Auslan Day 2021: Auslan no AUSLAN – Trevor Johnston’s view

It is an assumption universally shared that Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing people all have similar, if not the same, communication skills. Just like any other CALD community in society there is a rich diversity of communication skills in the Deaf community. It is also assumed that, if an Auslan interpreter is NAATI certified they are therefore sufficient for the communication needs of a Deaf client. This Position Paper clearly sets out the reasons for why this assumption is incorrect and can even cause harm.