Auslan Interpreting and Live-captioning at Service NSW Centres
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Sydney, NSW, Australia
About the city. New South Wales is a state in the South-East of Australia that is famous for its seaside towns and national parks.
Goal
The main goal is to make the process of visiting public institutions easier and more comfortable for deaf people or hard of hearing.
Implementation period. Initially, the service appeared only in six centres (Parramatta, Blacktown, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wollongong and Tweed Heads) in 2016. The service partnership was unveiled by the Minister for Finance, Services and Property Hon.
Fact
In 2011, New South Wales recorded 2,583 sign language users, out of a total state population of just under 7 million. This equates to an average of 3.75 sign language users per 10,000 New South Wales residents. Both the general population and sign language users have a similar age profile: the largest age group is the 25-44-year-olds, followed in both cases by 45-64 year old and 0-14-year-olds in third place. The number of youths is larger than the number of seniors in the signing population but lower in the general population.
Solutions
The new video conferencing technology connects customers in real-time with:
- a caption transcriber to live-caption their conversation with the Service NSW team member
- an Auslan interpreter to communicate between the customer and Service NSW team member in Auslan.
The delivery of the interpreting service on behalf of Service NSW is part of a staged rollout of communication options for Deaf and hard of hearing people across New South Wales.
Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet said the new services build on accessibility features already in place across the Service NSW network.
“Customers remain at the heart of everything that Service NSW does, and we are continuing to improve the customer experience for all people in NSW,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Making smart use of technology is a big part of our customer service ethos, and this initiative harnesses technology to make visiting a Service NSW Centre more convenient for hearing impaired citizens,” he said.
Minister for Disability Services John Ajaka said the initiative would give people with impaired hearing more independence when visiting Service NSW centres.
“The NSW Government is working hard to make NSW a more inclusive and accessible place to live and work for everyone, including people with disability. This important initiative from Service NSW will make a real difference to the lives of people with disability,” Mr Ajaka said.
How does it work? Video remote interpreting lets a visitor see and talk to an Auslan interpreter through online video chat via a laptop in the service centre. The interpreter signs to a visitor and can speak to the service centre staff.
What is the advantage? Clients connect to services and information previously unavailable due to location, limited access to interpreters or time constraints. There are a number of benefits to using VRI and include:
- Fast convenient access to interpreting services
- Reduces wait times for an on-site interpreter and eliminates travel time and cost for the service
- Same day availability
- Rates based on the time the service is used
How much does it cost? Free of charge, but important to book in advance.
Challenges
Initially, the problem was in terms of incomplete equipment, but now the service is provided in all centres.
Team
The service partnership was unveiled by the Minister for Finance, Services and Property Hon.
The NSW Government, Auslan Connections
Timeline
The NSW Government planned to expand video conferencing and hearing loop services to up to 80 locations by mid-2017. Now Auslan video remote interpreting is available at all service centres. Now there are around 200 Service Centres in NSW.
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