AI can't teach empathy. But it can review complex documents in seconds, explain rights in plain Vietnamese, and set reminders before contracts expire. If Australia wants "AI for productivity," start with the shopkeepers who can't afford to lose a single day.
I write this as a first-generation Vietnamese Australian who has been my family's translator since I first learned English. I've handled the phone calls about overdue bills and government services. I've stood beside my grandparents in hospital rooms doing my best to interpret a doctor's diagnosis into words my family could understand.
A Decade's Work, A Thirty-Day Notice
Earlier this year in Western Sydney, a shock reality walked through our door. My aunt has worked seven days a week for more than a decade in Cabramatta. Opening at sunrise and locking up at sunset. She's weathered everything from theft to intense local competition. Customers come back because they love who she is and how she shows up for the community.
Then one morning, a notice was sent from the landlord via the agent: thirty days to vacate. No conversation, no grace period, no acknowledgement of ten years of rent, just legal English and a deadline.
We reviewed the lease and the notice. We called the NSW Small Business Commissioner to understand options and timelines. We asked the agent and landlord for extra time. After some back-and-forth, the agent granted a single week, seven extra days to unwind more than ten years of work. Soon after, the landlord moved into the premises to run their own business, despite earlier statements about the purpose of the eviction. Whether that breaches legal obligations is a matter for a court. What I do know is that there was no good faith.
This is the quiet reality for many ethnic families in commercial tenancies and agreements. The first shock was the hardest, recognising what the notice actually was, which rights apply, and what to do in what order. My aunt was suddenly "out of time," with nothing left but a closing sale and the work of returning a shop to condition.
Cabramatta Town Centre - A hub for Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer culture, food and business (and my home).
Lost in Translation: When Language Blocks Livelihoods
After this ordeal, I reached out to our local MP's office (Dai Le MP's team) to highlight this issue and find ways to support the community. Whether there were Vietnamese translated materials we could print so other shops wouldn't be blindsided. A massive thank you to her staff, who were empathetic and heard our story, however budgets were tight, and having print translated guidance would be a challenge.
My plan from now until the end of the year is to get brochures from the Small Business Commission, run the translations, and start the drop-offs myself. But that very action highlights the systemic failure. People's livelihoods shouldn't hinge on me and a printer. We need tools that give tenants and business owners agency directly.
Hindsight is everything, and it needs to be said that my aunt should not have relied on trust with the agent and should have taken steps to protect herself. Two issues stand out to me, one is the ability to communicate in official terms, and two is understanding the core components of a lease and her rights.
AI as the Bridge: Building Tools for Agency
AI can level the field, not as a court judge or landlord, and not to replace lawyers, but as basic 'infrastructure' that turns confusion into timely action. It would have helped at the beginning when signing the lease agreement, having a side-by-side summary in plain English and Vietnamese, key dates, rights, and next steps in a commercial agreement.
After this, layer an agentic AI component that schedules reminders of deadlines and renewals. And if it gets to that point, submit complaints to the Small Business Commissioner and other community stakeholders.
I speak about this with frustration because I am drawing on my own experiences. My first job was in residential real estate, where I heard the scripts and tactics used against tenants like my aunt. Today, I work in tech and see AI's role as a tool and advisor. My work engaging in public policy between Australia and Vietnam shows me where language, law, and power intersect in the lives of families just trying to make it.
I keep thinking about my aunt behind the counter, seven days a week, rain or shine, knowing customers by name. When the notice came, there was no memo to the community, just a letter to her. When in reality, she's a bridge between languages, generations, and hopes. A role model for me.
Give families in our communities the tools and the clear rules to stand on equal footing. Let's demand plain language translations, enforce good faith, and build the resources. Starting in Cabramatta and all of our communities.