- [Interpreter] Supply and demand. 

- The available supply of professional Australian Sign Language, Auslan, English interpreting services is, and has been, outstripped by the demand for interpreters in Australia. 

- A holistic view of Deaf people and the wider Australian community must be taken when considering the certification requirements for National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, NAATI, Auslan-English and Deaf interpreting. For example, greater access to mainstream education and training, employment needs, health and social inclusion. Better educational and employment opportunities for Deaf people correlate to greater demand for interpreting services. 

- Other contributing factors to a workforce systemically outstripped by demand include no training courses for interpreter trainers, Auslan language training is not highly regulated adding to the problem of fluent Auslan users being available to train interpreters together with a lack of interpreter training programs.

- The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, NDIS, in 2013 saw an immediate increase in Deaf people's participation opportunities, particularly in the areas of employment and social inclusion.

- By extension, the full NDIS roll-out by July 2020 will see greater demand for interpreting services. One of the direct implications has been a greater strain on interpreting services throughout Australia. Post July 2020 the NDIS will further exacerbate the demand. More needs to be done to increase the pipeline of interpreter supply and availability of interpreting services to meet both NDIS and non-NDIS demand. 

- The Are You Available 2018 surveys found that in the month of April, 106 of 300 respondents worked one to 10 hours per week. Thursday was the busiest day of the week with 266 interpreters working. 211 respondents reported that they were satisfied with their amount of paid work. 171 interpreters said that better work conditions would support their decision to stay in the workforce. 90 interpreters reported that they would taper down within three years. 

- All 12 interpreter agencies reported increased difficulty filling jobs in January to May, and all agencies reported a steady increase up to 266% based on current demand to 2020. The data clearly demonstrated an imbalance between the current demands of the Deaf and wider community for NAATI credentialed interpreters in states and territories, and the available supply.

- This imbalance was greater in some locations than in others, and at different times than at others. It should be noted that the interpreting industry has a highly casualised and fragmented workforce with over 90% of interpreters employed by agencies as casual employees.

- Some of the current actions to address the imbalance include implementation of the Improvements to NAATI Testing project recommendations to provide more interpreter live testing opportunities throughout the year, a calendar of ASLIA and state association Professional Development, PD, which is both face-to-face and live streamed, mentoring programs and member representation, and the successful delivery of several fast-tracked interpreter training programs with an immediate increase of interpreter supply.

- More however must be done. To address Deaf people's increasing access and inclusion interpreting requirements in the NDIS era, a larger and skilled workforce is needed.

- Key stakeholders must continue to work together to create a coordinated, national plan of action with a focus on attracting more people to learn Auslan and be part of the Deaf community, ensure language acquisition and interpreter training pathways are available, invest in research, provide relevant and differentiated PD opportunities, improve interpreter retention, commit to a greater use of technology where appropriate to increase interpreter utilisation, better employment conditions and non-financial supports.