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Frequently Asked Questions
Language Services Review
Published
Updated
Source: SBS
What is the Language Services Review?
The Language Services Review is a process undertaken by SBS to examine our language offering and ensure our services reflect and meet the needs of Australia’s rapidly changing and increasingly diverse society.
The Review occurs every five years in conjunction with the Australian Census and considers factors such as the Census data, audience listening habits, migration to digital platforms, demographics, and financial parameters.
Why does SBS review its language services?
As part of SBS’s commitment to continue evolving to meet the needs of contemporary Australia, SBS undertakes a regular review of its audio and language offering including radio, podcasting and other digital platforms. This to ensure it continues to reflect the needs of communities in Australia today.
Regularly updating the services enables SBS to better service the largest communities with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and offer services to emerging high-needs communities.
What is the Language Selection Criteria?
The Language Selection Criteria is a set of guidelines that are applied to the Australian Census 2021 data to determine which languages form part of SBS’s audio and language offering across radio, podcasting and other digital platforms.
The Selection Criteria aims to balance the needs of all language communities – established, emerging, large and small – and in turn ensure relevance of SBS Language Services to contemporary Australia.
When was the public consultation on the draft Language Selection Criteria?
The public consultation period ran from 5 October to 26 November 2021. The draft Selection Criteria was published on the SBS website so that audiences, stakeholders and SBS staff could provide feedback via an online submission form.
The public consultation was widely publicised to our audiences and stakeholders via SBS Radio programs, TV, online, social media, direct mail and media releases.
Who responded to the Public Consultation on the draft Selection Criteria?
There was a positive response to the Consultation, with over 2,000 submissions representing 80 language communities. The majority were from audiences and there was representation across all Australian states and territories.
What were the findings of the public consultation?
All feedback received was reviewed and consideration was also given to the language representation of feedback received. On balance the findings supported the draft Selection Criteria and no changes were made. The final Language Selection Criteria was published on 10 May 2022.
When was the Australian 2021 Census data released?
The Census data was released on 28 June 2022. It is available on the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s website: abs.gov.au/census
The Census household response rate increased from 95.1% in 2016 to 96.1% in 2021.
How many Australians reported using a language other than English at home?
The 2021 Census results show that more Australians use a language other than English at home (5.6 million) with an increase of 16% since 2016.
Punjabi had the largest increase, with the 2021 Census showing 239,022 people using Punjabi at home.
How many Australians identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander?
The Census found that 812,728 people identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. This is an increase of 25.2% since 2016, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now representing 3.2% of the Australian population.
There were 167 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages used at home in 2021 by 76,978 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
How does SBS develop the new language offering?
As an independent national broadcaster, SBS has sole responsibility for determining its strategy, content and the scheduling of programs. SBS will consult our audiences and communities during the public consultation stage of the SBS Language Services Review. The final Language Selection Criteria reflects the feedback received.
How does SBS funding impact the result?
Due to budget, it is unfortunately not possible for SBS to provide a service for every language community in Australia. In line with the available funding, the Selection Criteria helped inform the languages with SBS determining when and how the language services will be delivered.
How many languages will SBS Audio service?
SBS will service 63 languages in total across radio, podcasting, online and social media. This includes welcoming four new languages – Bislama, Malay, Oromo and Tetum - to support growing and high needs migrant communities; recommitting to large language Telugu; and continuing services in 58 languages for existing audiences.
In addition, SBS will grow the prominence of First Nations voices through commissioning digital content in Indigenous languages, and invest in Auslan accessible content and bespoke resourcing for emerging migrant communities through the SBS Language Settlement Guide.
What new languages will be served by SBS Audio?
SBS is welcoming four new languages for emerging and high needs migrant communities – Bislama (used in Vanuatu); Malay (used in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia); Oromo (used in Ethiopia and large parts of East Africa); and Tetum (used in Timor-Leste and West Timor).
In response to growing migration from South Asia, SBS will recommit to commissioning Telugu and grow its Punjabi and Nepali teams. SBS will also launch an English-language podcast and social media content targeted to younger audiences across this broad South Asian migrant community to assist daily life and help strengthen belonging and social cohesion.
What languages did not meet the selection criteria?
Six languages did not meet the minimum language selection criteria – Albanian, Bulgarian, Finnish, Romanian, Slovak and Slovenian. SBS intends to decommission these services, making existing content available online for an extended period.
Three languages in recess since 2018 – Czech, Estonian and Hungarian - also did not meet the minimum language selection criteria and will not be recommissioned.
When will the service revisions be implemented?
The date of implementation will be announced closer to the time.
Roles for new languages Bislama, Malay, Oromo, Telugu and Tetum will be advertised on the SBS Careers website - search all SBS jobs.
What is SBS Audio?
SBS Audio is the new brand name for SBS Radio. This new name brings together our full audio offering across broadcast radio, podcasting, live streaming and digital publishing into one unified digital destination, serving multicultural and First Nations audiences across more than 60 languages.
What do I do if I have more questions about the Language Services Review?
If you have any questions, please contact us via the SBS Help Centre.
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