The Deaf-led service that let people call an interpreter instead of booking one turns five today.
Five years ago, a Deaf Australian who needed an interpreter had to book one and wait.
Today, they open an app or scan a code. That's it.
This September, Convo Australia turns five — and in that time, the Deaf-led service has carried more than 1.7 million minutes of Auslan interpreting for Deaf Australians. At work. In hospitals. At polling booths. On ordinary phone calls that couldn't wait for a booking to come through.
Built on one idea
Convo was built on a simple belief: Deaf people should be able to connect with an interpreter when and where they choose, not when a booking system allows it.
Five years later, that belief has grown into more than 200,000 interpreted conversations. A Deaf Australian can now pick up their own phone and reach an Auslan interpreter in seconds — for a call, or for a conversation happening right there in the room.
"Five years ago a Deaf Australian who needed an interpreter had to book one and wait," says Todd Wright, Convo Australia co-founder. "Now they open an app or scan a code. Deaf Australians built that."
Built by Deaf Australians
Convo Australia started because Todd Wright and Kyle Miers saw a gap. At the time, Australia's National Relay Service covered phone calls only. No video remote interpreting, and only during set hours. If you needed an interpreter outside those hours, or for anything beyond a phone call, you were out of options.
Inspired by Convo's work in the United States, Todd and Kyle approached founder Wayne Betts and then-CEO Jarrod Musano with a vision for Australia: a service shaped around what Deaf Australians actually needed, not around what a booking system could accommodate.
Months of collaboration, testing and community input later, Convo Australia launched with both Video Relay Service (VRS) and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) — giving Deaf people real choice in how and when they communicate.
"Australia proved something the rest of Convo has since followed," says Amanda Montgomery, CEO of Convo. "Deaf people don't want one service for work and a different one for a hospital visit. They want one number, one app, and an interpreter when they decide they need one."
Five years of milestones
- 6 September 2021: Convo Australia launches its first VRS and VRI app.
- May 2022: Convo Access goes live at Australian Electoral Commission voting centres. Voters connect with an Auslan interpreter on the spot, no app, login or account needed.
- 1 August 2022: Convo expands to 24/7 interpreting, available day and night, every day of the year.
- May 2024: Convo registered as NDIS Service Provider.
- May 2025: Deaf Australians pass one million minutes of interpreted conversation through Convo.
- August 2025: Convo co-hosts the Deaf Ecosystem Summit, bringing Deaf leaders, professionals and organisations together to strengthen the sector across Australia.
- June 2026: Convo becomes a NAATI-Endorsed Language Service Provider.
How it works, in practice
Technology is just a tool. The conversation and the person choosing how it happens — is the point.
A workplace meeting. A healthcare appointment. A family phone call. A banking query. An unexpected moment that genuinely can't wait. Convo exists so Deaf Australians can connect with an interpreter in real time, on their terms, whatever the moment looks like.
Deaf people stay at the centre of every decision, every product improvement, every partnership Convo makes.
And there's more than one way to access it. Convo is a registered NDIS provider, so participants can fund interpreting through their own plan. Employers can fund workplace interpreting through the Employment Assistance Fund, administered by JobAccess. Businesses, hospitals and government offices can pay directly for Convo Access.
Thank you for being part of the conversation
Five years is more than a milestone. It's millions of everyday conversations made possible because people believed there was a better way.
To every Deaf Australian who has trusted Convo with a conversation, thank you. Every call, every meeting, every unexpected moment has helped shape the service Convo is today.
To our interpreters, community members, partners, stakeholders and supporters, thank you for believing in a Deaf-led future and helping build it alongside us. Your collaboration has helped create a service that puts Deaf people at the centre, with the freedom to connect when and where they choose.
This is only the beginning.
Here's to the next five years of conversations that transform lives.
