Today Abigail passed a motion in Parliament commemorating the International Day of Sign Languages and calling on all members of Parliament to make disability-inclusive practices, including Auslan interpretation and Easy Read materials, standard practice across all parliamentary processes.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House notes that:

• Tuesday 23 September 2025 was the International Day of Sign Languages, which commemorates the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951 and affirms that there are no human rights without sign language rights;
• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises sign languages as equal in status to spoken languages and obliges governments to promote the linguistic identity of the deaf community and ensure equitable access to education and services in sign language;
• there are more than 70 million deaf people belonging to signing deaf communities across the world, with over 300 distinct sign languages used worldwide;
• sign language is not universal, each sign language has its own unique and distinct culture and, just like spoken languages, each sign language has evolved and developed around the world over time;
• deaf people continue to face systemic barriers across society, including inadequate or a lack of access to professional interpreters, translated materials and quality and inclusive education systems, which prevents individuals from accessing essential services like education, employment, health care, social support and justice, and perpetuates inequities in communication and societal participation;
• sign languages are fully-fledged natural languages, and their preservation is essential to the diversity of New South Wales and the full realisation of the rights of deaf people; and
• the recent inquiry into children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings set a new benchmark for accessibility in parliamentary processes, with live Auslan interpretation at every hearing, the provision of Easy Read documentation and all proceedings published with Auslan interpretation.

(2) That this House:

• affirms that sign language rights are human rights, and that all deaf people have the right to agency, dignity, full participation in public life, and equal access to education and services;
• calls on the New South Wales Parliament and all members of Parliament to make disability-inclusive practices, including Auslan interpretation and Easy Read materials, standard practice across all parliamentary processes; and
• calls on the Government to work in genuine partnership with Deaf communities and experts across the disability advocacy sector to remove barriers preventing Deaf communities from full inclusion and access, and commit to embed the lived experience and leadership of deaf people in the design, delivery and evaluation of public policy and services.

Motion agreed to.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

22 October 2025