If a defined audience uses Auslan, a signed-language version may be an important part of making your business or project information available to them. The commissioning decision should begin with that audience and the communication they need, rather than a general assumption about everyone who is Deaf or hard of hearing.
An Auslan version is a specialist language and production engagement. It should not be treated as a decorative addition or presumed to be included because a film already has captions. Determine the need, then give the appropriate practitioners a brief they can assess.
Confirm the audience and the communication task
Identify who needs the information, what they need to understand and where they will encounter it. Work with the relevant audience representatives and accessibility or language advisers to clarify preferences and requirements. Keep that consultation proportionate and avoid collecting unnecessary personal information.
W3C's sign-language guidance notes that sign languages differ across regions, not everyone who is Deaf uses sign language, and some people want both signing and captions. Those distinctions matter when selecting a language service and planning the final viewing experience.
Do not infer that an English caption track meets every viewer's language needs, or that adding Auslan replaces every other required feature. Establish the complete requirement through the responsible people rather than using one format as a universal answer.
Choose the information worth translating
Ask whether the existing film is the right source. A broad promotional montage may provide little useful information for the intended audience. A clear project explanation or relevant service introduction may be a better starting point.
Specify the purpose of the signed version. Is it the same account for another audience, a focused explanation drawn from approved material or a new communication that needs its own brief? Avoid sending a long film to a language provider before resolving that choice.
If the source wording is unfinished, identify the decisions still pending. A translation engagement needs a stable, approved account. Otherwise, changes to project facts or the intended message can create further language and production work that nobody has allowed for.
Distinguish the specialist roles
NAATI's Auslan translation page describes translating English source documents or videos into Auslan and presenting the result in video form. It also describes its Recognised Practising Translator credential for Written English into Auslan.
Ask a prospective language provider which expertise and current credentials are relevant to the proposed assignment. Do not assume that experience in one type of interpreting or translation establishes suitability for every recorded project. Confirm the practitioner's role, the language-review process and who resolves questions about specialist terminology.
Production has a separate job: recording or integrating the signed content so viewers can use it clearly. The project owner must still confirm facts. A language practitioner should not be expected to decide whether a construction claim is true simply because it appears in the source script.
Buy a usable version rather than an isolated recording
Discuss the intended presentation with the language and production specialists. The signer needs to remain clearly visible in the actual viewing arrangement, and other pictures or text should not obscure meaning. A treatment that works in a large review window may be unsuitable in a small embedded player.
Ask what files and versions are needed for the chosen destination, how captions and other alternatives will sit alongside the signed material, and who will check the finished experience. Do not reduce these questions to a request for “an interpreter in the corner”.
The publishing owner also needs a clear route for users to find the relevant version. Delivering a file that is difficult to locate does not accomplish the original communication purpose.
Use an audience-to-delivery decision map
| Decision | Record before commissioning |
|---|---|
| Audience need | Who needs the signed version and what confirmed input supports the request |
| Communication purpose | What the audience should understand or be able to do next |
| Source account | Approved film or text, version and factual owner |
| Language engagement | Practitioner role, relevant expertise and review arrangement |
| Production engagement | Recording, integration and output requirements to assess |
| Viewer experience | Intended player or channel and how the version will be found |
| Acceptance | Language, factual and viewing checks, with separate owners |
| Future changes | Who initiates updates when the approved source changes |
Finish with a decision: commission the defined version, obtain further audience or specialist advice, or choose a different source communication first. An unresolved audience need should remain visible rather than being replaced by an assumption based on a broad demographic label.
A hypothetical project-information brief
Imagine a commercial building owner has a recorded explanation of a completed refurbishment. A stakeholder group includes Auslan users and has asked for the relevant project information in Auslan. This is an invented example, not a Live Images engagement.
The owner reviews the source and finds that its first half is a general promotional montage, while the useful explanation concerns the changed public-facing spaces. With the relevant advisers, it decides to develop a focused, factually approved account for translation rather than automatically translating every promotional line.
The commissioning plan separates language work, production integration and review in the intended player. Captions and other identified access requirements remain in scope. The source owner also agrees how a later factual correction will reach the language provider, so the signed version does not become disconnected from the current account.
Ask about suitability without assuming the service
The Live Images services page sets out project-film production; it does not establish an Auslan translation or interpretation service. If a construction film needs a signed version, enquire with the project details and state the audience, destination, timing and specialist involvement already identified.
Confirm who can provide each part and what needs a separate engagement. A clear allocation is more useful than assuming one video supplier's standard scope covers language expertise, production and every accessibility decision.
Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images. Planning guidance is general; suitability and production scope must be agreed for your project.