Submission 73 — Deaf Australia — Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability

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Austra ia

Auslan Interpreting Issues

Disability Royal Commission submission

July 2022

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About Deaf Australia

Deaf Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.

We recognise the past atrocities against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this land and that Australia was founded on the genocide and dispossession of First Nations people. We acknowledge that colonial structures and policies remain in place today and recognise the ongoing struggles of First Nations people in dismantling those structures; and especially that of Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing First Nations peoples.

We also acknowledge and respect the members of the Deaf Community in Australia, who preserve their rich heritage, culture, and our language; Auslan. We acknowledge our custodians of Auslan, promoting awareness, equality, and access through our sign language.

Deaf Australia was founded in 1986 as a not-for-profit organisation that represents all Deaf, Deafblind, and hard of hearing people, and others who are fluent and knowledgeable about Auslan. The focus has and continues to be on developing access to information and accessible communication. We work with Australian governments and collaborate with key stakeholders to make sure that Australia complies with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The UN Convention and the National Disability Strategy guides our work; we aspire to achieve equity for Deaf people across all areas of life.

Deaf Australia advises that this document may be publicly distributed, including by placing a copy on our website.

Contact Details:

Authored by: Edan Chapman & Jen Blyth

Email: info@deafaustralia.org.au

Postal Address: PO Box 31 Northcote, Victoria 3070

Website: www.deafaustralia.org.au

CEO: Mx Jen Blyth

Chairperson of the board: Ms. Debra Swan © Copyright Deaf Australia 2022

This publication is copyright, apart from use by those agencies for which it has been produced. Non­ profit associations and groups have permission to reproduce parts of this publication if the original meaning is retained and proper credit is given to Deaf Australia. All other individuals and Agencies seeking to reproduce material from this publication should obtain the permission of the CEO of Deaf Australia.

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Contents

About Deaf Australia 1

Key Notes 2

Introduction 3 Background 3 Training of Auslan Interpreters 6 Booking agencies and booking interpreters directly 9 Funding for interpreters 13 Deafblind interpreting 16 Government and Auslan interpreting 20 Interpreters in Educational Settings 23 Interpreters in health settings 28 Interpreters in emergency settings and broadcasts 34 Interpreting access for migrants and refugees 36 Interpreters for people over 65 years of age 37 Conclusion 38

Key Notes

This section includes key information about the submission that the reader should be aware of while

reading.

« Inthis submission, Deaf Australia will use Deaf person/people/community to refer to all d/Deaf, Deafblind, and hard of hearing people who use Auslan as their language of

preference, unless otherwise stated.

• We write broadly about signing Deaf people, but recognise that Deaf people are intersectional beings, and that this paper was written by white Deaf people, so important nuances covering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, BIPOC and all other

intersecting identities are likely to be missing from this paper.

• One of the authors — Edan Chapman — identifies as Deafblind and as such we have included a comprehensive section on Deafblind people’s experiences of interpreting here.

• This submission is not exhaustive and does not cover every aspect of a person’s life in relation to interpreting. Environments such as interpreters in justice system, prisons, socialising and community-related areas, children (except for school), afterschool sports and activities and a long list of other topics were not covered. It is recommended that there is more work done by the DRC to understand this aspect of a Deaf person’s experience in

addition to this submission.

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Introduction

Deaf Australia’s vision and mission is that Deaf people are fully engaged citizens who can participate in their communities in Auslan; and Auslan is recognised as a respected and legally recognised language.

Because the majority of Australian citizens are not fluent in Auslan, Deaf people are required to use Auslan interpreters for a variety of environments, which can have positive or detrimental impacts in their interactions with the non-signing person (usually a hearing person1). This submission will elaborate and expand on how interpreters attain their qualifications; how interpreters are paid for; how Deaf people use interpreters; and the power imbalances that exist in this relationship.

Deaf Australia is submitting this Aus/an Interpreting Issues paper as a stand-alone submission, although other submissions will touch on interpreters and their impact in various areas, as using Auslan interpreters is often an intricate and integral part of Deaf lives.

Background

Auslan is the name for Australian Sign Language which is a language with its own grammar, syntax and lexicon. It is a purely visual language which utilises not just hand shapes and movements but also includes facial expressions and body language to convey tone and nuance. Grammatically, it is distinct from spoken languages and cannot be translated, or substituted with technological means.

Auslan interpreters are people who have passed the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) test. NAATI is the national standards and certifying authority for translators and interpreters in Australia. It is the only organisation to issue certification to practitioners who wish to work in this profession in Australia. NAATI is a not-for-profit company that is jointly owned by the Commonwealth, and state and territory governments. NAATl’s Certification System has been designed to evaluate if a candidate demonstrates the skills needed to practice as a translator or interpreter in Australia. Certification gives assurance to people who engage interpreters or translators, that English and non-English speakers can interact effectively with each other.

The world is predominantly an auditory-based world - a ‘hearing’ world in the Deaf community’s preferred vernacular. Over 95% of Deaf people are born into families where they are often the first deaf person their family meets. Many do not gain access to Auslan, fluent or otherwise, until well past the typical stage for a child to start learning their first language and miss out on the crucial first years of linguistic, cultural and societal understanding due to various factors which will not be covered in this submission - this will be covered in a separate submission centring on this issue. This is called language deprivation, and it is a serious and common issue in our community.

Auslan interpreters are critical to alleviating the lack of access to information. They are therefore an integral part of a Deaf person’s life. It is paramount that access to Auslan interpreters is automatic for many situations such as medical, educational, and work-related issues so that Deaf people can access complete, comprehensive information that is critical for participation in society and living a full, rich life.

There are two distinct categories of interpreters in the Deaf community as classified by the NAATI (which does not include recognition of the specific skillsets required of Deafblind interpreters):

1 Hearing person applies to someone who is not deaf.

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1.) Auslan interpreters (who are hearing and relay information from the Deaf person to the hearing person and vice versa). There are several types of credentials and certifications that apply for Auslan interpreters:

a. Certified Provisional Interpreter: Interpreters transfer non-complex, non-specialised messages from one language into another, accurately reflecting the meaning.

b. Certified Interpreter: Interpreters have more experience than Certified Provisional Interpreters. They transfer complex, non-specialised messages from one language into another.

c. Certified Conference Interpreter: Interpreters transfer highly complex, specialised messages from a source language into a target language. They interpret in situations such as speeches and presentations at high-level international exchanges, like international conferences, summits, meetings and negotiations (e.g. UN summits, bilateral treaty negotiations), across a broad range of domains.

d. NAATI also provides Specialist Interpreter certifications in Health and Legal, however there are no courses for these qualifications. 2.) Deaf interpreters (who act as a cultural bridge and ensure that the information is being understood by the Deaf person who may be using non-conventional sign languages2). Their qualification under NAATI is the Certified Provisional Deaf Interpreter.

Deafblind interpreters work in a variety of ways according to the preferences of the Deafblind person they are working with. This will be covered in further detail in the section on Deafblind interpreting further down in this document.

There are roughly 30,000 Auslan users3,4 who may need Auslan interpreters in various settings such as employment, education, medical, legal, or community and social spaces, amongst others. The standard setting involves either one interpreter for short appointments or two interpreters if it runs for two hours or more. This is often only for one Deaf individual. Interpreters can also be interpreting for an audience of thousands, where they are interpreting in political or emergency broadcasts, at conferences or other settings where they could be interpreting for many Deaf people of varying Auslan fluency; or interpreting the Deaf person/s for the hearing audience.

There are only 604 qualified Auslan interpreters in Australia 5, and the dispersion of interpreters is unfairly spread, with the majority in Victoria, urban New South Wales, and urban Queensland. Approximately 3006 of the certified 604 interpreters are currently working as interpreters, and not all interpreters are working full time. Most interpreters are white, and only approximately 4 or 5 interpreters are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. As per the Workforce Capacity Project commissioned by Vicdeaf in 2018, we have an ageing workforce where at the time of the report, 63.7% were older than 40 years; and 39.3% of the interpreting workforce intended to leave within 1­ 6 years. This report7, and the report commissioned by the Department of Family and Community

2 This includes those who experience language deprivation. 3 ‘Listen Hear! The economic impact and cost of hearing loss in Australia’ 2006, Access Economics 4 16,242 people recorded using Auslan at home in the 2021 Census, which Deaf Australia believes to be an underreported number. It is anecdotally known that many Deaf people use English/speak with their voices when communicating with families in the home even if they prefer to use Auslan. Additionally, families of deaf children who may use Auslan may not list Auslan as a language used at home. There would also be many family members who use Auslan with their other family members who do not live with them but are fluent in this language. 5 NAATI provided statistics 6 https ://www.abe. net .au/rad i o/progra ms/worldtoday/shortage-of-a uslan-interpreters/136608 80

7 Aspex Consulting, Workforce Capacity Prohecy, July 2018

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Services in 20048, both reported that there was an undersupply of interpreters, particularly interpreters who were compatible with the Deaf person.

The systems of booking interpreters and their availability have always presented their own challenges, however the NDIS (National Disability Incentive Scheme) and then Covid-19 has had a major impact in the supply and demand of interpreters. The NDIS has enabled Deaf people to be able to have interpreters at any time and any place, which has increased demand for interpreters ­ making this a “seller’s market” in that interpreters can pick and choose jobs at varying price points, regardless of the Deaf person’s requirements and preferences. Covid-19 meant that the interpreting industry had to shift to video remote interpreting (VRI) as a whole9, which has changed the way Deaf people and interpreters interact10. However, the consequence of a shift to VRI is that interpreters can now choose to work from home as opposed to in person, despite the Deaf person’s preference; further contributing to the problematic issue of interpreting being a seller’s market.

’I have had interpreters booked for job interviews and then at the last minute they cancelled due to a “medical emergency booking”. I feel like it’s now about the interpreter picking their friends over first come first served. It’s getting frustrating

• this rarely happened before NDIS.’ ‘I want and need the interpreter to come to my appointment, but they keep saying no - VRI only. I have to use my phone, and I can’t see clearly. It makes the conversation hard and frustrating.’

Due to the lack of interpreter availability, many Deaf people are forced to ‘make do’ in various situations by using inappropriate or inexperienced interpreters, speech-to-text apps, or family and friends to assist in the communication, where high levels of information are being quickly delivered and the person or device used is not understanding the information which leads to significant impacts, such as:

• Reduced health outcomes. A 2014 study by the Australian National University Medical School found adverse outcomes included physical harm, and delays in investigations and diagnosis, resulting from failure of interpreter use during consent for procedures, counselling of hospital discharge medications, and in obtaining proper medical history;

• Delays or obstructions in the course of justice. The potential impact of which includes increased time spent in remand, or increased periods of incarceration due to inability to access rehabilitation;

• Misleading information and miscommunication occurring when using relatives or friends as interpreters;

• Reduced privacy considerations or ethical breaches. Unaccredited interpreters are not bound by a professional code of ethics requiring confidentiality, impartiality and accuracy;

• In certain settings, the risks of inaccurate message transfer can damage to social or family relationships; and

• Reduced social cohesion. Poor community involvement due to inability to access government and community services. Indeed, isolation and marginalisation may result if a sign-user is unable to take part or benefit from the opportunities that are routinely afforded

8 Grima Research, Supply and Demand for Auslan Interpreters across Australia, January 2004 9 There have been some interpreters who continued to work in person in essential interpreting spaces. 10 Not within the scope of this submission

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to other members of the community such as access to education, health care, employment, volunteering opportunities, attending events, sports and even their children’s events.

Examples are given in each relevant category to support the recommendations being given in this submission. This submission will cover a broad, but not exhaustive range of issues relating to Auslan interpreters.

This submission will explore the challenges Deaf people and Auslan interpreters are facing in this rapidly evolving landscape and outline the solutions that Deaf Australia believes will be of critical impact to ensure that Australia’s Deaf community gets better access to critical services.

Training of Auslan Interpreters

Background

Currently the Auslan courses encourage and welcome anyone to join and learn Auslan, which has a pathway into studying to become an Auslan interpreter. There are no pre-requisites for people to become an Auslan interpreter beyond competency11 in Auslan.

The current Auslan interpreting courses, usually known as a Diploma of Interpreting (LOTE-English), can vary in length and context.

• In South Australia, student complete 4 units over 11 weeks before undertaking a NAATI test,
• In Victoria, it is 12 units over one year,
• In NSW and Queensland, students complete 12 units over 36 weeks. Classes tend to be approximately 3 hours each week and have a limited class intake of students per year. While Deaf Australia does not have the numbers, it is known that there is a high drop-out rate from Auslan courses, and each successive degree has a smaller cohort than the previous - meaning that in Victoria there is usually only about 10-15 Auslan interpreting students, and of this, only about 3-5 will pass the NAATI test. This means that the interpreting industry remains stagnant with only approximately 7-10 new interpreters nationally each year. It is not known how many interpreters leave the industry every year, but there are challenges in retaining interpreters as a whole.

For interpreters interested in enhancing their skills Macquarie University provides a Graduate­ Diploma of Auslan-English Interpreting, a two-year part time course certified by NAATI.

There are no additional courses that upskill interpreters from a generalist interpreting qualification to a specialised interpreting skillset, such as medical or legal. In the past, there have been various short courses such as a legal interpreting training, emergency broadcast training and mental health training. But there is no ongoing avenue for interpreters who may want to broaden or improve their skillset in a particular area.

There is no training to work with Deafblind consumers - who cover a broad range of needs and requirement, this field experiences a high burnout and turnover rate (see Dea/blind section for more information).

The Australian Sign Language Interpreting Association (ASLIA) is a volunteer-run association in each state and with one national body that organises professional development, which is usually a 3-5­ hour session provided by experts on topics such as ethics or vicarious trauma but does not traditionally improve the signing or Auslan fluency aspects of interpreting skillsets.

11 This does not mean fluency.

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Concerns

Interpreters can and do work with a wide variety of Deaf people in many spaces, such as medical, educational and employment. These spaces can require serious competency in the language and terms used for each context, however the Diploma of lnterpreting’s only pre-requisite is competency in Auslan, meaning that anyone, with any level of education, and irrespective of fluency in Auslan, can enter the Auslan interpreting courses and become a certified interpreter with minimal educational background. This has the impact of interpreters potentially misunderstanding and mis­ relaying key information that has severe implications for the Deaf person, such as medical appointments, higher education, police interactions and court cases, amongst others.

Deaf Australia has also been informed of times where, the Deaf person is attending university or has several degrees and are working in high-level roles such as management or highly technical roles and are working with interpreters who do not have high school qualifications. This has the implication of the interpreter overly simplifying the English terminology even though the Deaf person is fluent or comfortable with the jargon involved, which misrepresents the Deaf person to their hearing peers. The other part of this challenge is that many interpreters are uncomfortable taking on jobs where the Deaf person may be better educated than the interpreter, which means the Deaf person is unable to access crucial workplace meetings - which also has the effect of impacting their career progression.

‘I was having a lot of trouble getting interpreters when I started my new job, more so than usual. When I asked the booking agency why, they told me that the interpreters were not comfortable interpreting for my area of expertise because they didn’t know the language involved.’

There are no interpreting trainings that teach interpreters to work with deaf children - which has implications for these settings, such as education (see education section below), medical or general community interactions where the deaf child is the client of the interpreter. Auslan courses and Auslan interpreting courses are structured to provide instruction in the language for adult-to-adult conversations, not adult-to-children or even children-to-children conversations. There is a significant population of children where Auslan is not their first or strongest language and many are mainstreamed where the only provision of access is a teacher aide or an Auslan interpreter. This puts the onus of access onto both the interpreter and the child.

‘When my interpreter was late for the class and the teacher was talking, I felt more and more stressed and upset. I had no idea what was happening, and I was missing out! Everyone was laughing and I felt so isolated. When I asked the teacher to wait, he said they were just chatting and not teaching a lesson while they were waiting for the interpreter. Does that mean I didn’t deserve or have the right to be involved in fun things - only boring classroom teaching things?’

Due to the disadvantages the average deaf child already has in understanding and absorbing information around them from birth, it is important for the people advocating for them to have a deep understanding of these factors and be able to represent the child accurately and meaningfully rather than assumptively.

The Deaf community has raised concerns that there are more than a few new Auslan students who become interpreters entering the industry with benevolent goals, as opposed to seeing Deaf people as autonomous human beings who only need interpreting access in their interactions with people who cannot sign. This benevolent ideology leads to some toxic, unhealthy situations for Deaf people

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which is exacerbated by the extremely small community. The interpreter may interpret in a way that does not include relevant or decision-making information or simplify the language to a point where the interaction loses meaning for the Deaf person.

Combined with the disadvantages in knowledge and understanding of conflict resolution and trauma this is not an ideal method for introducing people (i.e., future interpreters) that will become the community’s avenue of communicating their needs and receiving information. The risks of dependency and power imbalances directly related to hearing privilege are too high in this current system.

There are not many diverse interpreters in this community. It is a predominantly white, female or female-identifying industry, and it is anecdotally known that a significant percentage of interpreters are either LGBTIQ+ or religious (i.e., Jehovah’s Witnesses). There are only approximately four or five First Nations interpreters in Australia, but it is unclear how many are NAATI qualified.

‘I am Aboriginal. I went to a family event with an interpreter who was white. My family was weird when they were interacting with me. My father later told me I “sounded white”, and this made them feel uncomfortable.’

‘I know three Aboriginal people who started the Aus/an interpreting course because they wanted to be interpreters, but they were so uncomfortable because everyone was white. They dropped out.’

Recommendations

There are several strategies to strengthen Auslan interpreting training courses, covering intake, appropriate instruction, and increased skill development. It is envisaged that better Auslan interpreting training courses, there would be greater incentive for educated, knowledgeable interpreters to make this a lifelong career that keeps them securely employed as well as give Deaf people the reassurance and mental respite they need to trust they are getting high quality services that protect their confidentiality as well as empowering them to access the careers, education and support they need.

1. Regulatory board established to monitor and evaluate interpreters. This board would also have the power to de-certify interpreters.

2. Regulatory board established to monitor and evaluate interpreting courses.

3. Current Auslan instruction courses are evaluated for effectiveness and relevancy, and Deaf trainers receive continuous skill development opportunities.

4. All current Auslan interpreting courses are evaluated to identify areas of improvement. The scope of this evaluation would include:

a. Assessing the course overall for areas of improvement, particularly in soft skills and scoping whether Deafhood units could fit into this course.

b. Assessing the intake process. c. Checking whether the trainers in the courses are appropriately qualified and able to teach the course.

d. Ensuring that courses include Deaf trainers and identifying appropriate courses to build capacity for Deaf trainers.

e. Identifying barriers and enablers for potential interpreters who are not white: First Nations, BIPOC, migrants and refugees, Muslims and other intersecting identities.

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f. Identifying strategies for the courses to include specific mandatory units for working with Deafblind consumers.

g. Checking the courses are accessible for Deaf students to become Deaf interpreters.

h. Ensuring the courses build capacity for interpreters to work in specialised spaces, such as medical, legal, social and educational settings.

5. Scoping for a specialised course to provide primary and secondary school interpreting, where graduates have capacity to interpret in these settings. And then implementing this course.

6. Scoping for a course that are provided to people who are not white: First Nations, BIPOC, migrants and refugees, Muslims, and other intersecting identities, which are also run by these same communities.

7. Courses are provided that enable interpreters to upskill in specific or specialised areas, such as medical, legal, or educational.

8. Interpreting booking agencies should collaborate with registered training organisations (RTOs) to offer courses for interpreters who may want to ‘upskill’ and work in various spaces.

9. Interpreters should receive mentoring with Deaf people as well as other interpreters during their course and in the first two years of working as an interpreter.

10. Professional development courses should be rigorously adhered to in compliance to WFD (World Federation of Deaf) and WASLI (World Association of Sign Language Interpreters) standards. These courses should be provided at minimum expense and not impact the interpreter’s stability in income.

Booking agencies and booking interpreters directly

Background

There are 28 interpreting booking agencies, three of which are Deaf-operated (one relatively unknown, one state-based and the third is an app-based agency); and seven that are predominantly spoken languages-focused but include Auslan; with the remainder operated either by Deaf organisations (Deaf Connect, Expression Australia, or Access Plus WA) or hearing people - usually interpreters (three are Coda-owned). Out of the 28 organisations, two are government funded (NABS and Languageloop). Deaf Connect Interpreting also receives government funding for a limited time for over 65-year-old Deaf people to access free interpreting for social environments, equivalent to those under 65 with NDIS plans.

The majority of hearing people will book Auslan interpreters either through the main known organisations (Deaf Connect Interpreting and Expression Interpreting - formerly known as Auslan Connections which was a partnership between the two organisations until 2022; and Auslan Services), or via a spoken language-focused company. The spoken language-focused companies have expanded to include Auslan because this is a source of income from NDIS, and because they tend to be providers of interpreters for government-funded organisations, who would have requested Auslan be added to their available language lists.

Deaf people tend to book via Deaf-centred organisations such as Deaf Connect Interpreting, Expression Interpreting, Auslan Services or Sweeney Interpreting, or use Convo.

Individual (freelance) interpreters can be booked via an agency or directly, depending on both the interpreter and Deaf person’s preferences.

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Agencies have a responsibility to provide interpreters once a booking is approved, where possible, and to provide a replacement if the booked interpreter is suddenly unavailable. Freelance interpreters do not have this obligation. If the person booking the interpreter needs to cancel the booking, they can do so without charge up to 48 hours prior to the booking time - past this time, they must pay for the booking. The interpreter will not receive any payments unless the booking was cancelled within 24 hours of the booking time.

Case Study

A big court case was booked with 8 interpreters for several Deaf clients for approximately one week. The proceedings were postponed by the court due to specific reasons within 48 hours of the proceedings’ start date.

The booking agency charged the court for the full booking of 5 days for 8 interpreters, which is a significant amount but paid the interpreters only for the first day of the booking period, and only after they complained about a loss of work and pay.

The booking agency therefore made a substantial profit from this cancellation as they were able to also then reallocate some of the interpreters to other jobs for later in the week, but the interpreters lost out on 5 full days of income.

There are various price points for booking agencies ranging from $112-$129 an hour, with a minimum booking time of 2 hours. If a booking is made directly with the freelance interpreter and not through an agency, the rate can be anywhere from $60-$129 an hour. The NDIS’ hourly rates on booking interpreters are as recommended:

• Face-to-face: $129.15
• VRI: $112.73 Booking agencies will pay interpreters a scaled rate, depending on their level of certification (see above section on certification levels), but will charge the booking person/organisation the same rates regardless. Freelance interpreters can dictate their fees, but there can be controversy surrounding rates.

‘I heard of a new interpreter who had only been working for about a year charging $129 an hour for an interpreting job! I have been working as an interpreter for 20+ years, but I only charge $90 which is enough to cover my wages, super and tax. That was so rude and inappropriate.’ -Interpreter

Booking agencies vary in their booking processes. Two agencies allow you to book by sending a text message, others require online booking forms that are tedious and asks a lot of questions over several pages. Only one allow video calls to make bookings (although this is not advertised), but all accept voice calls to make bookings. Very few are Deaf-friendly in that it recognises that many Deaf people have a literacy level of grade 6-8. Only one agency (Convo) has announced that they can provide Auslan interpreting over 24 hours and does not require prior bookings, as it is an app-based service.

The complaints process of booking agencies is provided in English, and the Deaf person is required to make an initial complaint in English. Some agencies require the Deaf person to speak with the offending Auslan interpreter in person after showing them their complaint.

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Concerns

The challenge of booking via a spoken language-focused company that have expanded to include Auslan has meant that there has been a significant decrease in quality and appropriateness of the Auslan interpreter booked for the job. An Auslan-only booking agency recognises the crucial aspects of interpreting preferences and matching the interpreter to the job, but a spoken language-focused business is not aware of this - Deaf Australia has received many complaints about inappropriate and unsuitable interpreters, or interpreters who cannot sign well, who have been booked through these companies - especially since they tend to be the preference of the government-funded organisation.

Case Study

I was supporting a Deaf person in an AAT conciliation meeting - the interpreter there could not understand me or the Deaf person. They signed slowly and made errors in their signing. They also stopped interpreting to write notes on a paper in front of them, while the registrar and other party were speaking. When I prompted her to continue, she snapped that she was writing the participant’s names (who had their names on their screens already), and to be patient.

We made a complaint to AAT, but their response was that they “book NAATI certified interpreters through a list ofl agencies”; but we know - is one of those agencies, who have

While the NDIS has established price points for Auslan interpreting for NDIS-related bookings, booking agencies can charge different rates for direct bookings from the justice system, private bookings and medical bookings. Individual (freelance) interpreters can charge any price they like, regardless of their experience levels - this has had a detrimental impact on the available NDIS budgets of Deaf, Deafblind, and hard of hearing participants.

‘I heard about a Deaf person who did not understand their rights. They had to book a level 2 interpreter to do some interpreting for them for the week - this interpreter was also not their preferred interpreter, but the other one was unavailable. The interpreter charged the maximum available rate despite not being the most competent interpreter. The Deaf person had no more money in their NDIS plan for interpreting after that and had to wait for a review.’

Deaf people do not stop being Deaf when businesses close - they also cannot be reasonably expected to plan their accessibility requirements ahead of time, all the time, yet this is the core business expectation of Deaf people. Deaf people live in an inaccessible world and are required to constantly organise meetings and appointments at minimum two weeks (but preferably a month) into the future, regardless of the urgency of their requirements. Yet, booking agencies are understaffed and lack enough interpreters who are available to interpret at more hours of the day and night, or within an hour’s notice. It is known that there is a high turnover rate in booking agencies staffing numbers because of the stress of not being able to fulfil bookings while receiving hundreds of bookings a week.

Some organisations have had 24-hour emergency interpreters available in the past for situations such as police and hospital emergencies, but it is not clear whether this is operating now. The interpreters themselves report never being paid an on-call rate for being on the clock for these shifts.

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Booking agencies often are staffed by hearing people who do not understand Deaf people when they try to communicate with the agencies and may communicate in a patronising manner.

‘tam so glad | don’t have to use | a my medical appointments anymore.

They always texted me like | did not understand English, even when | asked them

not to. They made me feel like they thought | was st*pid.'

This is worse when it comes to spoken language-focused booking agencies who have expanded their language pool to cover Auslan because they saw the potential of NDIS funding. There is an erroneous perception that a NAATI certified interpreter = good and appropriate interpreter. Interpreters who are not employed by, or often get work from Auslan-focused agencies, work for these organisations. The same applies for hospital systems — it is anecdotally known that I

inappropriate signing i are more likely to be on the hospital’s books as in house interpreters.

There is a lack of understanding from hearing people and organisations who book interpreter for an interaction with Deaf people about Deaf people’s rights and the issues relating to Auslan interpreters. Often Deaf people are told they do not need to know who the interpreter is as one has been booked, or that the interpreter allocated is NAATI certified so “the appointment will run smoothly.” Deaf Australia, Deaf Victoria and many other Deaf agencies who can support in advocacy have been contacted in these cases to support the Deaf person to be heard about why this is an issue. Deaf Australia has had to write a Position Statement about this matter and share it on our website, so that we can focus on more systematic advocacy issues, and not something that is a basic human right.

Stories are rife amongst the Deaf community about the refusal of hearing people to ask for a more appropriate interpreter upon request from the Deaf person to amend the bookings. Agencies like Civil Administration Tribunals, Administrative Appeals Tribunals and others also refuse to change interpreters or to postpone the conference or hearing until a more appropriate interpreter is sourced, which creates additional stress and trauma for the Deaf person who is concerned that they will be misunderstood and therefore misinterpreted and misunderstand proceedings.

Booking agencies demand that Deaf people provide their NDIS participant numbers, update their NDIS plan dates and relevant information on their booking agencies to make a booking — this treatment is not expected of hearing people or organisations who make bookings — a hearing person can make a booking without sharing any private details. A Deaf person is not allowed to opt out of sharing these details.

There is a large, shared fear from the Deaf community of reprisals from the booking agency or Auslan interpreter and the interpreting community if they were to make a complaint about the interpreter, especially if the interpreter is well-known or well-liked. There are anecdotal stories fram the community about times where they have made complaints, and then found it hard to get interpreters for their bookings for a long time afterwards.

Recommendations

The following recommendations should mitigate the concerns raised in this section:

1. Spoken language-focused interpreting booking agencies should not employ Auslan interpreters, instead they should outsource to Auslan booking agencies. 2, Industry standards should be established — these would cover:

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a. Clear guidelines on interpreter certifications accepted in specific settings, such as AAT.

b. Minimum and maximum rates for freelance interpreting rates, including parameters set on certification levels.

c. Payment rights for interpreters for the booked job regardless of whether the cancellation was made 24 or 48 hours prior to the booking.

d. Consistent booking agency standards so users and employees of such agencies can realise their rights while using these agencies.

e. Awareness raising strategies for people who make bookings to understand Deaf people’s rights when it comes to knowing who the interpreters booked are, and their right to change the interpreter if they need and want to.

3. A Regulatory Board is established to monitor booking agency practices.
4. There should be research done to scope whether a system could be established to have Auslan interpreters available within 24 hours - and said interpreters should be paid an on­ call rate by the booking agency.

Funding for interpreters

Background

Until recently, there has been tension on who pays for the interpreters. Hearing people blanch at the cost and believe it is the responsibility of the Deaf person, but the Deaf community believes it is the responsibility of the hearing person - especially if it is via an organisation or business. This adheres to the social model of disability, in that it is society that is inaccessible and therefore responsible for removing barriers, not the person with disability. This has been a source of controversy for years but has recently changed since the implementation of the Employment Assistance Fund (EAF) and more recently, NDIS, both of which will be unpacked in detail further in this section. However, it is critical to recognise that the EAF and NDIS does not resolve the overall issue of interpreting access, cost, and quality. This section will also outline the various funding areas for interpreters, covering the “life-cycle” of a Deaf person.

There is no funding available to pay for interpreters or Deaf language models for deaf children in childcare centres. Centres must apply for a pool of limited funds from various sources and are not always successful in their applications, or only receive a limited amount of money. This usually leaves the deaf child extremely isolated in the room and leaves them behind in learning and socialising opportunities, including language development.

Each state’s education department is responsible for funding interpreters in school, but this has always been significantly underfunded, which has meant that Deaf students are pooled into the same classes or forced to choose the same electives to have access to interpreters.

‘I wasn’t allowed to do photography or English literature in Year 9. I was told I could do sports or woodwork, because that was what the other Deaf Year 9s wanted, and we didn’t have the interpreters to cover my interests.’

Because interpreters in schools are underpaid compared to freelance rates, they tended to be newly graduated and certified interpreters, or even uncertified interpreters, who have no skills in interpreting with children. Schools are also often unaware of their responsibility to provide Auslan interpreters for parent-teacher meetings when there are Deaf parents involved, regardless of the hearing status of their child.

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The government is responsible for funding interpreters in specific areas, such as employment (see EAF), social connection (see NDIS), and public-facing spaces, such as hospitals, the justice system, including police and prisons, Centrelink, in aged-care services and political spaces like Parliament and councils. It is understood that this is covered either by Language Loop or specialised funding for generic inclusion and accessibility. However, most people and employees within these sectors have no idea about Deaf people’s rights to access interpreters, including preferred interpreters; and often do not know how to make a booking.

‘I was booked by the cops for getting angry at them when they were doing something with my housemates. I didn’t understand what was going on, I wanted to get inside the house to get my stuff, and yeah, I was drunk. But they put handcuffs on me, and I didn’t know why. They took me to lock up, and never called an interpreter. They wouldn’t even give me a pen to communicate write them - they mimed I might stab them! I was there for hours until my [hearing] mother picked me up.’

The EAF allows an employed Deaf person access to $6000 per year for interpreters if they meet certain eligibility conditions, which include being an Australian resident, working in a job that will last longer than 13 weeks and working at least 8 hours a week, and are permanently Deaf. This amount is non-negotiable, if the Deaf person required additional hours, they or their employers must find the extra amount from somewhere else, usually from the employer’s operating budget. This amount was decided 16 years ago in 2006 when the government worked out the average interpreting requirements of Deaf people.

The NDIS provide various budgets for Auslan interpreting depending on the individual’s needs, but Deaf Australia has learned through their individual advocacy that this tended to be subject to the planner or LAC’s decision of how much the person is entitled to. Plans can range from $0 to $50,000+. NDIS funds are intended to only cover community or social interpreting and are strictly not allowed to cover employment or education. The NDIS is only available to those under 65 years of age.

The government has provided Deaf Connect with a one-year contract (building on a two-year contract prior) to provide Auslan interpreting for social and community areas for those over 65 years of age. It is not known if this contract will be provided again, or whether it is something that can be relied upon. NABS receive funding from the government for medical interpreting for over 65 or those without NDIS plans.

Concerns

There are many gaps for Deaf people who do not receive funding for interpreters for several reasons such as:

• They are the Deaf partner or carer of a hearing person in the hospital - the hospital refuses to book interpreters if the patient themselves are not Deaf

• They are under 65 years of age but do not qualify for the NDIS

• They are a deaf child, and their families do not know or accept their right to have an Auslan interpreter

’My hearing partner was committed to an inpatient stay. I wanted to support them, but the hospital refused to book one because I was not the patient. I had no

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idea what was going on or how to support my partner. It was so upsetting and stressful for both of us.’

‘My wife is hearing, and we were having a baby. The hospital wouldn’t book an interpreter for the birth. I didn’t know what was going on and at one point there was a lot of people talking and looking worried - I didn’t know what was going on. I was so scared and worried for my wife and our baby.’

The EAF cap has not changed in 15 years, and it is extremely insufficient to cover interpreting costs, which can make the Deaf person appear undesirable to employ if they will require more than $6000 worth of interpreting. Currently, Deaf people report running out of EAF funding within two to three months if not sooner, forcing their employers to cover the significant costs.

Given the strict eligibility requirements of the EAF, this also makes it challenging to provide access to employees who are not citizens of Australia, volunteering, or on short term contracts.

The NDIS interpreting budget for Deaf people vary, but Deaf Australia has received reports of participant’s successive plans being cut, or participants being informed that they can only have interpreters for specific parts of their lives, such as medical appointments, but nothing else. Participants have shared letters from the NIDS claiming that there is no value for money for interpreters given they have a minimum booking rate of two hours, and their activity would only be for one hour, that it is the parent’s responsibility to interpret for their child in their sporting activities, or that it duplicates assistive technologies such as “speech to text” applications available on smartphones.

The NDIS has also been pushing a trend of trying to make Deaf people use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) such as using devices that can do text-to-speech or vice versa, particularly if they can speak in English. The NDIS and their lawyers also have been making claims that the purpose of the NDIS is to allow people “to get by” in life, or that interpreters are only allowed for ‘essential’ communications, and not social engagements. The NDIS has also increased the burden of proof on Deaf participants by asking them to outline a year’s worth of scheduled plans and contacting all the places where they would require Auslan interpreting to ask why those places wouldn’t cover interpreting costs.

On the other hand, Deaf Australia has noticed an increase in hearing people and organisations exploiting the Deaf person’s NDIS interpreting budget. There have been reports of businesses or organisations asking Deaf people to cover interpreting costs for events or activities and then advertising their event/activity as accessible - implying they were covering the costs.

People over 65 years of age do not receive any funding for interpreters. The current government has committed one more year of funding interpreters for over 65 years of age to match what Deaf people get in their NDIS funding, but this is only with one organisation (Deaf Connect), and there is no guarantee that this would be an ongoing funding. There are strict criteria for how this fund can be used:

• The interpreter must be booked via Deaf Connect, Expression Interpreting or Access Plus WA booking agencies.

• Those agencies would then charge Deaf Connect interpreting, who will then provide the government with an invoice for the months’ worth of interpreting.

This has meant that interpreters who are not on the three agencies’ books are not able to be booked, and that all people over 65 are forced to only use those agencies despite their preferences.

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They also cannot access services like Convo, which is app-based and available 24/7 without prior booking required.

‘I want Convo! Why can’t I have it just because I am over 65?’

Recommendations

1. Childcare centres have access to funding for interpreters and Deaf language models in their centres.

2. Education Departments have appropriate funds available to pay for appropriate interpreters. This includes ensuring there is one interpreter for per deaf child.

3. Redesigning the Employment Assistance Fund to ensure greater accessibility and flexibility, which will lead to greater employment participation and socioeconomic contributions by Deaf Australians. This includes:

a. Removing the cap on the $6000 interpreting limit. b. Ensuring that hearing people also have an interpreting budget available to cover interpreting requirements, which means the Deaf person is not solely responsible for covering interpreting costs for each meeting.

4. The NDIS provides interpreting budget for each person that requests this as part of their plan without limiting their use. Deaf Australia does not recommend a minimum or maximum amount but wants the Deaf person to be believed and trusted when they request a minimum amount of interpreting.

5. Deaf people over 65 have access to guaranteed and ongoing interpreting funds to be spent where they wish.

6. Hospitals and other places realise the rights of Deaf families and carers to have access to interpreting whether they are the client/consumer or not.

7. Hearing businesses and organisations have their own funding to cover interpreters without dipping into the Deaf person’s NDIS.

Deafblind interpreting Studies have reported from 0.2% to 2% of the population are Deafblind 12 • The Deafblind person’s vision and deafness varies widely, and no one person has the same experience. Deafblind people could be born with both hearing and vision and lose one or the other at varying rates as they age, others are born deaf and lose their vision, or vice versa.

There are two distinct cultural groups within the Deafblind community. 13 The first group are born blind and lose their hearing as adults. They tend to continue to use speech as their main communication and have a variety of hearing devices to help them to communicate. The second group are born deaf and lose their sight as adults. This group tend to be culturally Deaf and use sign language to communicate.

A significant community of Deafblind people have a genetic condition called Usher syndrome. They are born deaf and develop retinitis pigmentosa (tunnel vision) when they are adults. A person with Deafblindness may strongly identify with the blind culture or the Deaf culture (or in some cases, neither) as well as the culture of their family. An understanding of the complexity of each person’s culture is important for communication, language, and learning.

12 https://www.Deafblindinformation.org.au/about-Deafblindness/ 13 https://www.Deafblind.org.au/Deafblind-information/Deafblindness-in-depth/

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Deafblind interpreting requires specific skillsets. The interpreter needs to be able to interpret in specific ways that work for the Deafblind person14, whether this is in a limited space in front of the

Edan’s Salad Buffet analogy for what a Deafblind interpreter is supposed to be like

Every morning an interpreter takes a Deafblind person to breakfast. They always ask for an egg and lettuce sandwich on white bread. They don’t know that there is a massive buffet bar available.

One day, a new interpreter takes the person to breakfast and tells them that there are five choices of bread, three different cheeses, mayo, pesto, avocado, carrot, ham, salami, hash browns, and various other food available. The person had no idea, but then says, ‘I want egg and lettuce on white bread.’

That is okay. They may do that for years because that is what they are comfortable with.

What many people don’t understand is that the person has a right to know what is there, every single day. One day they may go ‘Hmm. What is avocado?’ It doesn’t matter if they try it and don’t like it. What if they do? That would expand their horizons that little bit more.

person, using tactile interpreting15 or protactile interpreting16. The Deafblind person is supposed to have the choice of interpreting, but can be limited to the interpreter’s understanding, fluency, or comfort in those strategies.

Many Deafblind people have a very limited circle of people they trust, and it is a common practice to work with one or two Commguides and interpreters exclusively for many years, as this means they only have to “train” people once to accommodate their interpreting and guiding requirements.

Due to the nature of the Deafblind person’s vision and hearing, they are often unaware of things around them that virtually everyone else takes for granted. This can force the Deafblind community to become dependent on another person, an interpreter or Commguide17, to provide any and all information around them. This does not always happen.

The current method of providing interpreting support can be considered minimalist and based on the sharing of verbal exchanges as opposed to the environment around them. Due to the complex, multilayered nature of this disability as well as the extremely isolating nature of navigating this today the role an interpreter and/or Commguide takes is a critical area that needs to be monitored better.

The unique skillset needed to communicate with a Deafblind person means there is a severely limited workforce available to ensure this demographic gets the access they deserve to live a dignified, full life. This has resulted in very few interpreters and organisations who are able to interpret in these settings, which some Deafblind people have labelled as opportunistic, exploitative, and gatekeeping.

14 See here for a list of interpreting strategies: https://www.Deafblind.org.au/Deafblind­ information/communication/interpreter-guide/ 15 The Deafblind person places their hands over the hands of the interpreter to read the signs through touch and movement. 16 The interpreter conveys information about the environment, people’s responses and other contextual information on the Deafblind person’s body while also using Auslan, or while the Deafblind person is conversing with another person. 17 ‘Communication Guide’. Term used to explain the major category of support workers that are employed by the Deafblind community. Generally, they take the person out and have overlapping roles such as interpreting, describing what is happening around them, helping with shopping, social events, travel, medical appointments and much, much more.

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Currently, Commguides frequently take on the role of interpreters due to lack of funding and/or availability of appropriate interpreters. Many Commguides do not have interpreter training or qualifications. This leads to a breach of ethics and boundaries, and conflicts of interest. One such example would be the frequency of a Commguide’s presence in the Deafblind person’s life and access to private information, such as medical and/or personal issues, that should be separate from this kind of relationship.

Deafblind people often are quite isolated from the wider community, including the Deaf community usually due to discrimination. Depending on the nature of their disability, sometimes the Commguide is their only source of information or social contact, which can become a form of a one­ sided friendship. Interpreters also often become ‘locked in’ as the primary interpreter for the Deafblind person, which increases their vulnerability since they often have no way to accurately assess that the interpreter is correctly representing them. There have been reports of the Commguide and interpreter speaking on the Deafblind person’s behalf without interpreting what is being said or without their consent, including openly sharing personal things such as medical history or traumatic events.

There have been reports of interpreters making ‘slandering’ statements about organisations and other interpreters that cannot be easily verified by the Deafblind person, to secure ongoing work with the Deafblind person.

Deafblind people have reported that they feel like personal ATMs for everybody, including their personal support networks. They report feeling like they are a rich source of income for the interpreting and Commguide communities, especially now that organisations that were previously funded to run activities and events are also asking for payments. There is a sense that these organisations and people exclusively talk about money with Deafblind people now the NDIS is available compared to the past when this was managed by organisations. Some Deafblind people have stated that every single person in their life is paid to be there, even some of their friends.

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Case Study

There is also a lack of awareness of Deafblind communication methods which has led to tragic consequences such as the following case study which could have been completely prevented if there had been a better system of assessment and access to interpreters.

Adam*, a Deafblind person with some vision went to a Deaf school as a child. After school, everyone moved on with careers and building families while Adam became increasingly isolated. Adam’s mother passed away, and not long after he started having epileptic fits. This accelerated his blindness and ultimately, he ended up getting put in an institution to care for his increasing requirements.

When Adam was placed in the institution, there was no information shared about his communication requirements. None of the staff in the care home realised that Adam could communicate, and he ended up sitting in the corner, alone, for years.

An old school friend started wondering what had happened to Adam and after doing some investigating, found out where they had ended up. That friend came to visit, and immediately picked up Adam’s hands and started signing in tactile. The staff were shocked because they had assumed that Adam had no language or intelligence.

If Adam had been provided an interpreter in the first place, this could have been easily prevented, and Adam would have received and consented to better care.

*not his real name

As part of Deaf Australia’s efforts to collect stories, we witnessed several concerning situations with interpreters who were interpreting for Deafblind people. Some examples are outlined below:

•   Interpreters cut in on people sharing their submissions          because they felt they

could explain the situation better than the persons sharing.

• An interpreter misinterpreted what lawyers were saying leading to a communication breakdown where the Deafblind got angry with the lawyer.

• An interpreter, while interpreting an attorney-client submission, interrupted the conversation to start telling the Deafblind person that they can now use them as an interpreter instead of the interpreter they were complaining about.

Many family members of Deafblind people have acted as their interpreter and as their Commguide for most of their lives. This has been described as traumatic by both Deafblind people and their families who had to be their support network because there aren’t enough interpreters and Commguides who can support the Deafblind person’s independence and autonomy. Families have shared concerns about the Deafblind person’s wellbeing after they pass away, and feelings of guilt and co-dependent behaviour, because “if I don’t do it, who will?” There has been a lack of information sharing and education about the NDIS with this demographic, which means that Deafblind people and their families are not aware of how the NDIS can be used.

As with anybody who needs interpreting, it is crucial that Deafblind people can make decisions and live independently as is their human right with the appropriate support networks and are able to just be a family member in their own homes.

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The Covid-19 pandemic was awful for Deafblind people. Given Deafblind people need tactile communication and contact with their surroundings, they found their world shrinking even more during the pandemic. Deafblind people reported increased interpreter cancellations, or a refusal to come to the booking at all. When Deaf Australia had an event the day after the Perth Deafblind Conference in June 2022, half of the interpreters who were booked months prior to the date cancelled at the last minute without giving reasons. Combined with the severe shortage of interpreters, this led to a very difficult situation which did not facilitate the best outcome for everyone involved.

Recommendations

The following recommendations should help ensure that Deafblind people realise their rights and are able to live independently and with appropriate interpreters and Commguides:

1. Regulatory board established to monitor and evaluate interpreters. This board would also have the power to de-certify interpreters.

2. Appropriate and Deafblind specific training for interpreters and Commguides a. This should also include protactile training

3. Deafblind people should receive rights training to understand their rights with interpreters and Commguides.

4. Deafblind people should be at the lead and centre of all consultations and trainings for interpreters and Commguides relating to Deafblindness, and they should also be considered in all interpreting professional development courses regardless of the topic.

5. There needs to be an understanding that ethical boundaries may blur from time to time, but this needs to be dictated by the Deafblind person, not the interpreter or Commguide.

Government and Auslan interpreting After widespread Deaf community advocacy efforts, supported by Deaf Australia, some state Premiers started including Auslan interpreters for emergency broadcasts in 2019 after the bushfires. These efforts extended to when the Covid-19 pandemic began in Australia, and there were interpreters at urgent broadcasts. However, this was not equal across all states - one such instance is the handover from Berejiklian to Perrotet in NSW. Berejiklian had a media team that had some awareness of the need of Auslan interpreting whereas Perrotet’s team had none, which meant Perrotet did not have interpreters any more during Covid-19 updates. There needs to be guidelines and regulations that prevent this kind of ‘falling through the cracks’ during leadership changes.

Additionally, there was a consistent pattern where when things were “better” during the pandemic and an update was provided no interpreter was booked - which gave Australian audiences a clear indicator that when there was an interpreter next to the Premier, it was going to be bad news. This meant that Deaf audiences did not receive consistent and ongoing access to information, even when things were going well, which contravenes Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ (CRPD) Article 21- Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information and 9 ­ Accessibility.

The government also has not endeavoured to include Auslan accessible information to any Deaf audiences in their election campaigns, both local and federal, with the sole exception of Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John. This has the impact of not enabling Deaf people to be engaged and active citizens in Australia - while election information is available in other languages, especially in diverse communities, Deaf people do not have equal access. It is then up to the individual Deaf person to decide to share (often biased) information about government policies. Deaf Australia and

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Deaf Connect partnered to release a webinar prior to the federal election in 2022 to provide a summary of what the main three parties stood for in relation to the Deaf community and Auslan. This did not provide a comprehensive overview of each of the political parties or people running for election, or touch on any other issues such as education, climate change positions, or international aid, to list some examples.

Live captions are not a reliable or acceptable substitute for live Auslan interpreters on screen. Live captions frequently have spelling errors and words sometimes are completely wrong which can lead to misinformation, and there is an expectation that all people reading captions have the same foundational understanding of English. The best practice would be to have both captions and Auslan interpreting available. Many other spoken languages have translations provided for all news broadcasts, both on community TV and the radio; the Deaf community needs the same to stay abreast of current events and especially in times of global and national emergencies and government policies including elections. The CRPD clearly states that the government has a duty to ensure that information is accessible in sign language.

This lack of leading by example in decisive leadership and understanding in providing access to the Deaf community is a missed opportunity to lead businesses, organisations, and individuals to ‘get on board’ with inclusion and access for Deaf people. Having inconsistent interpreter appearances leads to confusion about the legitimacy and rights of Deaf people. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of comments from hearing people who have criticised the presence of interpreters on the screen, deriding our right to access. There is a misunderstanding about the quality and usefulness of live captioning from the wider public.

Deaf people’s access to information is not political ammunition, it is a human right and as such needs to be treated with tact and sensitivity. In many countries in the Global South, there are interpreters present on the screen on the news or in Parliament proceedings. For such a privileged and powerful country, this shows an extraordinary lack of compassion and understanding when the solution is very simple - our language needs to be present.

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Case Study

ACT Independent Senator David Pocock was approached by members of the Deaf community to have an Auslan interpreter on the floor next to him for his maiden speech on 2 August 2022. Sen. Pocock enthusiastically agreed to this request and as per Senate convention, Sen. Pocock had to write to the leaders of the government, the Opposition and the Greens in the Senate seeking their permission to have “a stranger on the floor”.

While the Greens gave their immediate consent to having an interpreter on the floor next to Sen. Pocock live translating his speech, the government and the Opposition refused the request as they were concerned about “the precedent this will set.”

This made the news, and both Deaf Australia and Sen. Pocock made media statements about this issue. The ACT Senate offered a compromise of having the interpreter broadcast on screens around the room, citing camera and broadcast challenges, which was reluctantly accepted.

In Sen. Pocock’s speech, which was attended by Prime Minister Albanese, Sen. Pocock stated:

“Whatever job Canberrans do they care about the future of this city. They care about the people who live here and they care about making our whole country better. That’s why, when I was asked by people in our community to have this first speech live translated into Aus/an I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

So thank you Mandy, for being here today and translating my words. I understand there’s a difference between Mandy being there in the broadcasting studio and here on the floor of the chamber [and it is] the difference between accessibility and inclusion. Today we’ve achieved the former, but not the latter. In future, I hope we can achieve both.“

Both Sen. Pocock and Senator David Shoebridge used the Auslan interpreter in their maiden speech, and this was highlighted by Senator Jordan Steele-John in his speech.

There have been two inquiries put forward this year by MPs relating to Auslan. The Greens in NSW put forward an inquiry into Auslan interpretation for broadcasting18, and the ACT had an Inquiry into access to services and information in Auslan 19 after receiving more than 500 signatures on a petition implemented by Deaf ACT.

Both New Zealand and the US have employed interpreters for the Prime Minister and White House, their value cannot be understated. lnterpreters20,21 for both governments have highlighted the crucial aspect of preparation and familiarity with the news and key topics for their governments, in order to do an effective interpretation for the Deaf community.

Recommendations

There is clearly scope for the government to improve their awareness and inclusion of Auslan interpreting, which would enable Deaf people and their friends and family to be engaged, active

18 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.aLI/committees/ingLiiries/Pages/ingLiiry-details.aspx?pk=2860 19 https://www. pa rl ia ment.a ct .gov.aLI/pa rl ia menta ry-bLis in ess/i n-co mmittees/committees/eci/i n g LIi ry-i nto-access-to­ services-a n d-i nformation-in-a LI sla n 20 https://www.th egLIa rdi an .co m/world/2019/j LI n/07/Ii ke-jLiggli ng-a n d-d oi ng-gym-life-as-a rde rns-s ign-1angLIage­ interpreter 21 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-hoLise-hires-asl-sign-interpreters-deaf-commLinity/

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citizens of Australia. Given voting is a mandatory part of being a citizen, it makes sense that all information is accessible so we can understand what our government is doing for us and use that information to advocate or elect for the things that are important to us. It is recommended that we look at New Zealand’s approach to New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and their government’s approach to access and inclusion as a gold standard.

1. The establishment of a taskforce to review the equity, effectiveness, and efficiency of Auslan including existing policy, funded programs, services and overall status.

2. An authentic commitment to ensure all key government press conferences, briefings and announcements are accessible in Auslan, and not only in times of emergency22 • This would help reduce delays in communicating key information to Auslan users.

a. Part of this commitment would be ensuring that ACCAN broadcasting guidelines23 are adhered to which means the interpreter would take up a third of the screen at minimum if they are not next to the person speaking.

b. This would also include ensuring that news and media outlets include the interpreter in the frame when sharing the conference or snippets of the conference.

3. Broadcasting standards should be updated to include information on how to display the interpreter in both real time and picture in picture (PIP) 24

4. Policies should include both (accurate) captioning and Auslan interpreting as a key point of inclusion and accessibility, not one or the other.

5. In-house interpreters should be considered for the government.

Interpreters in Educational Settings

This section will provide an overview of Auslan interpreting in all aspects of education, ranging from childcare/kindergarten and primary education to tertiary settings, and touch on independent learning and professional development. A crucial piece of information to note is that there are no training or courses provided to ensure that an interpreter is prepared to interpret in a school environment, or with children. There are also many anecdotal stories of the deaf child/ren’s family members or local community members who could sign (regardless of their signing ability) acting the role of an interpreter or teacher’s aide to varying degrees of success.

There are many issues with interpreters who work in educational settings, which could be its own stand-alone submission 25, but this submission will try and outline only the main issues. There are many examples of abuse and neglect.

Primary and Secondary School interpreting Schools often assume that the provision of an interpreter means that they are providing access to the students. This puts the onus of access onto the interpreter (often unqualified especially if they have never worked with children before) and onto the deaf child to do all the hard yards in terms of utilising that ‘access.’ Often, the interpreter is the only language model for the deaf child, especially if their family isn’t fluent in Auslan, or part of the Deaf community, given Auslan interpreters often

22 National Auslan Communications for Emergencies: http://auslanemergency.eom.au/ and All Hands on Deck: Preparing Aus/an signers for an emergency (not available on line, but the Attorney-General has a copy. 23 What standards? The need for evidence-based Aus/an translation standards an production guidelines, 2013. https://acca n .o rg .au/grants/compIeted-gra nts/621-what-standa rds-t he-need-tor-evidence-based-a usl a n-trans Iati on­ stand a rds-a n d-p rod u cti on-guide Iines 24 Sign language interpreting on TV and media: sharing best practices, 2020. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5241699de4b09847f93f8123/t/Sfc407ad18e72e5fdb558e80/1606682553723/Sign +Ia ngu age+ i nterpreti ng+o n+TV +an d+m ed ia-+sha ri ng+best + practices+. pdf 25 Deaf Australia is preparing a submission that focuses on the Deaf person’s experience of education.

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do not have native Auslan, which can be problematic as there is a lack of fluency and casual or relaxed use of Auslan, or a familiarity with how children use Auslan. This can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, which impact on the child’s feelings of competency in communication and as a student, and impact social connections with their peers.

‘In grade 5 and 6, I didn’t have an interpreter. I sat there reading books until the teacher was done teaching the class and then came to me to explain what I needed to do. I didn’t get to participate in the classroom activities or be on par with my peers. I was considered smart, so it wasn’t seen as disadvantageous to me.’

Additionally, the child is forced to take on an adult-like role by ensuring that there is access by way of an interpreter in the room and are often forced to meditate conversations by asking their teachers or peers to wait for the interpreter to be ready or present. The child is also in a position where they may not be aware of their rights when it comes to interpreting.

‘As a teenager, I went to New Zealand and got my first real exposure to what a qualified interpreter really was and the boundaries that are our rights (as a Deaf person) to have. When I came back to my rural school in NSW, I realised just how much abuse was happening in terms of language deprivation and lack of skill the communicators had, and they immediately labelled me as a troublemaker for educating my peers about their rights and I was frequently given detention.’

There is a significant power imbalance when it comes to interpreters and deaf students in the mainstream classroom. The interpreter is a hearing adult with hearing privileges and considered to be the (hearing) teacher’s peer and an expert on deafness, which is inaccurate. The child may not be able to communicate directly with the teacher or advocate for themselves independently without the use of the interpreter who may be part of the challenges the child is experiencing.

In interpreting situations, the Deaf person is always viewed through the lens of the spoken words relayed by the interpreter, and it is no different with the deaf child. This has significant implications when the child has an issue with the interpreter - they may have no other avenue of communicating key issues about the interpreter with the school. This means that the child may be less likely to be believed - especially when interpreters can claim that the child has “misunderstood the situation.”

Teachers often misunderstand the role of an Auslan interpreter, believing them to be a teacher’s aide or as the deaf child’s de facto teacher, and often neglect the child themselves. This leads to a lack of understanding and relationship with the deaf child and enables abuse and neglect from the interpreters. Some disclosed examples of abuse and neglect are listed below:

• Punishing the child for looking away from the interpreter momentarily26 by stopping interpreting.

• Not interpreting what is happening in the classroom when other children are speaking or interrupting, because “it is not what the teacher is saying”.

• Telling the child how to do their schoolwork by either doing the work themselves, giving them the answers, or acting like they are the teacher.

26 Watching interpreters constantly is exhausting. Looking away is a good way to get breaks and prevent eye­ strain, and reduces cognitive fatigue.

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• Often changing where the boundaries are in the interpreting relationship - for example, sharing details with the child about what they did on the weekend one day, and the next telling them they are not allowed to ask questions.

• Walking out of the classroom if the deaf child is being disruptive.

• Acting as ‘Big Brother’ and reporting the child’s movements and comments to the classroom teacher or to the Deaf Unit/Facility, when this may not be an action that would have been observed by a hearing teacher with hearing students.

• Students are forced to maintain a friendly relationship with the interpreter regardless of their genuine feelings or balance in the relationship, to receive “better interpreting”.

• The interpreter deliberately misinterprets what the child is saying when the child is complaining or talking about the interpreter to the teacher.

‘My interpreters always “missed” the classroom banter or when other kids called out stuff in the middle of a lesson. Everyone would laugh and I would be asking “what? What!?” and the interpreter would say “I didn’t hear it”. This happened all the time, and I always felt so isolated and separate from my peers. I didn’t really have friends in high school.’

Deaf people have reported feeling like they couldn’t be like their hearing peers, because they were always constantly under observation by one adult in the classroom, and studies have shown that fatigue due to communication challenges and multi-focal attention allocation is a significant concern for deaf and hard of hearing children 27 •

Secondary school students report not being able to choose their electives due to a lack of interpreters available in the school. To be clear, this is not about the shortage of interpreters, but the lack of funds for employing interpreters. Additionally, because of a lack of interpreters, it is very common for all the deaf students in the same year level to be in the same class, and due to language deprivation in many deaf people, they are forced to be streamed at the ability level of the lowest achieving deaf student, regardless of the abilities of the other deaf students.

‘My high school did not have enough funding for interpreters so they prioritised the interpreters as such: year 12 students got the interpreters for every class, year 11 got interpreters for the majority of classes, year 10 got interpreters for the classes with English/maths and heavy speaking load, and so on until year 7. If you were in an elective class, you might get an interpreter for the first 10 minutes, or the next 10 minutes or the next one after that, depending on how many other students needed interpreters.’

Recommendations

Deaf students deserve the same opportunities as their hearing peers regardless of their interpreting requirements. Empowered deaf students are those who can choose their interpreters, how they are represented and are able to confidently succeed in their learning.

1. There is appropriate and sufficient funding to cover the cost of one interpreter per deaf student, regardless of where they are located.

2. Schools and teachers have clear training and guidance on the interpreter’s roles.

3. There is specific training for educational interpreters which also ensures they do not behave in punitive manners toward the student.

27 https://www. nature .com/articles/s41598-022-13542-1

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4. Students have a choice in choosing the interpreters employed by the school.

5. Students receive training from an early age on their rights and responsibilities with interpreters, and in the classroom.

6. Students are encouraged and supported to make complaints about their interpreter/sand can use an outside interpreter to make this complaint if they wish.

7. Regulatory board established to monitor and evaluate interpreters. This board would also have the power to de-certify interpreters.

8. Teachers are trained to work with deaf students and understand how to build relationships with them outside of interpreters. This could be part of the educational degrees attained in university, or part of professional development.

Tertiary education interpreters Tertiary interpreting differs somewhat from primary and secondary interpreting given the student is often an adult at this point, however it is worth mentioning that many students who come into tertiary settings are traumatised from their experiences with interpreters in secondary settings.

‘I remember when I was 21 and doing uni. I was a smoker, and I went to smoke, but I had an interpreter with me that I didn’t really know. I asked her for permission to smoke. She looked at me funny and said, “yeah whatever”. I realised at that moment that I was so used to being controlled by interpreters all my life.’

There is a particular skillset required from the interpreters given the subjects taught in TAFE and universities are specialised subjects which also have an impact on the deaf person’s future, however not all interpreters have a university degree or an understanding of the subject matter, which can impact interpreting. Deaf people have the right to clear, accurate representation where the interpreter conveys both meaning and critical words used in the educational setting. It is not enough to relay only the meaning of the information; the words being used in the classroom is critical for learning when it comes to studying, exams and maintaining professional relationships with peers and educators.

‘I kept reading words in my textbooks I had never heard of before - there was a huge disconnect between what the interpreters signed in the lectures and the words I was reading. I could not make sense of it all - it felt like I was learning a wholly different subject in my reading than what I was seeing in my lectures. I eventually realised that the interpreters were never using any of the crucial words/2argon that was essential for me to understand and know - instead they were distilling the information into the simplest Aus/an vocabulary possible, and this was because the interpreters did not know or understand the material. They also did not have university degrees themselves, so they probably didn’t realise that those words were important for me to know.’

The interpreter’s role is twofold; they are responsible for relaying the information with meaning intact and they are also responsible for relaying questions from the student/s to the professor/teacher and classroom. It is a challenging setting and if the student is repeatedly requested to repeat questions or clarify the question due to misunderstanding on the interpreter’s part, they will eventually ask less, contribute less, resulting in a lack of participation in the class.

Many Deaf people report feelings of shame and inferiority in the classroom when they have an interpreter that does not accurately interpret the Deaf person, or often misunderstand what the

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student is signing, due to a lack of knowledge of the subject matter. Deaf people have used words like ‘dumb’, ‘worthless’, ‘wasting everyone’s time’, and ‘humiliated’ when describing their experiences with interpreters who were inappropriate for the interpreting job in their studies.

‘I remember one time I very carefully signed and spelled out a phrase that I wanted my interpreter to voice because I knew that it wasn’t how it would normally be said in English (it was “back to front”), but it was exactly how to say it in that subject. My interpreter “corrected” me by verbally saying it the “right way around” and then the other student corrected me. But it was HER who didn’t trust me to know what I was saying. I looked stupid to my peers.’

Deaf students are forced to work harder than the average student to keep up and understand the subjects they are studying in the same amount of time given to their hearing peers. There is no opportunity to check in real time whether the interpreter is accurately interpreting.

This is compounded by university’s general reluctance to cover for reasonable accommodation where students have been forced to either choose between notetakers, transcripts or interpreters; or to advocate for all three. Deaf students report feeling like they are teaching themselves while paying expensive HECs/HELP debts, while also having to advocate for better access which requires attaining interpreters they can trust as well as ensuring they are appropriate interpreters. This is exponentially harder if the student does not attend a tertiary institution in the city- which is possible given country institutions often offer places for lower-scoring entrants. This mental exhaustion and fatigue is considered ‘normal’ for Deaf people and they do not get paid for advocating, for educating the staff, the disability liaison officer in the disability resource centre, and the interpreter.

The educational system in Australia is not established to support the Deaf student in achieving their goals. The lack of understanding, knowledge and skills and refusal to provide requested support results in lifelong trauma for the Deaf student. The history of generations of Deaf students who’ve tried and were denied access to a quality tertiary or post tertiary education has created an impression for many in the Deaf community that gaining further education after school is likely unattainable and comes with a high possibility of trauma. This is a classic example of audism and puts barriers in a Deaf person’s right to access better opportunities, wages, and representation of their community.

There have been reports that some interpreters who interpret in TAFE settings don’t take it seriously or treat students with respect.

‘My interpreter was late for my class. Ihad an important exam. The interpreter rushed in and said she was sorry; she was coming directly from another job. Then once she had interpreted what I needed to do, she asked if she could go have lunch. I said no because I needed her to stay in case I had any questions. She grumpily said fine. Five minutes later, she informed me she was going to the toilet and left. She never came back. I finished my exam and walked outside to find her sitting at a table eating her lunch.’

Recommendations

Many of the recommendations in the primary and secondary interpreting section applies here, but there are additional recommendations that can be applied to tertiary settings.

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1. Interpreters should have the opportunity to receive information about the course they are interpreting prior to accepting the interpreting job.

a. Key terminology and summary of key concepts should be provided to the interpreter prior to the course beginning.

2. Tertiary interpreters should receive mentoring from graduated students or interpreters who have worked in similar settings.

3. An inquiry into Deaf people’s experiences in tertiary education interpreting should be conducted, which would be able to provide recommendations that can apply to TAFEs and universities.

Interpreters in health settings Access to health care without barriers is a clearly defined right of people with disabilities as stated by the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. This section will touch on interpreters in medical environments, which include emergency, usual medical appointments, specialised appointments, and mental health. Many Deaf people report not receiving interpreters when asking for them, particularly in the hospital or in emergency settings. Deaf people also report negative interactions with medical staff and interpreters.

General health settings Beaver & Carty (2021) identified that healthcare staff often lack understanding of availability or booking processes for Auslan interpreters, which can result in Deaf people being burdened with self­ advocacy to be able to access the healthcare system. This can cause unneeded distress for patients and their families. Where there is no Auslan interpreter present, deaf people are at high risk of misunderstanding and/or receiving incorrect information to manage their health, particularly during complex medical appointments. When a deaf patient does not receive clear communication about their healthcare, healthcare staff may have trouble with negotiating proper consent, which can have serious consequences for deaf patients’ autonomy.

Case Study

An interpreter had shown up to a post operation check-up at a hospital. On meeting the patient, the interpreter asked for some background, as per usual practice, to prepare for the appointment. The patient stated that they had emergency surgery a week ago, however they had no idea what had happened. There was no interpreter provided at her presentation to the Emergency Department, before or after surgery, or on discharge. Once in the appointment, the patient told the doctor that she was not aware of what had happened to her, and the doctor had noted this in the file. No further action was taken about this issue. In this case, ‘informed consent’ did not occur.

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Case Study

An - boy had to have emergency surgery at a hospital and his mother was Deaf. The mother and father were no longer married, and the father had another wife. The father and the wife were hearing. Even though the mother had made many requests for an interpreter, the requests were refused due to the father being able to hear and pass on messages to the mother. At one stage, the family was to meet with the specialist to discuss the health of the child, and the father was unable to attend the meeting. The meeting was attended by the Deaf mother and the father’s new wife, who was asked to interpret for the mother. The wife had no Auslan skills, so the mother was humiliated and angered by this lack of respect for her communication needs.

Family members and friends of Deaf people are regularly asked by healthcare providers to interpret for deaf patients’ medical appointments. Children of Deaf adults often carry this expectation. This ‘language brokering’ occurs when children take on the role of interpreting, translating, and advocating for their parents. 28 However, Deaf Australia argues that family and friends are not equipped to interpret for Deaf people during medical appointments and that this practice risks leaving patients and their family members or friends traumatised by the experience. Rather than interpreting, family members and friends, including children of Deaf adults, should instead be available to provide practical or emotional support to the deaf person during healthcare appointments. 29

‘I was at the hospital, and the doctor didn’t book an interpreter. They forced my 4-year-old daughter to interpret for me.’

‘The doctor made me tell my father he had terminal cancer. I was only 13. My dad didn’t understand what terminal meant, and neither did I. Ihad to ask and then explain to my dad that he was going to die.’

In many cases, family members are expected or forced by medical professionals to interpret for their Deaf family member. Force can range from a refusal to book an interpreter in a timely manner, or an overt expectation of the family member to interpret. Oftentimes this turns out to be the Deaf person’s child who must accompany their parent to the appointment due to them being too young to stay at home. This has resulted in cases of forcing the child to interpret matters a child should never be expected to do, let alone understand. This is equivalent to child labour and is a breach of children’s rights30 • There must be a system implemented where there is an appropriate penalty (fine and/or imprisonment) to make sure this never happens again.

Forcing children to interpret for their parents is a part of every Deaf parent and CODA story. It would be easier to ask who this hasn’t happened to, than to ask for examples of this happening.

Deaf Australia is not going to list every example here because it would take many pages. It is traumatising for the parent, their child, their family, the Deaf

28 Moroe N, De Andrade V. “We were our parents’ ears and mouths:” Reflecting on the language-brokering experiences of hearing children born to deaf-parents. S Afr J Child Health. 2018;12(2b):75. 29 Deaf Australia. Accessible services for deaf people who use Auslan in hospitals and health services Prepared for Department of Health. 2021. 3°Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 19, 32, and 36

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community, and the authors of this paper.

It still happens today.

Some Deaf people under 65 have access to NDIS funds that allow them to book their preferred interpreters for GP and private health appointments, while hospitals are required to book and pay for interpreters. Deaf people who have NDIS are often asked to make estimates on how often they will require interpreters including for medical appointments for each year of their plan, however there is no reasonable expectation on the Deaf person to predict their future health requirements if they are of reasonable health. People are told they can apply for reviews if their funding runs out or gets close to running out, but given the NDIS is overwhelmed with reviews and reviews can take weeks, Deaf people do not feel comfortable with this claim from the NDIS.

Hospitals

There are issues about the quality of interpreters in hospitals, it is anecdotally known within the Deaf community that hospitals who employ in-house interpreters in an attempt to always have an interpreter on-site are ■■■■■1- This is a risky practice as there is no regular monitoring or assessment of the employed interpreter’s skills. In the most part, paraprofessional interpreters are employed by the hospitals directly. Hospitals generally pay contracted interpreters a cheaper rate per hour than they do with agencies who charge a higher rate, and although this may seem to be a cost-effective measure, it puts the hospital at risk of providing a substandard, ethically questionable, service.

Case Study

A Deaf woman had an appointment for a lumpectomy at a hospital that she was familiar with. On the day of her surgery there was a different interpreter than the usual contracted interpreter the hospital had. Just as the woman went under, the interpreter realised that the appointment was for a mastectomy, not a lumpectomy as the patient had believed because this was what the other interpreter had been relaying and urgently stopped the surgery from proceeding.

‘I arrived at the Children’s hospital for an appointment for my child. The interpreter arrived - I was unhappy. This was an interpreter I had worked with before, and she was on my banned list as she cannot sign well, always behaved unethically and could not understand me. I had no choice.’

Deaf Victoria’s inquiry into access to Auslan interpreters in Victorian hospitals31 identified a trend that emerged: hospitals that use interpreting services not specifying in Auslan are the ones that they had the most trouble with. Agencies provide interpreters for a whole range of languages, of which Auslan is a small portion of their business. Victorian public hospitals have access to a credit line provided by the Victorian government for interpreting costs and use the agencies that are contracted by them to pay for interpreters.

31 https ://www .d eafvi cto ri a.org.au/our-work/past-projects/ a us la n-inte rp reters-in-hosp ita Is/

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At the time of the inquiry, the contracted agency of choice was an agency serving a whole range of languages. The policy of this agency was that the hospital must book the interpreter from the agency directly, and the Deaf person does not have the authority to negotiate with the agency about who will be sent to interpret for them. Several times, Deaf people have tried to ring one of these agencies after being given inappropriate interpreters to let them know who their preferred interpreters are, or to inform them that they cannot work with certain interpreters, and the agencies have stated that they are unable to speak with them, and that they need to inform the hospital. It then becomes the responsibility of the interpreting booking officer at the hospital to name the preferred interpreter or unsuitable interpreters each time they book for the patient.

Deaf people have shared that the interpreting booking officer at the hospitals have not been open to their preferred interpreters requests and have been rude in their communications.

‘I was pregnant, and I needed interpreters for my appointments and for my delivery. I wanted to have the same interpreter for the whole journey. The booking office told me “You get who you get”. I advocated and negotiated so I could have the same interpreter. Then the same booking office told me I could only have an interpreter from the time I started pushing, and no earlier than that. I was like no way! I made sure the interpreter arrived at the same time as me. What hearing person has to go through that?’

A study commissioned by the Australian government found that individual doctors acknowledged a high risk of misunderstanding and health mismanagement if an Auslan interpreter was not present during complex medical appointments with Deaf patients. 32 However this often happens and can have significant impacts on their health and finances, due to misunderstandings on issues such as billing.

Case Study

An elderly Deafblind man aged around 98 years old was found on his bedroom floor and taken to hospital. He was there for three days before a friend came to visit. Upon arriving, their friend found out they hadn’t eaten or drank anything for all three days because the food service staff would drop the tray of food off on a bedside tray off to his side without tapping the man’s shoulder to let him know there was food. He also didn’t know what was happening because they never got an interpreter for him.

Many Deaf people have preferred interpreters, and they tend to prefer specific interpreters for specific settings, the health area is no different. Given medical appointments can be quite intrusive and private, Deaf people prefer to have their preferred interpreters they can trust to interpret sensitive information in a safe way. This issue is compounded by the fact that the interpreting industry is dominated by white female and female-identifying people, which means that men, people who identify as men, or people who would prefer to have a male interpreter face barriers in having their needs met.

This impacts a wide variety of settings, but particularly the medical setting where gender sensitivity can be crucial for the appointment. This can include sex advice, genital-specific questions or appointments, family violence, or comfort levels in disclosing private things. This is an area of particular concern for people who are not white and have cultural and/or religious backgrounds that

32 Napier J, Kidd MR. English literacy as a barrier to healthcare information for deaf people who use Auslan. Aust Fam

Physician. 2013;42(12):896-9. PubMed

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have an impact on their comfort and health interactions: First Nations, BIPOC, migrants and refugees, and Muslims.

Covid-19 has led to an increase of telehealth appointments and/or use of interpreters on video relay systems at in-person appointments. This has been a source of issue for much of the Deaf community due to the general inaccessibility of the platform used for telehealth appointments; or the lack of internet connection in the hospital or medical centre, which means the interpreter isn’t seen or understood clearly.

Mental Health

Specific interpreting skillsets are required for people who interpret in the mental health system. Unfortunately, there is no training provided for interpreters who work in these settings. This has many effects on the Deaf person’s wellbeing and access to services. A study in the UK identified that an average inpatient stay for a hearing person is approximately 4 months, while a Deaf person’s inpatient stay would average 17 years33 •

The following list outlines many reasons why the mental health system fails the average Deaf person

• for brevity’s sake, we will not go into detail, but cite sources where we can:

• The DSM-IV is made for the average white person who uses English as a primary language.34, 35

• Very few tests are validated for Deaf people or for those who are tested via signing interpreters.36

• The average assessment of a hearing person may take approximately an hour, but a Deaf person requiring an interpreter may take about three hours. This also needs to factor in the cost of interpreting37 •

• Interpreters are not appropriately trained to interpret for Deaf people in mental health settings, let alone those experiencing complex mental health situations, including psychotic episodes.

• One factor contributing to miscommunication between deaf patients and hearing clinicians is language. Language dysfluency/deprivation, or poor delivery of language, presents a challenge for deaf patients that are assessed for psychiatric disorders. Often, hearing clinicians unfamiliar with Deaf culture mistakenly assume that their deaf patients are able to communicate in written English and consequently pathologise poor writing skills as symptoms of disordered thinking or low intelligence38,39 •

• Mental health professionals are unaware of how Deaf people may present when not having an episode, which means they may attribute behaviour that is “normal” or related to being Deaf as a symptom of a mental health disorder. Identifying delusions in Deaf patients is that culturally Deaf views are at risk of being misunderstood as a distortion of reality rather than a common cultural belief that hearing people may not be aware of. For instance, many Deaf individuals that are well assimilated

33 https://www.deafvi cto ri a .o rg .au/our-work/past-projects/deaf-m enta I-hea Ith-re po rt/ 34 Vedantam S (June 26, 2005). Psychiatry’s Missing Diagnosis: Patients’ Diversity Is Often Discounted. The Washington Post. 35 Sashidharan SP, Francis E (July 1999). Racism in psychiatry necessitates reappraisal of general procedures and Eurocentric theories. BMJ. 319 (7204): 254. 36 Day, LA., Adams Costa, EB., Engi Raiford, S. (2015). Testing children who are deaf or hard of hearing. 37 https://www.d eafvi cto ri a .o rg .au/our-work/past-projects/d eaf-m enta I-hea Ith-re po rt/ 38 https://wp.nyu .ed u/stein hardt-a ppsych opus/misd i agn osis-of-d eaf-i nd ivid u a ls-towa rd-a-cu It u ra Ily-sensitive-a p pro a ch/ 39 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic1es/PMC6011142/

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into Deaf culture embrace the experience of deafness and do not see it as a hearing “impairment” or a physical disability. A clinician who lacks exposure to this idea may wrongly classify this positivity toward being deaf as a delusional thought40• In the same vein, a deaf client preoccupied with his or her safety on a psychiatric unit or is suspicious of mental health providers is not necessarily exhibiting diagnosable paranoia. Clinicians must consider that perhaps reluctance and distrust of hospital staff is logical or even warranted for Deaf patients who are put into treatment settings where no one can understand them-in such a case feeling unsafe should not be pathologised.

• Mental health professionals tend to misdiagnose Deaf people to a greater degree, to the point that psychotic disorders, development disorders and mental retardation are over­ diagnosed amongst Deaf psychiatric patients41.

• Most of the literature points to the clinician’s lack of cultural sensitivity as the major factor in misdiagnosis of Deaf patients, especially considering that these patients are usually assessed and treated in places dominated by hearing professionals42 •

• Deaf people are often labelled as aggressive or placed on psychiatric holds for acting in a specific way, but when they are met with an interpreter, they explain that they were upset because of a lack of an interpreter and not understanding what is happening or receiving appropriate care 43 .

• Deaf people may go into excessive detail, which can be confused with obsessive-compulsive symptoms44•

• Professionals behave in audist ways, such as reacting badly to written notes from patients, or assuming they know more or are correct because they can hear.

‘I took myself to the hospital because I was experiencing poor mental health. I was put in a room for the night, and I had an interpreter when I arrived. They told me I would be discharged the next day, but they would enrol me in their psychiatric care as an outpatient which I agreed to. The next morning, a lot of people came into my room without an interpreter and started talking at me. I got really angry and upset and I kept asking for an interpreter. They put me in the inpatient ward, and I didn’t get an interpreter for a few days. I was angry because I didn’t have an interpreter, but they thought I was at risk ofharming others.’

For Deaf clients who use Auslan, it may seem as if the language problem is easily solved by the presence of an interpreter. However, the use of an interpreter has both advantages and pitfalls. To ensure clarity between a hearing clinician and a Deaf client, the clinician must communicate openly and effectively with the Auslan interpreter. Effective communication requires interpreter’s input on how the client is expressing themselves45• For example, through verbal communication, a psychiatrist may notice that a hearing client has rapid, pressured speech that may be attributed to a manic episode. An appropriately trained interpreter can often detect similar communication styles in the signing patterns of a Deaf client that might otherwise go unnoticed by the clinician. In this way, an interpreter contributes a valuable perspective to the assessment process.

40 Glickman, N. (2007). Do you hear voices? Problems in assessment of mental status in deaf persons with severe language deprivation. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12(2), 127-147. 41 https://wp. nyu .ed u/stein ha rdt-a ppsych opus/misd i agn osis-of-d eaf-i nd ivid u a ls-towa rd-a-cu It u ra Ily-se nsitive-a p pro a ch/ 42 https://wp. nyu .ed u/stein ha rdt-a ppsych opus/misd i agn osis-of-d eaf-i nd ivid u a ls-towa rd-a-cu It u ra Ily-se nsitive-a p pro a ch/ 43 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic1es/PMC6011142/ 44 https://psychnews. psych iatryonline.org/doi/fuI 1/10.1176/pn .44.2.0023 45 Glickman, N. (2007). Do you hear voices? Problems in assessment of mental status in deaf persons with severe language deprivation. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12(2), 127-147.

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Despite the helpfulness and necessity of an interpreter during mental health assessments, the mere presence of a third party in the room presents its own challenges. Reliance on an interpreter interrupts the therapeutic alliance and may hinder the level of comfort and trust between client and clinician. Furthermore, given the Deaf community tends to be small and tight knit, which may be problematic if the interpreter turns out to be someone the client knows personally. When friends, family members, or familiar individuals serve as interpreters, the potential for a secure and confidential atmosphere becomes fragile and potentially ruptured 46• It is impossible to tell how this potential discomfort may affect the honesty of the client during an interview, or how a client’s uncomfortable or superficial behaviour may ultimately impact the given diagnosis.

Given there are not that many interpreters who are qualified to interpret in these settings or familiar with “Deaf ways” or even the Deaf patient themselves, this can be challenging for the interpreter to interpret, and could lead to disastrous outcomes such as incorrect medicine dosage, misinterpreting the diagnosis and false security in their health. These aspects can lead to even worse outcomes such as increased depression, stress, readmittance to hospitals or clinics and in extreme cases, suicide.

Recommendations

There are many recommendations to improve interpreting in health settings.

1. A regulatory system that disciplines, fines, and penalises hospitals and medical professionals who force children under 18 to interpret for the Deaf person.

2. Improve booking agencies that are in hospitals’ understanding of Deaf people’s rights with interpreters, including preferred interpreters.

3. Improve all policies and processes in all medical environments to ensure that Auslan interpreters are easily booked and can come to the appointments in a timely manner.

4. Improving telehealth platforms so they are easily used by Deaf people who also need interpreters to be clearly seen.

5. Providing good internet connection for screens when they are being used for interpreting at appointments.

6. Train interpreters specifically in: a. Health settings b. Mental health environments

7. All medical professionals receive a unit on Deaf people and culture and Auslan as a mandatory part of their degrees.

8. Training is provided to all medical professionals and those who work in medical spaces on interpreters and best practice.

9. A Community of Practice is established and supported by the Department of Health for working with Deaf people, which will enable all medical professionals, and especially those working in mental health to receive advice and mentoring from experts, including Deaf people on how to work with Deaf patients or carers.

10. Consider using Deaf interpreters more. Interpreters in emergency settings and broadcasts The recent Covid-19 pandemic and the bushfires in 2019/2020 have put a spotlight on interpreting, increasing widespread awareness of interpreters and their need for inclusion and accessibility. However, despite this awareness, it is still not a guarantee as seen by the Lismore floods in 2022,

46 Steinberg, A. (1991). Issues in providing mental health services to hearing-impaired persons. Hospital Community Psychiatry, 42, 380-389.

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where there was a lack of accessible information, and volunteer interpreters had to make posts to share on their Facebook while also managing their own experiences with the floods.

There is a lack of consistency when it comes to interpreting in emergencies. The interpreters were only placed on the screen for the bushfires because of a huge campaign by the Deaf community which was supported by Deaf Australia. This then benefitted the Deaf community when the pandemic began because the Victorian government had a structure in place for ensuring interpreters were available for press conferences, which then informed the other states. However, a trend began where the interpreter was only present when Premiers were delivering bad news, but not for good news.

But again, this varied across the nation - some Premiers were slower on the uptake, and others removed them entirely as was the case with Premier Perrottet47, when he took over from Berejiklian. The issue with this kind of situation is that when a political team hands over the mantle, they do not hand over their staff as well which leads to certain things falling between the cracks. Berejiklian had a media advisor who was aware of the need for Auslan There is no established guidelines or system in place to ensure this overlap does not fail the Deaf community. Article 9 (Accessibility) of the CRPD does highlight that Deaf people should have access to information, communications, and other services, including electronic services and emergency services.

Media teams from Fire and Emergency services, Departments of Health, and PM office are all not well versed on their legal obligations to provide Auslan interpreters in the media. Some cited that some media teams saw interpreters provided on TV overseas and felt that we should follow. Others said it gives them good PR and a tick off the list for meeting accessibility needs, however providing interpreters on TV does not always translate to equitable access as they don’t always know the difference on the quality of an interpreter; if the interpreter is not readily understood by Deaf people, then there was no access provided.

In addition, there is a lack of awareness and understanding of an interpreter’s role which has been evident through the last three years of disasters and pandemics. This is demonstrable by the sexualisation of the interpreter(s)48,49 , the perception that the interpreter(s) is making fun of things50 or are there for entertainment51. While Deaf Australia appreciates that there is positive news for Auslan interpreters being on the screen, the resulting conversations and responses from the wider community can be violent and abusive52 :

‘Why don’t they have the sign language person in a little box. It’s very off putting. Australia must only have about 5 deaf people! Bloody minorities.’

The media is also unaware of the need to always see the interpreter; Deaf people have reported the interpreter being cut out of the screen53 or not viewable on the internet.

47 https ://www.timeout. com/ syd n ey/ news/the-sh ocki ng-reason-d om inic-per rottet-n o-1 o nge r-has-a usl an-i nte rpreters-at­ press-briefi ngs-101221 48 https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/survey-young-people-politics/ 49 https ://www. pedestrian. tv /news/d an-and rews-a us la n-i nte rp rete r-obsessed/ 50 https ://www .d a ilym a iI. co. u k/n ews/ a rti cle-855064 7/Sign-la ngu age-i nterp rete r-caught-do i ng-offe nsive-gestu re-Victori as coronavirus-u pdate. htm I 51 https ://www. pedestrian. tv /news/aus la n-i nte rp rete r-wa-pre mi er-ma rk-m cgowa n-tu cken-1 ove-you-b ud dy/ 52 We decided not to do a deep dive to find examples in order to protect ourselves. 53 https://www.abe.net.a u/news/2020-01-10/a us la n-interpreter-sea n-sweeney-a ustra lia n-bushfi res/11848818

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‘I recall one story from the bush fires in which a Deaf family on holiday in a remote Australian town without interpretation services noticed other people packing up in haste and getting away. The family approached someone to explain into a phone and sent the video to a friend for translating. A video message came back telling them in sign language to get out, now. The family got out just in time.’

In many areas, particularly where disasters may occur, such as bushfires or flooding, there may be insufficiently experienced interpreters, which becomes an issue of whether to use a paraprofessional interpreter immediately versus waiting while a professional interpreter is brought in. This is also applicable to Canberra where there is only one professional interpreter, and very few paraprofessional interpreters. They were experiencing a bushfire and surprisingly enough, an interpreting agency consulted with the local Deaf Community to see what their thoughts were for accessing interpreters on local news. They all were in favour of using local paraprofessional interpreters because at they knew the area well and the names within the ACT area that interpreters interstate may not know.

Some interpreters felt that they were excluded from the discussions between an interpreter service provider and the government on agreements. For example, one mentioned that the agreement only included the time they do the actual “interpreting” and does not include the wait time. So, during a presser, often interpreters are booked from say 10 am to 1 pm but the actual interpreting time for the PM would be maybe for 30 minutes from 11-11.30 am, which is the only time period the PM office would expect to pay only for, impacting the interpreter’s pay.

Recommendations

The following are recommendations that should be implemented to support Deaf people in times of emergencies.

1. There are protocols for all states and territories, including at local level, for sharing crucial information in Auslan. This would be informed by community consultations. This would also include the SES, fire and emergency services, and anyone who is responsible for sharing updates relating to an emergency to the community.

2. TV and media broadcasting are trained to ensure that the Auslan interpreter is seen at all times on the screen. There are existing guidelines for this54 .

Interpreting access for migrants and refugees This area is very complex since many immigrants speak English as their second, third, fourth or other language. Deaf Australia did not receive any submissions relating to this area, so the following is based on Deaf Australia’s awareness of these issues.

In the case of a Deaf refugee, they may not have had the opportunity to learn their country’s sign language due to various reasons such as (but not limited to) stigma for being deaf, a lack of access to the Deaf community or language or trying to leave their country and living in unsafe conditions. This means the deaf child or young person who arrives in Australia may have limited language. This provides unique challenges for interpreting.

With regards to migrants, they may have sign language, but it likely would not be Auslan. This means that while they are learning Auslan, there will be a period where they are using their native signed language.

54 http://auslanemergency.eom.au/

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Given sign language is not universal and Auslan is unique to Australia, interpreters will be trained only in Auslan. In these circumstances, it is ideal to have a Deaf interpreter working with the Deaf refugee or migrant to ensure that communication happens smoothly without potential for misunderstanding and miscommunication. There are significant risks associated with hearing interpreters working with migrants or refugees who may misunderstand their signs or their cultural influences on their signing.

Case Study

A Deaf interpreter was booked for a specific appointment with a Deaf migrant. This appointment had crucial, disastrous life-changing implications for the client, brought about because the hearing interpreter had voiced concerns about the client to the hearing person working in public service, and the other user of the interpreter.

When the Deaf interpreter interpreted the conversation with the client and the public service representative (the hearing person), it transpired that the hearing interpreter had misunderstood crucial aspects of what the client was saying. Fortunately, because there was a Deaf interpreter involved, she was able to stop the hearing person from making a mistake.

Deaf migrants and refugees do not have funding for interpreters given they are not citizens of Australia. Refugee and migrant services may be unaware of Auslan interpreting services available to support the Deaf person, contributing to general isolation and additional challenges of integrating into Australian life.

Recommendations

1. Ensure there is funding available for Deaf migrants and refugees to access interpreters for all their requirements.

2. Ensure that Deaf interpreters are booked for all appointments with Deaf migrants/refugees to prevent misunderstandings.

3. Provide opportunities for Deaf migrants/refugees to understand their rights with interpreters.

Interpreters for people over 65 years of age As previously stated, people over 65 do not receive the NDIS, and therefore experience barriers in having ongoing access to interpreting. Deaf Connect has a contract for 2022-2023 to provide Auslan interpreters, but there are key criteria55 • NABS provides interpreters for over 65 for medical appointments56•

Elderly Deaf people cannot access My Aged Care until they are eligible for the services. They may be eligible if they experienced memory issues, have been diagnosed with a medical condition or reduced mobility, experienced a change in care arrangements or had a fall. Once they access these services, they have extremely limited funds for interpreting.

Deaf people who have in-home care services or are in aged care or nursing homes experience significant isolation due to a lack of interpreters being provided alongside the services. These carers are often not fluent in Auslan, which means that the Deaf person receiving care do not know what is happening and cannot provide consent. All Deaf people face this future.

55 See funding for interpreters for more information on this. 56 https://www.nabs.org.au/

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‘My mum is Deaf. She tells us all the time that if she has to go to a nursing home, we should kill her first.’

Recommendations

1. Provide funding for people over 65 to access interpreting.

2. Ensure that interpreters are provided for all services the elderly Deaf person will need as part of their care.

3. Ensure that people who work in this space are aware of the Deaf person’s rights and can sign.

4. Provide awareness training opportunities for people over 65 to understand their rights with interpreters.

Conclusion

This paper did not cover several areas such as the justice system, prisons, socialising and community­ related areas, children (with the exception of school), afterschool sports and activities and a long list of other topics. This paper has taken months to write and has been triggering for both authors to write.

It is clear, however, that there is a significant need to improve funding for interpreters; increase awareness of rights in relation to interpreters for all Deaf and hearing people in Australia; and we need more interpreters. 300 Auslan interpreters for 30,000 signing Australians is insufficient. And as people have reported, there is only a small pool of good and ethical interpreters out of that 300.

There needs to be regulatory board for interpreters, and funding for more interpreters and improved interpreters.

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