Exploring Artificial Intelligence to address access barriers
Published: 14 August 2025
Healthdirect’s goal is to provide access to healthcare services for all Australians. We know from our data and research that seeking health advice and connection to care in a language other than English can be a barrier to access. This may result in consumers going unnecessarily to the emergency department or not seeking help at all.
Callers to the Healthdirect helpline from non-English speaking backgrounds have the option to use an interpreter. Take up for this option is low among culturally and linguistically diverse callers.
With this in mind, we are looking into how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies might improve accessibility to services. As part of this, we engaged consumers from non-English speaking backgrounds, to understand their needs and expectations of our service and AI. We explored how an AI-powered interpreting solution may bridge the language gap by enabling a nurse to have a conversation with a non-English speaking caller, in their own language, in real-time.
Callers to the Healthdirect helpline from non-English speaking backgrounds have the option to use an interpreter
Research to listen to the consumer voice
We understand that the key to delivering exceptional healthcare services lies in listening to and engaging with our consumers. By incorporating consumer feedback into our service design, we can provide more accessible, equitable, and effective healthcare solutions to reach more people.
Led by our Customer Experience (CX) team, we spoke with consumers who do not speak English, Healthdirect helpline nurses, representatives from the Centre for Cultural Diversity and Ageing and service representatives from Healthdirect.
The research explored consumer acceptance of AI-powered interactions with our services to interpret conversations between non-English speaking callers and the nurse on the helpline.
The findings on consumer perceptions for AI-powered symptom triage, included:
- positive sentiment about using AI for language interpreting
- desire for a high level of transparency about how the AI works
- desire for more information about consent and accuracy
- upfront expectation of the role and objective of the triage tool from the outset
Benefit for consumers
Introducing AI-powered language interpreting will enable Healthdirect to better service all Australians and support their healthcare needs. By removing barriers to accessing the Healthdirect helpline, we are providing a more equitable service, especially to those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who may face additional challenges in navigating the healthcare system.
To build transparency and trust, we recently published our Artificial Intelligence Transparency Statement. It details how we use AI, and how we go about ensuring it is safe. Read our AI Transparency Statement here. (Opens in new tab)
Last reviewed: October 2025