DOCUMENT 6 FOI 24/25 - 0002 Research paper OFFICIAL For Internal Use Only

Auslan and Mandarin interpreting services in New

South Wales

The content of this document is OFFICIAL. Please note: The research and literature reviews collated by our TAB Research Team are not to be shared external to the Branch. These are for internal TAB use only and are intended to assist our advisors with their reasonable and necessary decision-making. Delegates have access to a wide variety of comprehensive guidance material. If Delegates require further information on access or planning matters, they are to call the TAPS line for advice. The Research Team are unable to ensure that the information listed below provides an accurate & up-to-date snapshot of these matters

Research question: What mainstream and community interpreting supports (Auslan, Mandarin) are available for an NDIS participant living in Baulkham Hills, NSW?
Date: 22/3/24
Requestor: Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant m
Endorsed by: Jean redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant
Researcher: Aaron redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant ma

Cleared by: Stephanie redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant mat

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1. Contents

Auslan and Mandarin interpreting services in New South Wales ……………………………………….. 1

Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Federal government services ……………………………………………………………………………. 3 3.1 Translating and Interpreting Services ……………………………………………………………… 3 3.2 National Relay Service …………………………………………………………………………………. 3 3.3 JobAccess ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 3.4 Services Australia ………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
NSW Government services ………………………………………………………………………………. 5 4.1 Multicultural NSW Language Services…………………………………………………………….. 6
Non-government services ………………………………………………………………………………… 7
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

2. Summary

There are a number of community and mainstream organisations that provide free interpreting supports for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and people who speak languages other than English, including Mandarin. Services may be provided by an organisation to facilitate contact with its customers or by an interpreting service to facilitate contact between other community organisations and those people requiring support.

Both the Federal government and NSW State government make interpreting services available for direct interaction with government departments and agencies. Some limitations may apply if requesting face-to-face interpreting services due to the availability of interpreters.

There are free national remote interpreting services to assist people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and people who speak languages other than English to communicate with community organisations:

Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS) provides interpreting services for spoken languages other than English. Services are free of charge when communicating with select organisations and community groups. An NDIS provider is responsible for offering and booking an interpreter via TIS to assist participants to utilise their funded supports.
National Relay Service (NRS) provides free interpreting services for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Text and voice services are available 24 hours, though Video Relay services have more limited availability.
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3. Federal government services

3.1 Translating and Interpreting Services

TIS is a national program providing interpreting services between English and other spoken languages face-to-face, via phone or video. They do not provide Auslan or other signed language interpreting (TIS, n.d.a).

TIS is available to any individual or organisation in Australia. Some services are provided for a fee, though they note “The majority of TIS National interpreting services are free to non- English speakers. Generally, the organisation you are contacting will accept the charges for the service.” (TIS, n.d.a). TIS provides free services to certain groups including:

Medical practitioners: when delivering Medicare-rebatable services in private practice. Nurses, reception and other practice support staff can also access the service when working with the registered medical practitioner.
Pharmacies: to provide community pharmacy services.
Non-government organisations: when providing casework and emergency services, where the organisation does not receive substantial government funding to provide these services.
Real estate agencies: to discuss any private residential property matter.
Local government authorities: to communicate about most local government services.
Trade unions: to assist workers to access support and advice.
Parliamentarians: for constituency purposes.
Eligible allied health professionals: when delivering Medicare-rebatable services in private practice within specific local government areas (TIS, n.d.b).

Additional terms and conditions for these groups are described on the TIS Terms and Conditions of use for the Free Interpreting Service (TIS, n.d.c).

NDIA and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission direct NDIS participants to TIS for free interpreting services. An NDIS provider is responsible for offering and booking an interpreter via TIS to assist participants to utilise their funded supports (NDIA, 2022; NDISQSC, 2023).

3.2 National Relay Service

The National Relay Service provides free interpreting services for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. The NRS provides text based, voice or video services. Text and voice services are available 24 hours a day. Video Relay calls are available 7am-6pm Monday to Friday and 8am-12pm Saturday and not available Sundays or national public holidays (Access Hub, n.d.a). Additional details is described in the factsheet Using the National Relay Service.

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3.3 JobAccess

Through the Employment Assistance Fund (EAF), JobAccess can provide funding for Auslan interpreting services for use in the workplace or to assist with finding work (JobAccess, 2022). EAF provides three levels of support for Auslan interpreting services (refer to Table 1).

A person will be eligible for EAF if they:

are an Australian Resident, Temporary Protection Visa holder or a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa holder
have a job, or letter of offer for a job, that has or will continue for at least 13 weeks
work at least 8 hours per week or if self-employed, have worked at least 8 hours per week over the last 13 weeks and earn an hourly income that is at least equivalent to the National Minimum Wage
have an ongoing disability likely to last at least two years, which limits, restricts or impairs their ability to work
require modification to their workplace to carry out their work as a result of their disability (Job Access, 2024).

Table 1 Funding for Auslan interpreting services through the Employment Assistance Fund (source: JobAccess, 2024)

Level	Includes funding for	Conditions
1	Work-related Auslan interpreting, Remote Interpreting, Captioning, note-taking, interpreter travel time	Maximum $12,498/year Capped funding resets if employee is promoted, transferred or finds other employment
2	Reimbursement for interpreting services for job interviews and related activities	No limit on number of interviews
3	Training for co-workers who require Auslan to communicate with Deaf or hard of hearing employees	$890 per co-worker

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3.4 Services Australia

Services Australia provides free interpreting services when calling or when visiting a Services Australia service centre. This includes Auslan and over 200 spoken languages other than English (Services Australia, 2023a). They also have a dedicated multilingual phone service where customers can speak with a multilingual Centrelink officer (Services Australia, 2023b).

4. NSW Government services

Interpreting services required for interactions with NSW government departments or agencies are arranged and paid for by the department or agency. Requests for interpreting services should be made to the relevant department or agency (Multicultural NSW, n.d.).

NSW Health. It is the responsibility of all NSW Health services to make available professional health care interpreters for patients, families and carers who do not speak English as a first language, including people who are Deaf or hard of hearing (NSW Health, 2024). For further detail refer to NSW Health policy Standard Procedures for Working with Health Care Interpreters.

Service NSW. Live captioning services and Auslan video remote interpreting are available at all Service NSW service centres (Service NSW, 2023a-b). Interpreting services for spoken languages other than English are provided by Multicultural NSW Language Services (Service NSW, 2024).

Schools. The Department of Education will fund face-to-face, telephone or video interpreting services for most meetings or interviews for those who do not speak English as a first language, including people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. The Department of Education won’t fund interpreting services for events such as graduation ceremonies, performances or excursions, though schools may fund this directly (Department of Education, 2024).

TAFE NSW. Students of TAFE NSW who are Deaf or hard of hearing can access Auslan interpreters and other learning support services (TAFE NSW, n.d.a). Students requiring interpreting services in spoken languages other than English are directed to Translating and Interpreting Services or Multicultural NSW Language Services. Some TAFE NSW service centres may have community language specialists who can speak to the student in their preferred language (TAFE NSW, n.d.b).

Housing. Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) provides free language services for people requiring assistance or information about housing. This includes Auslan and spoken languages other than English (DCJ, 2020; 2023b). DCJ Housing offices have fac-to-face Mandarin interpreters available at scheduled times according to the Block Booking Interpreting Service:

Burwood, Monday, 1pm-4pm

City, Monday and Thursday, 1pm-4pm

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Riverwood, Tuesday, 9am-12pm
Surry Hills, Tuesday, 1pm-4pm
Hurstville, Thursday, 1pm-4pm
Waterloo, Thursday, 9am-12pm
Parramatta, Friday, 9am-12pm (DCJ, 2020).

Courts and tribunals. A court or tribunal is responsible for booking and funding interpreters for criminal proceedings, matters relating to an Apprehended Violence Order, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal proceedings, and proceedings in the Children’s Court, Coroner’s Court or Industrial Relations Commission (DCJ, 2023a).

4.1 Multicultural NSW Language Services

Multicultural NSW provides face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting services, including Auslan interpreting and specialist medical and legal interpreting for NSW Government departments and agencies and services related to the activities of the NSW Government (Multicultural NSW, 2023a-b; n.d.).

When not related to direct interaction with NSW Government department or agency, services may incur a fee. Multicultural NSW offers fee exemptions in some circumstances (Multicultural NSW, 2023a-b). Exemptions are offered:

on a case-by-case basis
based on resource availability
for activities related to NSW Government activities or services
for organisations registered with Multicultural NSW
only for interview-type situations (Multicultural NSW, n.d.).

Fee exemptions are not offered for:

workshops, information sessions or conferences
most civil legal matters
issues outside the jurisdiction of NSW Government (e.g. issues related to compensation, social security, family court, non-payment of debts) (Multicultural NSW, n.d.).

Emergency interpreting services or cases involving severe hardship may be granted an exemption on a case-by-case basis. Services required by Community Legal Centres may be eligible for fee exemption even if matters overlap with jurisdiction of local, federal or other state governments (Multicultural NSW, n.d.).

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Usually, registered organisations should submit requests for fee exemptions at least 5 days before the service is required. Organisations can register for a fee exemption if the organisation:

is non-profit making
is non-government
provides services to people from a non-English speaking background in NSW
does not have access to funding for appropriate interpreter services from another funding body or service provider (e.g. TIS, other State or Federal government department or agency)
is not funding primarily by either Commonwealth or Local governments (Multicultural NSW, n.d.).

5. Non-government services

National Auslan Interpreter Booking Service. National Auslan Interpreter Booking Service (NABS) provides Auslan interpreting to NDIS participants and the general public. It is a paid service for NDIS participants and for people aged under 65 years. NABS provides free interpreting services Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and for people aged over 65 years with no NDIS plan to attend medical appointments (NABS, n.d.a-b).

Deaf Connect. Deaf Connect provides a range of services for the Deaf community. Interpreting is provided as a paid service, though they offer Auslan and live captioning free of charge to people aged over 65 years (and over 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) (Deaf Connect, n.d.).

6. References

Access Hub. (n.d.a). About the National Relay Service. Australian Government. https://www.accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs

Deaf Connect. (n.d.). Free Auslan Interpreting For Deaf Seniors. https://deafconnect.org.au/services/interpreting/free-sign-language-interpreting-for-deaf- seniors

Department of Communities and Justice. (2023a). Interpreters and translators. NSW Government. https://courts.nsw.gov.au/help-and-support/interpreters-and- translators.html

Department of Communities and Justice. (2023b). Client Service Delivery Policy. NSW Government. https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/policies/client-service-delivery-policy

Department of Communities and Justice. (2020). Interpreter services. NSW Government. https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/factsheets/interpreter-services

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Department of Education. (2024). Interpreting and translations. NSW Government. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/multicultural-education/interpreting- and-translations

Job Access. (2024). Employment Assistance Fund Guidelines. Australian Government. https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/downloads/employment-assistance-fund-guidelines

Job Access. (2022). Employment Assistance Fund. Australian Government. https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/employment-assistance-fund-eaf

Multicultural NSW. (2023a). Face-to-face interpreting. New South Wales Government. https://multicultural.nsw.gov.au/face-to-face-interpreting/

Multicultural NSW. (2023b). Video and telephone interpreting. New South Wales Government. https://multicultural.nsw.gov.au/video-and-telephone-interpreting/

Multicultural NSW. (n.d.). Language Services – Guidelines for Fee Exemption. New South Wales Government. https://multicultural.nsw.gov.au/wp- content/uploads/2022/11/Guidelines_for_Fee_Exemption.pdf

National Auslan Interpreter Booking Service. (n.d.a). Welcome to NABS. https://www.nabs.org.au/

National Auslan Interpreter Booking Service. (n.d.b). Common questions for NABS. https://www.nabs.org.au/common-questions-for-nabs-faqs.html

National Disability Insurance Agency. (2022). Language interpreting services. Government of Australia. https://www.ndis.gov.au/understanding/language-interpreting-services

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. (2023). Arrange an interpreter. Government of Australia. https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/resources/language-and- formats/arrange-interpreter

NSW Health. (2024). NSW Health Care Interpreting Services - Multicultural health. NSW Government. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/multicultural/Pages/Health-Care- Interpreting-and-Translating-Services.aspx

Service NSW. (2024). Book an interpreter for spoken language. NSW Government. https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/book-interpreter

Service NSW. (2023a). Book live captioning services at a service centre. NSW Government. https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/book-live-captioning-services-at-a-service- centre

Service NSW. (2023b). Book Auslan video remote interpreting at a service centre. NSW Government. https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/book-auslan-video-remote- interpreting-at-a-service-centre

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Services Australia. (2023a). Information in your language – Accessing our services. Australian Government. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/information-your- language?context=64107

Services Australia. (2023a). Phone us. Australian Government. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/phone-us?context=64107#languages

TAFE NSW. (n.d.a). Disability Support Services. NSW Government. https://www.tafensw.edu.au/student-services/disability-services

TAFE NSW. (n.d.b). Multicultural Support Services. NSW Government. https://www.tafensw.edu.au/multicultural-support-services

Translating and Interpreting Service. (n.d.a). Available Services. Department of Home Affairs. https://www.tisnational.gov.au/en/Non-English-speakers/Available-services

Translating and Interpreting Service. (n.d.b). Free Interpreting Service. Department of Home Affairs. https://www.tisnational.gov.au/Free-Interpreting-Service

Translating and Interpreting Service. (n.d.c). Terms and Conditions of use for the Free Interpreting Service. Department of Home Affairs. https://www.tisnational.gov.au/Free- Interpreting-Service/Terms-and-Conditions-of-use-for-the-Free-Interpreting-Service

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