For Australia's deaf and hearing-impaired community, finding and booking an in-person Auslan interpreter can be difficult.
In an attempt to fill the void, virtual services, apps and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used to bring translation services to regions that struggled to find them in the past.
But the move is having an unintended side effect, as the few registered Auslan interpreters living and working in regional areas say they are suddenly finding themselves out of work.
Interpreter Cindy Murray quit her job earlier this year.
"The demand [for in-person Auslan interpreters] has always been there, and especially for rural and regional people," Ms Murray said.
But she said agencies were unwilling to pay travel costs and were reluctant to prioritise in-person interpreters over virtual ones.
One agency told Ms Murray there were no jobs in regional areas, despite deaf clients telling her when they tried to book an interpreter, the same agency would tell them there was nobody available, and then offer a virtual interpreter or live captioning instead.
Live captioning is a form of AI software that records and writes out spoken conversations in real time to help users with hearing impairments access these conversations.
It does not include translating responses from Auslan to spoken language, which is why captioning is not always appropriate.
Virtual interpreters can work remotely, appearing on a screen to translate what they hear via a live feed, and often working at a lower cost than in-person translators.
Ms Murray said having options was good but the effect on interpreters was not.
"I think the lack of interpreters will continue to get worse and worse because of the way we're treated," Ms Murray said.
"There are some people who like AI. I mean — knock yourself out — if it translates, that's great.
A changing landscape
Brent Phillips is the chief services officer for Deaf Connect, a nationwide Auslan service provider and social impact organisation working with deaf and hearing-impaired people.
Mr Philips said his organisation prioritised "preference of the customer".
"If a customer's first preference is an in-person interpreter then we do everything possible to provide one," he said.
When one is not available, Mr Phillips said his company worked closely with the customer to find a work-around.
He said the advent of AI was definitely changing the Auslan interpretation landscape.
"We're keeping a very close eye on what's happening in the AI space and we are actively influencing and advising the design of future AI sign-language products," Mr Phillips said.
Interpreters on demand
Deaf Victoria regional outreach officer Gary Kerridge said the lack of in-person Auslan interpreters was a widespread issue.
"Unfortunately, demand for [interpreters] is very high and they are often booked out," he said.
Mr Kerridge, who is deaf and lives in a regional community, said using AI and virtual interpreting services was a way to combat the shortfall while also saving on potential costs to a participant's NDIS funding.
He helped implement a trial of an app called Convo, which was created by a deaf-owned and operated company in 2021.
It is a virtual interpreter app, allowing users to access an Auslan interpreter anywhere, any time, for a fee, and for qualified interpreters from anywhere in the country to sign up to work when they are available.
Ballarat City Council in regional Victoria is among the organisations trialling Convo.
Mr Kerridge said Convo still relied on human interpreters and was not intended to put face-to-face interpreters out of work.
"Sometimes [interpreting] can be done online, which reduces costs, but not all interpreting jobs are suitable to online," he said.
"The evidence shows this is a needed support, and I have no doubt that, rolled out properly, it will save lives."
