This report considers the economic benefits of Auslan accounting for the critical benefits to wellbeing, health literacy, services access, and the productivity of the economy. The research seeks to account for the benefits associated with Auslan as a community-enabling and culturally supportive language. 

The costs of deafness and hearing loss are significant and extend well beyond the earliest stages of life. A significant number of factors that impact these costs are directly controllable or moderated by considered policy. Notably, the impacts of deafness and hearing loss may be reduced through appropriate intervention. 

The benefits of greater investment in suitable interventions, including strategies emphasising the benefits of bimodal bilingualism given the established benefits of such approaches, is strongly justified given the psychosocial, developmental, and broader communal benefits to the child and the economic benefits associated with such interventions. The costs of delayed intervention, and underinvestment in the language foundation of children and young people are too significant to ignore.

The most critical consideration for pre-lingually deaf children are the establishment of a sound language foundation, affording sufficient funding to early intervention programs that acknowledge the benefits of adequate language foundations. Where children are afforded these benefits at the earliest opportunity, they are given the best chance to achieve age-appropriate developmental progress. Considered social policy must acknowledge that such interventions where possible should be afforded to children and parents, where possible from the time of birth, rather than when developmental delays arise.

This is one of three ground-breaking reports on the economic impact of Auslan on the Australian Economy.