In-person LLIRN attendees (Image credit: Kristen Martin)

The Law and Linguistics Interdisciplinary Research Network (LLIRN) facilitates interdisciplinary scholars, language professionals and legal professionals around the world to connect and share their work.

Since its establishment, the network has grown significantly, with over 260 members currently, from or based in approximately 43 countries.

To celebrate the 6th anniversary of the network’s establishment, Dr Alexandra Grey (UTS) and Dr Laura Smith-Khan (UNE) organised an Anniversary Workshop on 14 April 2025. It brought LLIRN colleagues together in person and online in a celebration of the network and planning the network’s next collaborations.

Outline

The LLIRN 6th Anniversary Workshop began with a Law Reform Workshop on “The origins and causes of transcript injustice: How legal misconceptions about written and spoken language threaten the right to a fair trial”, led by Prof Helen Fraser, the founding director of the Research Hub for Language and Forensic Evidence at the University of Melbourne.

This was followed by a Next Steps for Collaboration Workshop, led by Dr Laura Smith-Khan (UNE) and Dr Alexandra Grey (UTS), and then an in-person lunch, providing a rare chance for LLIRN members to catch up informally.

Alexandra Grey began the event with an introduction, thanking those who travelled and those online for being a part of the workshop. I was then invited up to deliver an Acknowledgement of Country, where through acknowledging the Gadigal people, I used my own knowledge of Dhurga (a Yuin dialect) and discussed my purpose for this in connection to how language and power are strongly interconnected; coinciding with the lectures presented on the day.

Alex then followed up with her own Acknowledgement and used Gadi words as taught by Prof Jaky Troy, author of The Sydney Language, and broadened my point about language and power in connection to the origins of the LLIRN and the motivations behind ours and our colleagues’ work. After explaining the agenda for the day, Alex and Laura welcomed everyone to the event.

The origins and causes of transcript injustice: How legal misconceptions about written and spoken language threaten the right to a fair trial

After a sweet celebration and congratulations for the LLIRN’s 6th Anniversary, Helen Fraser then narrowed in on the discussion point of transcript injustice in relation to two criminal cases in Australia, including a prominent case involving Stephen Jamieson. From these cases, Fraser highlighted two misconceptions of transcripts in court:

• Misconceptions about what is involved in producing a verbatim transcript
• Misconception that judges themselves can determine post hoc if a transcript is reliable

Fraser highlighted the issue of transcript injustice in relation to both how transcripts are produced and how they are presented in court. Fraser discussed, through the example of Jamieson’s case, the misconceptions surrounding transcript production including the nature of speech being faster than typing and the possibility of police interference and improper investigation tactics in gaining a confession (i.e. ‘verballing’).

Through the second case, Fraser discussed evidence of transcripts used alongside indistinct audio and how they impact a jury’s unbiased opinion. Fraser exemplified such by having us all read a short text and listen to an audio recording to see if we agreed with what was written. To our surprise, we were deceived, as the audio did not match the writing but sounded like it did. In this playful deceit, Fraser made her point about the priming effect transcripts have in audio-based evidence in courts.

From both cases, Fraser acknowledged the work done so far to prevent such inconsistencies which led to injustice in the two cases, as well as pointing out the long way to go to properly prevent these injustices altogether.

After the presentation, the group reflected on ways forward, including the possibility of forming an interest group from which to develop a working group for reform. Some of the ideas suggested as potential responses included reforms to court practice notes about forensic audio evidence, and the need to build more momentum for the awareness of transcript injustice.

Next Steps for Collaboration

After a small break, it was then Alex and Laura’s turn! This workshop featured a lot of in-group discussions and opportunities for LLIRN members to speak on what they would like from the network.

The first point of discussion was joint proposals for conference panels, relating to both national and international Law, Linguistics and other interdisciplinary societies. Various members watching online gave valuable insights about conferences held internationally. We also had the opportunity to hear about conferences that any of the LLIRN members would be attending this year or are eager to attend in the future.

In-person LLIRN attendees in the UTS Law foyer (Image credit: Kristen Martin)

In particular, we’re looking forward to reports from LLIRN members attending the International Association of Forensic & Legal Linguistics conference at University of the Western Cape, Sth Africa, 30 June – 4 July 2025.

Additionally, there are these upcoming conferences as potentially apt for LLIRN collaborations:

• UNSW Law & Justice Legal Education Research Conference, 24 and 25 November 2025, UNSW Law & Justice (Sydney), “The Crowded Curriculum”: submit papers/panels by COB 7 July
• LSAANZ, Uni of Canterbury (NZ), 3-5 December 2025, “Rights, Relationality, Resilience, Reciprocity
• Australian Linguistic Society, Griffith Uni, Gold Coast (Queensland), 2-5 December 2025

Then, the discussion turned to books and the possibility of LLIRN members collaborating on a book. Discussion surrounded a possible book relating to the research of members of the network itself and new opportunities in the Law and Linguistics interdisciplinary area. This collaboration idea will continue to develop over the next year.

Afterwards, there was one final point to discuss in the form of a surprise…

The new LLIRN website!

We ended by launching our new LLLIRN Website ‘Law and Language.’ Laura introduced the website to the network and talked about some of its exciting features!

The Law and Linguistics website offers a place for members to display their new work as well as read work from their colleagues – an overall nice space for colleagues to connect and uplift each other’s work.

From this announcement, the discussions continued about what members would like from the website, including any features that the members would find beneficial. A key point that was acknowledged was the continued upkeep of the website to keep the website relevant, as well as the possibility of students being involved on the website.

The site is still a work in progress, but it already includes a public-facing overview about the network, its scope, publications and activities; pages sharing information about network members’ projects; and a growing set of republished blog posts.

Following the end of Alex and Laura’s workshop, the group shared excitement for the future of the LLIRN and the new opportunities that may arise. The opportunity for members to come together and share new ideas ended the day in a great mood. Such mood then carried into the LLIRN lunch where members laughed and caught up with each other about their academic endeavours. After the success of the workshops, the LLIRN could celebrate its 6th anniversary and remember it as a great day.

Image Credit: Dreamtime Creative by Jordan Lovegrove, Ngarrindjeri; from 2023 Annual Closing the Gap Report and 2024 Implementation Plan (p. 10) © Commonwealth of Australia, Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2024

Editor’s Note: The Australian Commonwealth’s Closing the Gap 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Implementation Plan was released earlier this week. In this post, Kristen Martin reflects on progress towards one specific ‘Closing the Gap’ target, namely Target 16, which aims to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

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It has been four years since the Australian Government included Target 16 – to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages – in the ‘Closing the Gap’ targets. What has been happening since Target 16 was announced? The status of Target 16 is officially ‘unknown’ (as of July 2023),  and the fourth National Indigenous Language Survey will not be published until 2026 but what has progress looked like so far? There is already some exciting, new work happening, as this blog will outline.

Voices of Country

A collaboration between the Australian Government, First Languages Australia and the International Decade of Indigenous Languages Directions Group, the Voices of Country Action plan is described as “framed through five inter-connected themes:

1. Stop the Loss
2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities are Centre
3. Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer
4. Caring for Country, and
5. Truth-telling and Celebration.”

The purpose of the initiative is to pilot actions towards language strength based on community decisions, outlining various ways governments can approach the Closing the Gap targets. In a report released about the 10-year action plan, it outlines:

“Consistent with the Global Action Plan, the Australian Government will undertake and report on practical commitments that deliver progress against the framework set out in Voices of Country. The Australian Government will report against these commitments on an annual basis”

However, the Voices of Country Action plan is only one of many plans that the Australian government has invested in!

Language Policy Partnership

Alongside the Voice to Country Action plan, a key milestone in the progression of Target 16 is the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Language Policy Partnership, established December 2022 and known as the LPP. The LLP seeks to “establish a true partnership approach with truth-telling, equal representation and shared decision-making fundamental to the National Agreement for Closing the Gap”.

Image credit: The Wattle Tree graphic design agency by Gilimbaa with cultural elements created by David Williams (Wakka Wakka), acknowledging also the Traditional Custodians: © First Languages Australia and Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Voices of Country – Australia’s Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032, p.9

The program is a collaboration between the Coalition of Peaks, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language experts, and various government members. Through the LPP and discussions with various communities, seven priorities have been outlined to make progress on Target 16 and strengthen Indigenous languages. The priorities are as follows:

1. Speaking and using languages
2. Supporting the people, groups and organisations who work in languages
3. Languages legislation
4. Access to Country
5. More funding that goes where communities need it
6. Bringing language home to the people and communities
7. Help people understand the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages

From this commitment, the LPP has also said

“The LPP is working to develop a national and coordinated approach to achieving Target 16. This includes working in partnership, centring the community-controlled sector, changing how governments work, and sharing the right data and information to make important decisions. The LPP will also work according to annual work plans and a three-year strategic plan.”

Since its establishment, the organisation has met seven times with published documents reflecting their discussions available.

The Australian Government has invested $9.7 million into the LPP and states the program will undertake evaluation after three years (in 2026).

A lookback on previous Target 16 process

As Alexandra Grey has noted back in 2021, funding  for the Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) program had been planned for the progression of Target 16. The ILA, in collaboration with First Languages Australia saw 25 language centres open throughout the country and teach the various languages in their surrounding areas. Following this, the ILA has also said it will invest over $37 million in 2024-2025 to “support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to express, conserve and sustain their cultures through languages and arts activities throughout Australia.”. What this funding will go to in 2025, we will have to wait and see.

International Decade of Indigenous Languages

Australia is not the only country to care about the status of Indigenous languages, as we are currently in the middle of the United Nations’ International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 – 2032). Following the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019, the UN has established this decade to focus on the “preservation, revitalization and promotion” of Indigenous languages. Australia is one of many countries to be a part of this celebration, developing the ‘Voices of Country’ Action Plan as “a call to action for all stakeholders”.

Impact of these actions

Of the many partnerships in place, it appears the Australian government has taken a community-based approach for this goal, consulting with community members and First Nations representatives for official and efficient actions. With all the great initiatives underway, it is easy to assume that progression with Target 16 is happening. However, we will not be able to truly know the effects of these initiatives until 2026 as we wait on the fourth National Indigenous Language Survey and the LPP program evaluation.