Wednesday, 25 May 2022

Ministers statements: Auslan training

Mr CARBINES (Ivanhoe—Minister for Child Protection and Family Services, Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers) (14:27): I would like to update the house on the Andrews government’s commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive and more diverse community in Victoria through the addition of Auslan to our signature free TAFE program. In the budget this year, we announced the investment of some $4.8 million to add Auslan diploma and advanced diploma level qualifications to the free TAFE course list from next year.

Auslan is a unique Australian language used by our deaf and hard-of-hearing community using visual forms of communication. The past couple of years have shown us just how vital Auslan interpreters have been in keeping the community safe and communicating with all Victorians. Auslan interpreters are also critical in many day-to-day settings, including education and supporting our deaf and hard-of-hearing community in arranging medical, legal and financial appointments. Supporting students to complete a diploma of Auslan or the advanced diploma of interpreting will boost the interpreter workforce, providing greater connections for Victorians who are deaf or hard of hearing and creating a more inclusive Victoria. It will also help careers and jobs for Victorians who will join the 100 000 Victorians who have benefited from our free TAFE program since it was introduced back in 2019. Free TAFE is a policy that reflects the values of the Andrews Labor government and stands in stark contrast to those opposite who—can you believe it—removed Auslan as a TAFE course altogether.

I want to give a shout-out to Rosanna Golf Links Primary School in my electorate, a regional deaf facility school where every child in the north there learns Auslan at school. For the 1.1 million Victorians who identify as having a disability in our state, the Andrews Labor government has made its priorities clear around disability and the broader community: the state disability plan, $15 million in the budget; advocacy funding, $1.8 million in the budget; and $326 million for those major upgrades in this budget to 36 Victorian special schools backed by the Andrews government, the only government that is going to support inclusivity and support people in Victoria.