Interpreter shortage makes deaf Aussie feel ‘less than human’

Justice is said to be blind, but a chronic shortage of Auslan interpreters has also rendered it deaf.

More than 3.6m Australians suffer from a form of hearing loss, with many relying on the services of interpreters to help them communicate and navigate processes such as court appearances.

Two years after it was revealed there are only 747 fully-accredited interpreters servicing more than 30,000 people nationally with total hearing loss, advocates said little has improved and they are calling on the issue to be urgently addressed.

Deaf Australia CEO Shirley Liu said deaf Australians faced a “range of challenges when interacting with the court system”.

“It is our experience that courts and tribunals do often fail to book an interpreter and then deaf people can experience lengthy delays in their cases,” Ms Liu told NewsWire.

“A refusal of a reasonable adjustment like deaf interpreting is direct discrimination,” she said.

“Other common barriers include booking an inappropriate type of Auslan interpreting such as booking video remote interpreting instead of face-to-face.”

She said at its core, a lack of access to proper resources meant those who needed it the most lost their ability to “participate equally in the justice system”.

She is one of the six Victorians in an ongoing battle to sue movie giant HOYTS for failing to provide open captions at its cinemas.

The group first launched their legal action in 2024, but have since been stymied by a series of delays - often linked to a lack of certified Auslan interpreters.

“We have the right to access court, government services and in society, yet it is so sad to feel less than human when it comes to accessibility,” Mr Waters told NewsWire.

What ensued has been a long arduous process involving interpreter booking issues which left him feeling “hopeless”.

The court is responsible for organising equal access to justice, yet Mr Waters said certified interpreters being inadequately briefed led to delays and cancellations on the day of formal mitigation meetings.

“The lack of interpreters takes our power away and makes us hopeless,” Mr Waters said.