politics
Auslan90 Daily News Service to End After Federal Grant Expires on June 30
Auslan90, which has produced more than 400 bulletins since launching in 2024 and reached over 300,000 viewers, will film its final show on June 30 when its federal grant ends. Deaf Connect chief executive Brett Casey and longtime viewer Marcia Girke-Boylen warned the loss will sharply limit news access for the Deaf community in their first language.
May 8, 5:08 PM·2m read1 source
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Australia's only daily news service delivered in Australian Sign Language will go off air next month. Auslan90 will end after receiving funding through a federal government grant program until June 30. The last show will be filmed on June 30.
The videos are produced by Deaf Connect and shared on social media. They cover the day's top stories presented purely in Auslan by Deaf journalists, reporting on international wars, elections, cyclones, and fuel shortages. Auslan90 has already produced more than 400 news bulletins and has reached more than 300,000 Australians since the program launched in 2024.
Brett Casey, chief executive of the non-profit organisation, said the program provided the news to the Deaf community in their first language. "A lot of Deaf people in the community, English is their second language," he said. " Casey added that without the service the Deaf community's access to news was "very limited".
"If you think of a hearing person ... they can wake up in the morning, turn on the radio, turn on the TV and go about their daily chores while absorbing the news," he said. " He said Auslan90 explained the connection between the Iran war and rising fuel prices in Australia.
Those issues have a significant impact on a person's life and ability to make an informed decision, Casey stated. Marcia Girke-Boylen, an 82-year-old Toowoomba resident who was born deaf, said she does not miss an episode of Auslan90. "It's so valuable," she said.
Her first language is Auslan and she grew up using Auslan. Girke-Boylen said English subtitles on TV were too fast to read. She said the program helped her understand the news clearly and gave her 100 per cent of the information.
