Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

3/05/2022

10/05/2022

SBS is continuing to make the 2022 Federal Election more accessible for multicultural communities, today announcing live interpretations of the upcoming Leaders Debates, hosted by Nine and the Seven Network, as well as two additional Ministerial Debates to be held at the National Press Club of Australia.

For the upcoming debates between Prime Minister The Hon. Scott Morrison MP and Opposition Leader, The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, SBS will be providing live interpretations in Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese.

The next debate will be taking place at 8.45pm AEST this Sunday 8 May and be broadcast live in English on Channel 9 and 9Now and streamed live across the websites of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, with streams in Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese available live and exclusively on SBS On Demand and Facebook.

SBS will also provide interpretations across these four languages for the final Leaders' Debate hosted by Seven on Wednesday 11 May and broadcast on Channel 7 and 7plus.

SBS Managing Director, James Taylor says: SBS is extremely pleased that it will again be providing live interpretations of the upcoming election debates. We are expanding the offer to now cover 4 key language communities and are so proud to be fulfilling our Charter in this way. SBS is uniquely placed to ensure that audiences whose preferred language might not be English can engage fully with our democratic process.

I would also like to thank Nine, Seven, the ABC and the National Press Club for their willingness to make these feeds available so that SBS can serve these communities.

In addition to the Leaders Debates, SBS will also be offering translated live streams of two Ministerial debates to be held at the National Press Club of Australia this coming week.

The first debate, dubbed the 2022 Treasury Debate is between The Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP and Dr Jim Chalmers MP, The Treasurer and Shadow Treasurer of Australia. Taking place 12.30pm AEST on Wednesday 4 May, the hour-long debate will be live streamed in Arabic and Mandarin on SBS On Demand.

This will be followed with the 2022 Defence Debate the next day, Thursday 5 May. Taking place at 12.30pm AEST, the debate between The Hon. Peter Dutton MP, the Minister for Defence, and The Hon. Brendan O'Connor MP, the Shadow Minister for Defence will also be live streamed in Arabic and Mandarin on SBS On Demand.

Both debates will be broadcast live in English on the ABC.

Today's announcement comes after last month, when, in a first for an Australian television network, SBS provided live Arabic and Mandarin translations of the 2022 Sky News / The Courier-Mail People's Forum, a debate between Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese.

SBS Director of Audio and Language Content, David Hua, says As election day nears, communities are keen to hear from a range of candidates and have access to as much information as possible. Through offerings such as live interpreting the debates, the SBS Election Exchange events, and our impartial and balanced election coverage, our goal is to enable and empower communities to engage with the election and to make an informed decision when voting.

The SBS Election Exchange is also well underway, with SBS's language services heading into the community and hosting a series of events to speak with local candidates and members of the public in the lead up to the 2022 Federal Election.

Following successful events in in Bankstown, Hobart, Launceston, Dandenong and Broadmeadows, the final three events will take place this week in Wagga Wagga, Eastwood and Ballarat.

SBS's Federal Election initiatives build on the network's ongoing commitment to multilingual audiences, including the recent launch of its locally produced TV news services in Arabic and Mandarin, multilingual login, and navigation on SBS On Demand, and the upcoming launch of the SBS World Watch TV channel on 23 May.

Ends.

To read a PDF version of this media release, click here.
LINK: https://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/sbs-to-expand-live-interpreting-of-upco...
See more stories from sbs

More from SBS Broadcast

23/07/2026

NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance

NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance 23 July, 2026 Media releases National Indigenous Television (NITV) has launched ...

21/07/2026

SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final

SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final 21 July, 2026 Media releases Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...

17/07/2026

Legendary presenter Anton Enus to sign off from SBS World News after 27 years with the network

Legendary presenter Anton Enus to sign off from SBS World News after 27 years wi...

17/07/2026

Millions rise before dawn to watch FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals on SBS

Millions rise before dawn to watch FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals on SBS 17 July, 2026 Media releases England v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of a...

16/07/2026

NITV and SBS bring Australians to the heart of Garma

NITV and SBS bring Australians to the heart of Garma 16 July, 2026 Media releases The Garma Festival returns from 31 July-3 August, with NITV and SBS deliv...

13/07/2026

Millions tuned in for quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS

Millions tuned in for quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS 13 July, 2026 Media releases Norway v England attracted a Total TV reach of 3.7 mil...

09/07/2026

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion 9 July, 2026 Media releases SBS acknowledges the gravity of the matters before the Roy...

08/07/2026

Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup on SBS

Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup on SBS 7 July, 2026 Media releases Australia's Round of 32 match against Egypt a...

08/07/2026

SBS and Koorie Heritage Trust announce three-year partnership to celebrate First Nations cultures and communities

SBS and Koorie Heritage Trust announce three-year partnership to celebrate First...

03/07/2026

Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV

Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV 3 July, 2026 Media releases National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...

30/06/2026

Statement regarding GetUp Save Our SBS' campaign

Statement regarding GetUp Save Our SBS' campaign 30 June, 2026 Media releases The GetUp Save Our SBS' campaign is an independent initiative. SBS ...

27/06/2026

A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA World Cup 2026

A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA Wo...

25/06/2026

The Name You Know, The Lineup You'll Love - SBS2 Returns

The Name You Know, The Lineup You'll Love - SBS2 Returns 25 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Viceland rebrands as SBS2 on Friday 21 August, bringing the c...

22/06/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026 fever grows, as more than one third of Australians tune in to SBS coverage

FIFA World Cup 2026 fever grows, as more than one third of Australians tune in ...

16/06/2026

Australians place growing trust in SBS News

Australians place growing trust in SBS News 16 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...

15/06/2026

4.78M AUSSIES TUNE IN FOR SOCCEROOS WIN OVER TRKYE ON SBS

4.78M AUSSIES TUNE IN FOR SOCCEROOS WIN OVER T RK YE ON SBS 15 June, 2026 Media releases Match had a Total TV average audience of 3.035 million, with over ...

15/06/2026

SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey to depart after 18 years

SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey to depart after 18 years 15 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey will depart the broadca...

10/06/2026

Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast

Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast 10 June, 2026 Media releases WATCH THE TRAILER Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...

10/06/2026

DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH 50 YEARS OF DEADLY

DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...

04/06/2026

Is Your Job Making You Work this June?

Is Your Job Making You Work this June? 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...

04/06/2026

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...

03/06/2026

Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism

Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism 3 June, 2026 Media releases Statement by Mandi Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Aff...

01/06/2026

SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026

SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026 1 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...

28/05/2026

Get fit for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with new SBS On Demand features for the ultimate viewing experience

Get fit for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with new SBS On Demand features for the ult...

25/05/2026

SBS announces exclusive TV broadcast schedule for FIFA World Cup 2026

SBS announces exclusive TV broadcast schedule for FIFA World Cup 2026 21 May, 2026 Media releases Luke Wilkshire, Tommy Oar, Andrew Redmayne, Sarah Walsh ...

22/05/2026

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late...

20/05/2026

From Gulkula to the nation: Yothu Yindi Foundation and NITV deepen national access to Garma Festival

From Gulkula to the nation: Yothu Yindi Foundation and NITV deepen national acce...

20/05/2026

SBS appoints David Fernandez as National Manager, Digital & TV Sales

SBS appoints David Fernandez as National Manager, Digital & TV Sales 20 May, 2026 Media releases SBS has appointed David Fernandez as National Manager, Dig...

18/05/2026

Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for Eurovision

Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...

17/05/2026

Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run

Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run 17 May, 2026 Media releases Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026 Relive every spellbinding mome...

15/05/2026

Joint Statement: News Bargaining Incentive

Joint Statement: News Bargaining Incentive 28 April, 2026 Media releases The vibrancy of Australian democracy relies on the robust and open exchange of new...

15/05/2026

Call it Deltavision, Australia's through to the Grand Final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest!

Call it Deltavision, Australia's through to the Grand Final of this year'...

14/05/2026

SBS Board appoints Jane Palfreyman Managing Director

SBS Board appoints Jane Palfreyman Managing Director 13 May, 2026 Media releases The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Board of Directors is pleased to an...

14/05/2026

Transforming bold ideas into market-ready productions: Digital Originals returns

Transforming bold ideas into market-ready productions: Digital Originals returns 14 May, 2026 Media releases SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have announced ...

14/05/2026

Australia Uncovered Returns to SBS with Bold New Season Featuring John Safran on Free Speech and Powerful Stories of Justice and Survival

Australia Uncovered Returns to SBS with Bold New Season Featuring John Safran on...

12/05/2026

One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pitch

One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...

11/05/2026

You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take your eyes off Delta's Eurovision staging

You're not meant to look at an Eclipse, but you won't be able to take yo...

30/04/2026

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMENTARY

SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMEN...

29/04/2026

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award 29 April, 2026 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Dr Jasmina Kevric...

22/04/2026

SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge

SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge 22 April, 2026 Media releases National broadcaster also releases its second annual...

16/04/2026

SBS reveals all-star alumni team to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Contest

SBS reveals all-star alumni team to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Co...

02/04/2026

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever 2 April, 2026 Media releases Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...

02/04/2026

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return to Lead the National Conversation

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...

27/03/2026

NITV to broadcast farewell to Rhoda Roberts AO with special coverage and week-long tribute

NITV to broadcast farewell to Rhoda Roberts AO with special coverage and week-lo...

21/03/2026

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve to be understood'

New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve t...

21/03/2026

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO 21 March, 2026 Media releases SBS is deeply saddened by the passing of Widjabul Wieybal woman from the Bundjalung Na...

20/03/2026

Feast for cycling fans as SBS extends road cycling broadcasts to include all Grand Tours and Monuments

Feast for cycling fans as SBS extends road cycling broadcasts to include all Gra...

19/03/2026

Silicon Valley satire The Audacity premieres 15 April on SBS and SBS On Demand

Silicon Valley satire The Audacity premieres 15 April on SBS and SBS On Demand 19 March, 2026 Media releases From one of the writer/producers of Succession...