Викторианский парламент рассмотрит законопроект о передаче критических языковых услуг LanguageLoop

Former Victorian minister Jenny Mikakos has highlighted proposed changes to the state’s language services, with legislation to assign critical service areas to LanguageLoop before the Victorian Parliament this week. Mikakos is chair of LanguageLoop, the Victorian Government’s language services provider, which has operated for more than 50 years. She said the proposed legislation followed recommendations from the Lekakis Review, conducted about a year ago when George Lekakis held the position she now occupies. The review made a number of recommendations about the provision of language services in Victoria, including that language services be recognised as an “essential service”. The Victorian Government has already adopted that recommendation as part of its response to the review. A second recommendation was to “review the delivery of language services to assign critical service areas to LanguageLoop”. Legislation to implement that recommendation is currently before the Victorian Parliament. Mikakos said LanguageLoop would provide further information if the legislation passed. The changes have implications for Victoria’s multicultural communities, which continue to rely on interpreting and language support services, particularly in health and aged care. “Despite our first generation slowly passing away, our elderly are still big users of language services in our health and aged care systems,” Mikakos said. “We need quality language services and a sustainable workforce that is adequately remunerated to support the needs of our diverse communities.” Mikakos made the comments in the context of the annual Victorian Multicultural Gala Dinner, which brought together more than 1,000 people representing communities from across the state. She said there would be more to say about the future of language services and the workforce needed to support Victoria’s diverse communities.