
Visual description
White woman with brown shoulder length hair and a black jumper sitting against a creamy background signing about an opportunity to participate in a roundtable about experiences with the NDIS from a remote, rural and regional perspective.
Announcement Regarding Deaf Australia Membership Structure Changes
Transcript
Hi My name is Debra Swann - Chair of Deaf Australia. This message is about the new membership structure following from the new constitution which was approved at our AGM last 18 November 2023.
The Board of Deaf Australia now have a new membership structure as following:
1. General membership - $50 per year
2. Low incomes and students - $25.00 per year
3. Under 18. - $5.00 per year
From 18 November onwards - any new members who join will now follow this structure.
However for our current members - the new structure will start on 1st July 2025. Deaf Australia will email you before July 1, 2025, to inform you of the annual membership fee change. That applies to our existing members on the old membership structure, while new members will follow the new one.
In a few days, it will be Christmas. The board of Deaf Australia wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please stay safe and enjoy the holiday festival. We look forward to business with you in 2024 and beyond.
Visual description
Opening slide: Graphic features white Deaf Australia logo on a purple and blue gradient background. Below this is a circle shape with a screenshot of Debra Swann from the video. Title reads "Announcement Regarding Deaf Australia Membership Structure Changes. Published: 20th December 2023."
Video: Debra Swann is signing in front of a festive Christmas tree background. She is wearing a black shirt, a red cardigan, and clear-frame glasses. She is signing in a friendly and professional manner.
Closing slide: Graphic features white Deaf Australia logo on a green and blue gradient background. Text reads “Deaf Australia is a Deaf-led advocacy and information organisation in Australia representing all Deaf, Deafblind, and hard-of-hearing people and others who use Auslan (Australian Sign Language) as their language of preference. Contact us: [email icon] [email protected], [website icon] deafaustralia.org.au, [Instagram and X icons] @deafaustralia, [Facebook icon] DeafAustraliaInc”
