In a city where almost one third of the population has a first language other than English, for local governments to be fully inclusive, communicating in people’s languages is essential.
Moreland’s Language Link ensures residents can access Council services, using their own language. The service was introduced two years ago when it was found that standard interpreting services were not always coping with demand.
Callers were waiting up to 30 minutes or longer for interpreters to become available before they could begin to discuss their problems or queries.
Council’s customer service officers had the added difficulty of identifying the language people were using before they could commence the exercise of engaging an interpreter.
To overcome these difficulties Council designed Language Link. This is a unique local government service based on the system used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the National Census.
Callers dial a number to receive a recorded message in one of nine languages. The message contains information about a range of common queries such as rates or rubbish collection.
If callers require further information they can opt to go directly to an interpreter at the Victorian Interpreting and Translating Service.
Language Link has a separate line and gives non English speaking people much quicker and better access to Council than previously.
While at times of high demand delays may occur, these do not compare with previous difficulties. The system has been adopted by other local governments with multicultural communities.
