Calls flood in to save Australia’s only daily sign language news
Australia could soon lose its only daily news service delivered in sign language, leaving thousands of deaf Australians without a news service in their first language. Here’s why that is a big deal
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Imagine if the only news you had access to was delivered in a foreign language and you had to read subtitles to understand it. Then imagine the subtitles were in your second language.
A large number of Australia’s deaf community could soon be faced with that situation.
Auslan90 – the country’s only daily news service for deaf Australians that is delivered in sign language – could face cancellation from June 30 as its government funding draws to a close.
Auslan90 has been a trusted source of information for deaf Australians since September 2024, delivering vital Auslan* updates on the day’s top stories.
Funded by the federal government’s Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, with daily news scripts provided by SBS, the service has reached more than 300,000 Australians and produced more than 400 news bulletins since its launch.
With Auslan the first language for many deaf Australians, the news service has proved invaluable in communicating important news in an accessible* way.
Deaf Connect CEO Brett Casey said the not-for-profit* organisation made a pre-budget submission in the hopes of saving Auslan90, and received a flood of messages from deaf community members concerned about losing the valuable service.
“Across the country, deaf Australians have told us what would be lost if Auslan90 disappears,” Mr Casey said. “Auslan90 keeps our community safe and informed – guiding us through global conflicts, cyclones, school closures, elections and much more.”
Deaf Connect has requested further government funding of $650,000 each year for four years from the 2026–27 financial year* to the 2029-30 financial year to keep Auslan90 alive.
“Deaf Connect is continuing to work closely with ministers and government and is grateful for the support received to date,” a spokeswoman said. “The organisation remains optimistic that Auslan90 can secure the essential funding needed to continue beyond the current contract, which concludes on 30 June 2026.”
Hearing dad Shu Tan said Auslan90 had opened up new worlds of possibility for his deaf daughter, 10-year-old Benji.
“My daughter lives in a hearing world, and so much of that world just passes her by,” he said. “Conversations happening around her, things people say in passing, radio programs in the car – she misses all of it.
“And the thing people don’t always realise is that English is genuinely hard to learn when you can’t hear it. So handing a deaf child a wall of captions isn’t really giving them access to information. It’s just moving the barrier.”
Mr Tan said his daughter thinks in Auslan – and for her to truly understand what is happening in the world, it needs to be communicated in her first language.
“There was one episode – a deep dive on electric vehicles – and watching her discover that topic for the first time, I just thought: every hearing kid already knows about this,” he said. “They picked it up somewhere. Maybe a conversation they half-heard at a playground, or something on the radio in the car. My daughter doesn’t get any of that. The world around her is mostly verbal* and she’s just not part of it.”
Benji said she would like to see more news produced in Auslan.
“There is plenty of news videos for hearing people but not a lot of options for deaf people,” she said. “I want more deaf news, I want to be able to watch heaps of news.”
She said watching the news in Auslan gave her a sense of empowerment*.
“I enjoy watching the deaf news, it makes me happy because it helps me to understand what is happening,” she said.
In 2025, Auslan90 produced CATCH, a segment catered to young deaf Australians that covered topics such as social media and misinformation*, climate change and AI in schools. The segment was hosted by then 17-year-old deaf community member Kaitlyn Harris.
“It meant so much to me to be able to deliver news to other young people in the deaf community, because I have seen first-hand the struggle we face trying to access what is going on around us,” Kaitlyn said. “Understanding what is happening around you allows you to actually contribute to democracy and ensure it stays strong.”
She said understanding the news also served an important social function.
“Deafness is often an isolating disability. Being surrounded by hearing people means we can struggle to form those meaningful connections in our everyday lives,” she said. “Being able to access the news means we are able to connect with other hearing people as there is some common ground.”
Kaitlyn said she worried about news becoming more difficult to access if Auslan90 was taken off the air.
“Imagine not knowing what is happening in Iran, or whether fuel shortages will affect you. These times can be scary to live in, and even scarier if you are now dependent on other people telling you what is going on, whether through social media, which is often far from reliable, or friends and family, who may have a biased* view,” she said. “Auslan90 gives us agency*, it gives us power, to know what is going on in the world we live in.”
Mr Tan said the news service had become essential viewing for he and his daughter.
“We watch it together every night, her and I,” he said. “It’s not just good for her. It’s helped my own Auslan improve.”
He said more Auslan content should be made available across the country.
“I’d love to see Auslan built into kids’ and teen content more broadly — not just news,” he said. “Educational stuff, entertainment, public health information. Hearing kids absorb things constantly without anyone sitting them down to explain it. My daughter doesn’t get that. So the more content exists in Auslan, the smaller that gap becomes.”
POLL
GLOSSARY
- Auslan: Australian Sign Language
- accessible: designed for people with disabilities, in this case, those who are deaf
- not-for-profit: an organisation that operates for a specific cause that reinvests any money made back into its mission
- financial year: the 12 months spanning July 1 to June 30
- verbal: the use of words, spoken or written, to communicate
- empowerment: having a sense of freedom and authority over your life and the ability to make your own decisions
- misinformation: false or misleading information spread unintentionally
- biased: skewed towards a person’s personal beliefs or opinions
- agency: having the capacity to make free choices
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QUICK QUIZ
1. How many news bulletins has Auslan90 produced since its launch?
2. What are some examples of news stories Auslan90 has covered for its audience?
3. Why is having a news service in Auslan important for Deaf Australians?
4. What social function does Auslan90 serve for the Deaf community?
5. How is Auslan90 produced?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Experience Auslan
Write a short simple sentence about this news story. For example: Deaf people need access to news in their first language.
Then visit the Auslan Signbank (auslan.org.au) and search for the signs for the words in your sentence. Practise the signs and challenge yourself to remember them. Can you sign your full sentence?
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Languages
2. Extension
Read the first sentence of the news story again. “Imagine if the only news you had access to was delivered in a foreign language and you had to read subtitles to understand it …”
So you can see the pictures of the news stories, but you do not understand what is being said about those pictures. There are subtitles, but even those are in a language that is not your first language.
Write a paragraph to explain how you imagine that would feel. Talk about the emotions and possible impacts this might have on you.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Languages
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.