What is language respect?

Language respect in Australia is the recognition and accommodation of the more than 300 languages spoken across the country. While English is the de facto national language, Australia has long supported multilingualism through settlement services, public broadcasting, interpreter services, community language schools, and Indigenous language revival programmes.

Australia's linguistic diversity is substantial. About 23 per cent of Australians speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2021 census. The most common languages spoken at home other than English are Mandarin (2.7 per cent of the population), Arabic (1.4 per cent), Vietnamese (1.3 per cent), Cantonese (1.2 per cent), Punjabi (0.9 per cent), Greek (0.9 per cent), Italian (0.9 per cent), Hindi (0.8 per cent), Spanish (0.6 per cent), and Tagalog (0.5 per cent). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, with 167 still in use, round out the picture.

Government services support language respect in practice. The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 provides free interpreting in more than 160 languages, available 24 hours a day. Public hospitals, courts, and Centrelink can access TIS at no cost to the patient or client. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), founded in 1980, broadcasts in more than 60 languages on radio, television, and streaming. The Adult Migrant English Programme (AMEP) provides up to 510 hours of free English instruction to eligible migrants.

Indigenous language support has expanded substantially. The First Languages Australia advocacy body works with community language centres in every state. The federal Indigenous Languages and Arts programme funds about 70 language projects each year. Bilingual education programmes operate in remote schools in the Northern Territory. The International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 to 2032), declared by UNESCO, has prompted further support for revival. Indigenous-language places names are increasingly used alongside or instead of English names: Uluru instead of Ayers Rock, Kata Tjuta instead of the Olgas, kunanyi/Mount Wellington, Gariwerd/Grampians, and Country names like Kakadu, Yarra, and Wollongong (which were always Indigenous names) are now visible in everyday Australian use.