Annual Review

2023

Chair & CEO Report

Chief Executive Officer

Brett Casey

Chair of the Board

Ralph Collins

Drawing the plans, and building the foundations to support sustainable growth.

Undertaking our day-to-day work, we continue to live our mission of: Standing with the Deaf community, building capacity, and influencing social change.


As the NDIA has evolved, the Deaf sector landscape continues to change. Our strength as a leading provider ensures that we can continue to offer opportunities to partner and create a stronger community. This year saw Access Plus WA Deaf and Deaf Connect come together to discuss collaborative ways to strengthen the national Deaf community and subsequently saw a transfer of the assets, services and programs of Access Plus WA Deaf to Deaf Connect. Being able to offer programs nationally leads to a stronger community and confidence that Deaf people can live anywhere in Australia and receive a value and consistent service of need. This growth moves Deaf Connect into a truly national organisation that serves the needs of the Deaf community. Whilst our reach stretches far and wide, our core business: the delivery of services that support Deaf Australians, continues to drive our activities. This Annual Review is a record of that. We continue to be the pivotal point for hundreds of Deaf community members to receive services and act as a conduit where needed.


This year Deaf Connect has strengthened the remit of our social impact agenda working with and alongside our community. The activities of our Impact team in the areas of Youth, Leadership, Deaf History, and the Deaf Ecosystem are paving the way for new innovations and programs that will build a stronger Deaf community into the future. Our Board seek to understand better the concept of Deaf space and have prioritised Deaf space as a critical focal point for our organisation in the coming year.


This, coupled with many other initiatives we continue to design and deliver, looks to preserve and build on the hallmarks of the Deaf community.


Our Innovation and Growth pillar continues to offer opportunities for our community to self-direct their own innovative projects as we offer financial support of these community initiatives (our Deaf Connect Grants program) and our first-ever successful applicants for the Leonie Jackson Memorial Fund this financial year has seen an array of individual projects commence. It has been a pleasure to watch the community tackle new ideas, shape its future, lead and control its own destiny.


Our capacity and reputation, as well as our investment in our partnership framework, have seen critical local, national, and even global partnerships take shape. Government and corporate partners continue to invest in Deaf Connect at various levels through contractual arrangements and our agreed outcomes. This work of creating our partnerships means our local and global Deaf community is in reach – for all Deaf Australians.


This year’s report will showcase not just our services but our organisational capacity and resilience to invest in our staff, training and resources to ensure we remain contemporary and enhance our capacity to deliver. We have a highly skilled and quickly growing workforce across the organisation that continues to working seamlessly through hybrid workplace arrangements to ensure our best work can be given to the community we serve.


To our partners, our supporters, our community – your ability to come and contribute to shaping Deaf Connects future is always appreciated. Working together will not just strengthens outcomes but provides long lasting benefits for the community. For this we thank you for your commitment.


To the Board and staff of Deaf Connect, a thank you is never enough. It is a privilege to watch our progression and work alongside likeminded individuals to ensure we deliver strategically and practically on our vision and mission.


Finally, during the next financial year, the organisation as a whole, will begin the process of crafting a new strategic plan and vision for Deaf Connect. One that converts the past five years of innovation and growth, our initiatives and service offerings to sets new goals for our organisation in support of the community. We look forward to sharing those goals in future updates to you all.

Strategic Plan

Chair’s Reflections

Chair of the Board

Ralph Collins

This Annual Review for FY2022-23 will my last as Chair, with my tenure on the Board of Deaf Connect set to end at the end of the 2023 calendar year.

A Year In Review

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hours of interpreting support delivered
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students trained in Auslan – Australian Sign Language.
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hours of services provided to Deaf Australians
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given to the Deaf Community via Grants and Sponsorships
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attendees at Deaf Festival Sydney

The transfer of Western Australian based staff

Deaf Connect concluded the Financial Year by announcing the transfer of staff and services from Access Plus WA Deaf to Deaf Connect in June 2023 – strengthening the existing support for the Western Australian Deaf community.

When Deaf Connect was invited by the board of Access Plus to investigate working together we saw an opportunity to ensure the high level of on-the-ground service delivery in WA could be better supported by our national systems and processes. We also identified future opportunities for service delivery to address gaps in service availability.

We’d like to acknowledge the lengthy history of Access Plus WA Deaf and are taking measures to preserve the legacies of both organisations, while also seamlessly integrating our systems. It represents a powerful union that strengthens our commitment to the Deaf community nationwide.

At the time of writing, the transfer of these staff and commencement of services has begun – but their contribution has not yet been reflected in this report.

Our Impact

Chief Impact Officer

Brent Phillips

FY22/23 has been by far the biggest year in the short history of Deaf Connect’s Impact team.

Community Engagement

Over the past year, the Impact team have successfully facilitated a range of activities aimed at engaging the Deaf community and supporting the growth and development of Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing individuals in Australia. These initiatives have been instrumental in creating opportunities for this community and fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion.

 

One of our landmark achievements for the year was the successful revival of Deaf Festival Sydney at the Sydney Olympic Park in November 2022, which gathered an impressive turnout of over 1,500 attendees. More about the Deaf Festival available on page 19.

 

In addition, we led Deaf Connect’s continued commitment to building up the Deaf Ecosystem through initiatives such as Deaf Business Networking Events, providing valuable networking opportunities for Deaf individuals to connect and exchange ideas.

 

In April 2023, we provided significant support to Deaf Australia to host the Crossing Borders Youth Camp for 13-17 year olds held in Brisbane. 45 participants attended from all over Australia to form new friendships and strengthen their cultural and linguistic identities, in a highly successful event.

 

Our work on developing skills within the community that support the Deaf Ecosystem was also aided by the launch of two video series titled ‘Life as a Deaf Board Member’ and ‘Life as a Deaf Business Owner.’ These series feature interviews with various Deaf leaders and owners, offering insights into their experiences and perspectives.

 

Another core focus for the Impact Team this year has been the shared history of the Australian Deaf community and supporting that into the future. Deaf Connect’s Deaf History Project has continued to deliver initiatives across the country to collate our historical documents, stories and photos, which included the establishment of an Adelaide working group to explore and preserve South Australian Deaf History, leading to the restoration of a Grandfather Clock at our Mile End office. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with this group in 2023/2024 to honor and commemorate our history.

 

Continuing our commitment to community engagement and building on last year’s National Roadshow, Deaf Connect has delivered 12 additional morning tea events across Australia to 215 members of the Deaf seniors’ community, providing information on the free interpreting and live captioning service available to them funded by the Federal Department of Health and Ageing.

 

Government Relations  

Throughout the last financial year, we have successfully responded to a range of parliamentary and government inquiries and acted proactively in alignment our advocacy agenda representing the Deaf community’s best interest as the largest service provider and social impact organisation.

Our submissions and engagement have included:

Presentations at, or submissions to:

  • The Disability Royal Commission’s public hearing #29 and provided a supplementary submission.
  • The (NSW) Inquiry into Auslan interpretation for broadcasting.
  • The (ACT) Inquiry into access to services and information in Auslan and met with a number of ACT Ministers and policy officers, as well as DeafACT
  • The Inquiry into the Capability and Culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency – this resulted in an invitation to provide evidence at a hearing

Official advice, or commentary provided on a range of issues including:

  • The NDIA’s “Would We Fund It” guidelines.
  • The Department of Social Services’ review of accessibility of mainstream and specialist family, domestic and sexual violence services for women with disability.
  • The NDIA’s Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Strategy co-design
  • The EAF funding increase cochlear mapping concerns in Adelaide and Townsville in supporting families and individuals affected.
  • The Department of Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications potential training for TTY users to engage with infrastructure and
  • National Relay Service consultation.


Projects and Government Partnerships 

The Impact Team have seen the expansion in the project space off the back of successful government grant submissions and has successfully seen further investment into projects as key government agencies have further funded several projects already in development.

These include:

National: Auslan Resource Information Hub Information Linkages & Capacity Building Project 

Funded by the Federal Government Department of Social Services (DSS)

Delivered in consortium with Expression Australia, the Auslan Resource Information Hub project has seen further investment from the Department to continue this national program of work which aims to identify the information needs of the Australian Deaf community.

 

South Australia:  South Australia Health Information Linkages & Capacity Building (ILC) Project

Funded by the Federal Government Department of Social Services (DSS)

This project has developed an online Deafness Awareness Training (DAT) program specially targeted to frontline medical and administrative staff to understand the communication needs of Deaf and hard of hearing patients that present at Government based health services across the state.

 

National: Building Employer Confidence (BEC) Information Linkages & Capacity Building (ILC) Project

Funded by the Federal Government Department of Social Services (DSS)

The Building Employer Confidence Information Linkages & Capacity Building Project focuses on identifying the barriers and challenges faced by employers and through the development of an evidence-based toolkit, provide employers with strategies and tools to increase their confidence and ability to retain, upskill and advance the employment opportunities for Deaf and hard of hearing employees.

 

Northern Territory: Inclusive Education Support Grant (IESG)

Working alongside the Northern Territory Government, the Northern Territory Education Department and Melbourne based and Deaf owned business Auslan Hub, the Inclusive Education Support Grant (IESG) project is investing in upskilling, training and supporting NT Education staff working with Deaf and hard of hearing students in primary and secondary schools.

 

New South Wales: Disability Advocacy Futures Program (DAFP)

Funded by the New South Wales Government’s Department of Communities & Justice, The Disability Advocacy Futures Program (DAFP) aims to deliver self-advocacy resources to meet the needs of the New South Wales Deaf Community.  Resources developed will be based off feedback from Deaf Connect’s Community Access team (under Information Services) and through focus groups with members of the New South Wales Deaf community.  

 

Translation Services
Throughout the financial year 2022-2023, the Translations Services team made substantial strides in providing Auslan translations to a diverse array of clients. This dedication culminated in the creation of 693 videos across 287 projects, illustrating our unwavering commitment to enhancing information accessibility in Auslan.   The crafting of 693 Auslan videos has yielded significant enhancements in information accessibility for the Auslan-speaking community. This impact encompasses heightened comprehension of government policies, more effective communication for non-government organisations, and increased interaction with educational content.  As we anticipate the year ahead, we remain committed to refining our processes, expanding our service offerings, and sustaining our commitment to inclusivity for the Auslan-speaking community. 

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Our Services

Chief Operations Officer

Craig McDonald

At the close of the financial year, Deaf Connect is in a strong position, as a stable and consistent provider for the community, poised for further service growth and expansion based on community need.

It is our diverse service offering, across all stages of life which sets Deaf Connect up for a bright future in supporting the Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing community.


Throughout this period of exceptional growth, and continued high standards of service delivery we have been working behind the scenes to ensure our teams are structured in the most efficient manner, and in a way which is clear to the clients they support. We have seen some changes at our General Manager, and senior manager levels as well as the integration of staff from other organisations into services throughout the business. We are learning from the experience of the new staff groups that are joining Deaf Connect and building service teams which are primed for innovation for the community.


These restructured service teams continue to focus on operational efficiency – particularly as we integrate new staff and learn from our first year of operations in South Australia. Over the year, our teams have successfully completed all financial and quality audits and maintained our relationships with funding providers nationally.


Focusing on the next 12 months, we will continue to identify areas in which we can support the community through growing much-needed services. Importantly we will be welcoming Access Plus WA Deaf into the Deaf Connect family in the next financial year, and working closely with local staff and community to ensure services that meet local need.


Service delivery remains the core business for Deaf Connect, and continuity of delivery is paramount to provide certainty for our community. We look forward to seeing our hard work this year provide dividends for the community in the future.

Ageing Well

Dr Leena Vuorinen

General Manager Ageing Well

The Ageing Well team is committed to supporting our Deaf seniors to remain healthy, informed and independent.

Over the past year the team has provided this support for over 100 clients to live in their own home for as long as possible, and delivered more than 9,000 one-on-one visit hours across our Ageing Well client group.

Expand the full report

Education

Kate Matairavula

General Manager Education

This year marks my first as General Manager of the Education Team, having previously managed Deaf Connect’s Registered Training Organisation (RTO), and I am particularly proud to share the progress achieved by the team.

FY22/23 has been another year of strong enrolments across in-person and online courses; demonstrating an increasing demand to learn Auslan and understand the language and community.

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Information Services

Andrew Wiltshire

General Manager Information Services

Over the past financial year the Information Services team has continued to deliver its core business of NDIS support coordination and in-person and virtual community access services – ensuring this longstanding staple of community support remains accessible across the country.

In FY23/24, we provided over 13,210 hours of support to NDIS participants, received 92 requests for support from new consumers, and witnessed an average of 15% of community access being allocated for literacy support.

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Interpreting Services

Rebecca O’Brien

General Manager Interpreting Services

The work of our interpreting department – our interpreters, customer booking staff and leadership team are the conduit between our community and their lives. Across FY22/23 we’re proud of the teams ability to continue to grow our workforce, and deliver more hours of interpreting than ever before to ensure Deaf Australian’s can participate as equal citizens across the country.

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Support Work Services

Kristen Mason

General Manager Support Work Services

In the FY22/23, the Support Work Services team achieved significant progress by providing personalised daily living and social community participation support to NDIS Participants communicating primarily through Auslan. Our goal of empowering the Deaf and hard of hearing communities has driven us to foster independence and self-determination among our clients.

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Therapy and Family Services

Jen McKee

General Manager Therapy and Family Services

This is my final report as the General Manager of the Therapy and Family Services team, formerly known as Hear for Kids, and I am pleased to share the significant progress we have made over the course of this fiscal year.

One of the most notable advancements has been the robust growth in our participation under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). We observed a substantial increase in the average number of NDIS participants per month from 212 in FY21/22 to 254 in FY22/23. In addition, the Hear for Kids in School program has seen growth in therapy hours provided.

Expand the full report

Our Progress

Chief Financial Officer

Sarah Page

In FY22/23 the focus of the Finance and IT teams has been progressing projects to improve efficiencies across the organisation and developing cyber security parameters to ensure we stay ahead of the game.

 

SERVICE DELIVERY
We continue growth geographically and work further to optimise our service delivery models to provide community support more effectively and adapt to community needs. For FY22/23, Deaf Connect supported the community by financially supporting the provision of Information Services, including walk-in community access. Government grant funding in this area ceased, and NDIS funding was not able to provide the same level of coverage. Deaf Connect elected to continue this support as it’s a vital program for the community.

In addition, we further funded the expansion of Ageing Well services into South Australia as the need is identified and client numbers grow.

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Cyber security has been a significant focus for this team. We have developed training and awareness campaigns for all staff, and proactively organised an audit against one of the higher standards in Cyber Security ISO 27001 (an international standard to manage information security) to benchmark our status against best practice for large organisations, and identify opportunities for improvement.

 

PLAN MANAGEMENT
Our Plan Management services area achieved significant growth in 2023 as we introduced new software directly connecting to the NDIS portal, providing live access to balances and expenditures for our clients and anyone in their support team that they authorise to enable better visibility and management of support services. These changes have been crucial in maintaining our clients’ engagement with, and control of, their finances.

 

INNOVATION
The culture of innovation is thriving within Deaf Connect with continuous improvement activities developed in all departments, and engagement by staff with our Discovery Grants and Lottery Grant Programs. Through Discovery Grants Deaf Connect staff have the opportunity to take an aspirational community outcome and fund the development of a project to meet that need. This year we have seen this play out in our new mentoring program for families – which started as a discovery grant application and will launch as a service offering in the new FY23/24.

 

2024 is looking to be another growth year as we extend our remit to supporting clients in Western Australia with the transfer of services from Access Plus WA Deaf, and organically grow in the other states we provide services in.

 

The community is recognising Deaf Connect as a leader in our space, and we continue to focus on our person-centric service initiatives to ensure we invest in the gaps where the government does not support and fulfil our mission and vision and serve our community and share our culture.

Financials

2023

Our People

Chief People & Culture Officer

Isabelle Swanston

Deaf Connect began the financial year well underway with the process of onboarding our South Australian office following the transfer of services from Deaf Can:Do in April 2022.

Support and Process Improvement

A standout improvement is the implementation of Donesafe, a central online hub for our staff to report hazards, incidents, near misses, compliments, feedback and complaints, as well as hosting our Continuous Improvement Register and allowing us to drive and track continuous improvements organization-wide. This system makes reporting and actioning things like incidents and complaints across the business a streamlined and trackable process and has supported further embedding our safety and quality culture at Deaf Connect.

 

We provided training to all staff on hazard and incident identification and complaint resolution. This was one of many fresh or updated courses made available through our Go1 online learning platform. We take pride in offering training in both English and Auslan, tailoring modules to suit everyone’s language preference.

 

To equip our workforce with essential skills, we conducted a thorough internal training review in consultation with leaders and subject matter experts. We looked to both current and future workforce needs including areas of service expansion and sector gaps.

From this review, a key initiative emerged: De-escalation training to ensure all staff are skilled in defusing high-tension situations, avoiding unsafe situations and supporting our colleagues and clients in challenging moments. Eighteen staff members completed a comprehensive “train-the-trainer” course, with plans to deliver this training nationally in the new financial year.

Recruitment
This year has been a period of significant staff growth for Deaf Connect – and our overall workforce increasing monthly across both permanent and casual staff. Teams across Deaf Connect have welcomed new staff into the unique experience of working at a bilingual organisation. We saw growth across all states and territories including significant growth in our Melbourne office, and early in the new financial year we will welcome our new team in Western Australia.

Organisational Culture
Amidst this growth, maintaining a cohesive office culture has been crucial. We introduced Connection Days to bolster our existing flexible work policy. These monthly gatherings encourage all staff to come together in their local office, engage in structured activities, and foster connections and collaboration (and sometimes competition) across teams and locations.

 

A highlight of our Connection Days was our December 2022 Holiday Contest, culminating in a hotly contested festive office decoration competition. All the pent-up energy from lockdowns was unleashed into the office decorations and Parramatta emerged as the winner showcasing impressive creativity. Every office brought humour and heart to their decorations.

 

Our Values
Another significant addition this year was the launch of our values awards, recognising staff who embody our core values: Heart, Courage, and Discovery. These awards are ongoing, with quarterly recognition ceremonies honouring staff who exemplify our values.

 

In 2023, we’ve witnessed a remarkable surge in new staff acquisitions and role expansions, steering us through a period of substantial growth and achievement. Throughout this exciting journey, our People & Culture team has remained dedicated to refining internal processes, addressing training requirements, and upholding our high standards in our audits. We’re embracing process and celebrating our successes as Deaf Connect continues to serve our community.

Our Innovation

Special Projects. Some of the major projects we delivered this year that have inspired our staff.

XIX World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) has held the World Congress every four years since 1951.

For the 2023 World Congress, in Jeju, South Korea Deaf Connect proudly sponsored 35 community members including youth and Deaf Connect staff to attend the Congress and associated events.

Expand the full report

The Sign Name Project

In recognition of Auslan Day 2023 Deaf Connect, supported by nearly 200 members of the Deaf community, were proud to launch the Sign Name Project. Throughout this financial year the team attended events across the country, collecting videos from community members in which we asked them to share their sign name and the story behind it.

Expand the full report

Deaf Connect and Gallaudet University Join Forces

This year, during the XIX World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, Deaf Connect and Gallaudet University were proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership.

The announcement was made public at a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony at the Gallaudet University alumni event, on 13 July, 2023 at Parnas Hotel Jeju, South Korea.

Expand the full report

Our Research

In 2022 Deaf Connect in partnership with Deaf Australia released three research reports addressing the economic value, and optimal timing, of Auslan intervention for Deaf Australians.

The reports, collectively titled A Culturally Affirming Way Forward provide recommendations to address issues faced by Deaf and hard of hearing people as well as the economic and social benefits of Auslan, and the optimal timing of Auslan intervention.

Expand the full report

Grants and sponsorships

Each year Deaf Connect provides up to $300,000 in grants and sponsorships to Deaf individuals, community groups and projects that support Deaf Australians. The Deaf Connect community grant program is one of the initiatives funded by the Deaf Lottery – directly funding a range of projects and initiatives within the community.

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Deaf Festival

The Deaf Festival Sydney is a long-standing tradition in NSW, which most recently was supported by the NSW Deaf Society before the creation of Deaf Connect. Following a hiatus due to the Pandemic (during which Deaf Connect hosted the first Deaf online arts festival – VIBE FESTIVAL), the NSW Deaf Festival was back this year in a new home at Sydney Olympic Park.

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Acknowledgement of Deaf People and the Community

Deaf Connect celebrates Auslan and recognise all Deaf leaders in Australia who have advocated for Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing communities. We are proud of everyone’s contribution, whether big or small, in preserving our language, community and culture.

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Archived Reports

Annual Review

2023

Deaf Connect acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this ​country and pay ​our respects ​to their Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. ​It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.

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