The City of Casey has implemented a language translation service and text-to-speech functionality on Council’s website to make online information more accessible for Casey’s culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community members.
As part of Council’s Customer Experience Strategy and in line with the Inclusive Casey Strategic Framework, the project also includes the digitisation of Council forms and the hosting of a range of online services for vital community support programs such as the Community Resources during Coronavirus Pandemic page.
With over 150 different cultural groups in Casey and 38 per cent of residents born overseas, City of Casey’s Chair of Administrators Noelene Duff PSM, noted how essential it is for Council to provide accessible online information and resources for all community members.
“Providing accessible information to all community members during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been vital to ensure the safety of our community and prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Ms Duff.
“This project demonstrates Council commitment to supporting our diverse community now and well into the future as we continue to enhance our digital capabilities to better serve our growing community.”
Earlier this year in May, Council undertook a community survey to identify how COVID-19 had affected Casey’s community and to better understand what services are needed as COVID-19 restrictions ease. The survey highlighted nearly 25% of residents needed COVID-19 information translated into another language.
The project also involved conducting one on one focus sessions with Casey’s CALD community members. The sessions set out to test the look, feel and functionality of the ‘listen and translate’ function and the website usability.
Feedback from the sessions will be utilised to continue to build on changes to the website functionality and how best to display information.
Further testing will examine how the community members use the translation services and how translated resources are accessed through other digital platforms.
