Page 199 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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believe that we now need to work proactively to ensure that there are enough Auslan interpreters in our community in the future to ensure that we can meet our obligations under law but, more importantly, to people in the Canberra community who are deaf.
MS ORR (Yerrabi—Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Disability, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety and Minister for Government Services and Procurement) (4.45): Thank you, Ms Lawder, for raising this important topic in the Assembly today. I rise today in support of Minister Gentleman’s amendments to Ms Lawder’s motion. The ACT government, through the Community Services Directorate, understands the importance of ensuring that all members of our community can access information relevant to them in a timely manner.
This bushfire season we have experienced extreme weather patterns, which have resulted in several state of alert declarations and one state of emergency here in the ACT. The Community Services Directorate, along with many other parts of the government, works to ensure that deaf and deaf-blind people are appropriately supported to receive information.
The Emergency Services Agency has consistently considered those in our community who require additional supports when it comes to sharing information throughout the bushfire season. The interpretation provided during the crisis was instigated by the ESA, which partnered with interpreting services to ensure as much coverage was provided as possible.
The Community Services Directorate provided advice to disability service providers to ensure that, if they were working with people with disability in preparing bushfire survival plans, they were mindful of the needs and requirements of these people in the event of an emergency. To further support vulnerable members of the community, the Community Services Directorate contacted the National Disability Insurance Agency and received the most up-to-date list of NDIS participants in the ACT. This information was provided to ESA to allow for further inquiries to be made, which determined the kind of support these people would require in the event of an evacuation.
Further to the recent support we provided during the bushfire crisis, the government has undertaken work to ensure that those who are deaf or deaf-blind in our community have access to the interpretation they need. I acknowledge there is more work to be done to ensure that we increase the number of Auslan interpreters. However, I do believe all governments need to work together to deliver a national response.
In 2018, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, or NAATI, replaced NAATI-accredited courses across Australia with endorsed qualifications. These are diploma-level or higher translation and interpreting qualifications provided by educational institutions that have received NAATI endorsement. This government is committed to assisting Auslan interpreters by providing annual finding to enable NAATI to set and maintain national standards in the interpreting and translation sector.
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