Morrison Government Funds $4 Million National Rollout of Sound Scouts

Hundreds of thousands of school-aged children will benefit from an Australian-developed app that delivers a user-friendly hearing test, with the Morrison Government funding a $4 million national rollout.

In an innovative and cost-effective approach, the free tests will be conducted online using Sound Scouts — a fun, tablet-based game that detects hearing issues in children.

The programme was announced by Minister for Human Services Ken Wyatt AM, Minister for Human Services and Digital Transformation Michael Keenan, and Trent Zimmerman, Member for North Sydney.

Minister Wyatt said that last year, 600 five-to-seven year-olds received hearing aids for the first time, and the Government was determined to ensure children with hearing loss were identified and helped earlier.

“The Sound Scouts program is engaging and fun, but with some serious benefits for our nation’s children. A recent study found that up to 1.3 million Australians are living with hearing conditions that could have been prevented.”

Sound Scouts is operated by Hearing Australia, the Australian Government’s hearing services provider. The programme is administered through SSIMPL — Sound Scouts’ cloud-based management platform — which enables coordinators at schools and health services to enrol students, view results, and send reports to parents.

Note: The free period for Sound Scouts under this government programme has ended. For current pricing and school programme options, please contact us.