Interpreting and Translating

For information on employment trends, see the Government cluster page.

Training snapshot

There was a substantial rise in both program enrolments and program completions for Interpreting and Translating-related qualifications between 2016 and 2017. There have been significant falls since the 2017 peaks. Program enrolments dropped from approximately 21,440 in 2017 to around 4,630 in 2020. Program completions dropped from approximately 12,140 in 2017 to around 2,780 in 2020.

The majority of enrolments in 2020 were at the diploma or higher level (55%), followed by the certificate II level (23%). The largest proportion of enrolments were in the Auslan program (50%), followed by the Diploma of Interpreting (21%) and the Advanced Diploma of Translating (21%). The intended occupations were Community Worker (50%), Interpreter (28%) and Translator (22%).

In 2020, the majority of Interpreting and Translating-related qualifications were delivered by private training providers (53%), followed by TAFE institutes (32%). This varied with some qualifications, with the majority of Auslan training delivered by TAFE institutes (57%), followed by private training providers (26%) and community education providers (16%), and the Advanced Diploma of Interpreting delivered by private training providers (55%) and universities (45%). Subjects in Interpreting and Translating-related qualifications were funded through Commonwealth and state funding (37%), domestic fee for service (32%) and international fee for service (31%).

Within Australia, New South Wales had the highest proportion of students in Interpreting and Translating-related qualifications (23%), followed by Victoria (19%) and Queensland (18%). Overseas students accounted for 21% of enrolments.

Training was delivered in all states and territories with the highest proportion of enrolments reported by New South Wales (30%), followed by Victoria (26%) and Queensland (19%).

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Australia was one of the first countries to establish credentialing for Interpreters and Translators at various levels by establishing the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) in 1977. To support the ongoing professionalism of the industry, any Translator or Interpreter wishing to maintain a NAATI credential after its three-year validity period must apply to NAATI to recertify. Recertification enables NAATI-certified practitioners to demonstrate that they remain active in their work practice and professional development. This provides assurance to the community that any current NAATI credentials are held by practicing professionals.

Australia is a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016 Census data. More than 300 separately identified languages are spoken in Australian homes, with more than one-fifth (21%) of Australians speaking a language other than English at home. After English, the next most common languages spoken at home were Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese and Vietnamese.

The changing needs and demography of Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse society present an enormous challenge for the Interpreting and Translating sector. Skilled Interpreters and Translators are in high demand. The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) connects government, businesses and communities through the provision of credentialed, cost effective and secure language services. According to the Summer 2021 issue of their Talking TIS newsletter, during the 2020 calendar year to 30 November 2020, TIS National delivered 994,690 telephone interpreting services, of which 22,680 were emergency-related services.

TIS National offers services in more than 150 languages and recently added two new languages: Congo Swahili and Müün Chin. TIS National is committed to building interpreting capacity where there is a shortage of Interpreters, especially for the new and emerging communities settling in Australia, and is currently sponsoring 30 Interpreters to complete the Interpreting Skills for the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) certification course through RMIT. In response to settlement of Yazidi communities in regional Australia, the program prioritised language service providers who speak Kurmanji.

TIS National has created a new eLearning module for Interpreters “An Introduction to Interpreting in NDIS settings”. The module was developed in collaboration with disability experts, as well as drawing on feedback from clients and Interpreters about their experiences and challenges working in the sector. The module is designed to provide Interpreters with the tools to confidently interpret within NDIS settings. The eLearning platform is designed to be easy to use and ensures Interpreters in rural and regional areas have equal access to high quality training. The module is free to all TIS National Interpreters.

The article Stepping into the Future: Virtual Reality Training for Community Interpreters Working in the Area of Family Violence, describes an innovative approach to community Interpreter training, which is in high demand in Australia. The virtual reality (VR) project aims to provide evidence-based, pedagogically-sound, authentic, situated learning scenarios in a safe, virtual environment so that students are better prepared to deal with the complexities of the role of an Interpreter in family violence (FV) settings. Using the VR platform, trainees are given the opportunity to engage in simulated interpreting tasks working with victims of FV, social workers, police and other field-specific protagonists. The authors outline the methodology applied to the provision of Interpreter training in this specific VR context. This methodology will serve as a blueprint for other institutions – particularly those offering specialised Interpreter training – looking to minimise the threat to face-to-face contexts introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also eager to expand into more experiential teaching offerings that reach beyond traditional modes used for Interpreter training.

Governments are keen to work with Interpreters and Translators to improve communications with people with limited or no spoken English. For example, the South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet has released the South Australian Interpreting and Translating Policy for Migrant and Non-Verbal (Sign) Languages. This overarching policy aims to ensure that speakers of languages other than English are not disadvantaged when accessing or receiving South Australian Government services and information. It requires all South Australian Government agencies, including statutory bodies, to have their own interpreting and translating policies that consider when and how they will: engage Interpreters, bilingual staff and preferred models of interpreting; procure interpreting and translating services and preferred providers; and utilise family and friends for interpreting assistance. The policy states that all Interpreters and Translators engaged by the South Australian Government should be NAATI credentialed at the Certified Interpreter/Translator level. Where a Certified Interpreter/Translator is not available (sometimes in the case of rare or emerging languages), a practitioner credentialed at the Recognised Practising level may be sought from the approved service provider. Interpreters and Translators should not be asked to perform a role beyond the skill level for which they are credentialed.

The Government of Western Australia is committed to ensuring that all Western Australians are provided with access to services that are responsive and of high quality, including those who are not able to communicate effectively in written and/or spoken Standard Australian English, including some Aboriginal people, some people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. According to the WA Language Services Policy 2020, to achieve this State Government agencies must:

• Be client focused in the delivery of services, including responding to clients' language needs
• Inform clients who are not able to communicate in spoken and/or written Standard English of their right to communicate in their preferred language and dialect and to request an Interpreter
• Provide free of charge and targeted language services that adequately address the client's rights, and risks to their health and safety
• Maximise the cultural and linguistic knowledge and skills of appropriately trained agency staff to help improve the provision of front-line services
• Provide cultural competency training to staff, especially front-line service staff, including when and how to work with Interpreters and Translators
• Provide better planning, management and delivery of language services by incorporating interpreting, translating and multilingual information needs into budgeting, human resource and client service programs
• Incorporate appropriate arrangements for funded non-government service organisations to engage Interpreters and Translators for service delivery and making these organisations aware of how to access language services through the Western Australian Government Common Use Arrangement (CUA) for Interpreting and Translating Services
• Ensure that the Interpreters and Translators engaged are tertiary qualified and/or NAATI credentialed
• Use multilingual communication and marketing strategies.

Australia needs to make sure its qualified Interpreters speak new, emerging and in-demand languages so everyone can enjoy access to high-quality interpreting services. The availability of qualified Interpreters in New South Wales (NSW) remains an important objective in ensuring that people who do not have a strong understanding of the English language are able to access important government services and programs. In 2019, Multicultural NSW identified that there were shortages in the availability of Interpreters in several languages. A new program was established which offered scholarships to students to become Interpreters. The NSW Interpreter Scholarship Pilot Program was launched. Since then, over 180 people have completed the program.

People who speak in-demand languages were invited to qualify as practicing Interpreters through the NSW Interpreter Scholarship Program in October 2021. The program supports the training of Interpreters who can speak a priority language such as Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Lao, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Nepali, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. The NSW Government has invested $650,000 over four years to train up to 400 Interpreters under the program. Scholarship recipients will benefit from subsidised world-class online training from the University of NSW. Upon completion, participants will receive NAATI Certified Practicing Interpreter accreditation.

In October 2021, Deaf Services and The Deaf Society welcomed the announcement of the Auslan Scholarship Program which will provide free accredited training for Northern Territory residents to become Auslan (Australian Sign Language) Interpreters. The announcement is part of a package of programs designed to ensure greater access to Interpreters for Deaf Territorians in both the short and long term. The package also includes funding for an Auslan Interpreter to relocate to the Territory to immediately address the Interpreter shortage in the region. While there are approximately 600 qualified and practicing Auslan Interpreters across Australia, there are currently none based in the Territory. This Program will provide an education and employment pathway and the Deaf community will receive access to Interpreters with local knowledge and cultural understanding. Through the scholarship the Northern Territory will benefit from access to the contributions of Deaf Australians in coming years.

Interpreters and Translators have a vitally important role in the health care industry. Improving equitable delivery of health care for Aboriginal people in northern Australia is a priority. This study sought to gauge patient experiences of hospitalisation and to identify strategies to improve equity in health care for Aboriginal patients. Key findings included the benefits to patients from accessing Interpreters, the benefits of hospital-based support for Interpreters, and that Aboriginal patients' language and cultural needs can be better met by improved systems approaches which Aboriginal Interpreters are uniquely placed to advise on.

Interpreter-Mediated Doctor-Patient Interactions: Interprofessional Education in the Training of Future Interpreters and Doctors reports on interprofessional education (IPE), a teaching and learning strategy that is widely used in healthcare training. IPE is structured and usually situation-based training that involves two or more groups of professionals; this study involved Interpreters and Doctors. Desired learning outcomes for practitioners or trainees of both groups include learning how the other group works and how to optimise working with them, whilst also gaining perspectives of how others see their own group's work. Learning is achieved through participation in real or simulated activities. Students reported a high level of increase in their knowledge of the other professional group as well as of their own. This style of learning may lead to improved Interpreter-Doctor working relationships which in turn improve patient care and outcomes.

Deaf Australia argues in Accessible Services for Deaf People Who Use Auslan in Hospitals and Health Services that access to health services is a basic and fundamental right for every person in Australia and globally. It is critical that each citizen is informed about their health and wellbeing in order to make informed decisions and manage health care and wellbeing. Deaf people who use Auslan as their main language are no different from others, yet there have been systemic failures reported by consumers regarding the provision of adequate communication supports for Deaf people who use Auslan, in order to understand and make informed decisions about their health care. Some hospitals have developed a wide range of supports for Deaf people, however, these supports are often implemented without consultation with the Deaf community and issues regarding due processes in delivering effective interpreting services have been experienced. Significant improvements are needed for delivery of this support to achieve “like for like” outcomes that are experienced by the wider community.

Deaf people who use Auslan access medical services ranging from Emergency to day patient services, traditional and alternative practitioners, and general health services such as dental and allied health services. Deaf people report fraught experiences where access to interpreting is “like playing Russian roulette”. In addition, Deafblind people (that is, people who have no or low vision in addition to hearing loss and use Tactile or hand-over-hand Auslan) often do not have access to appropriate services. The inadequate assurance of accessibility to interpreting services within the health system has culminated in anxiety, depression, and family dysfunction.

The Health Advocacy Project and Deaf Regional Health Project: Desktop Review identified a range of barriers to Interpreter access including:

• Inadequate understanding by the Deaf patient of their rights
• Inadequate staff training in relation to culturally appropriate service delivery
• Interpreter supply, that is, difficulty in accessing:
  
  • Interpreters with the appropriate credentials and experience (e.g. mental health), particularly for on-side services in regional and rural locations
  • Interpreters of the appropriate gender (e.g. for obstetric/maternity visits)
  • Interpreters who work with people who are Deaf and blind.

Due to existing testing availability, Auslan Interpreters are not currently able to gain additional certification as a Certified Specialist Health Interpreter. Specialist Health Interpreters are experienced and accomplished Interpreters who have completed training and undertake continuous professional development in health interpreting. They are highly competent language users who understand specialised terminology, have extensive knowledge of the health domain, and a sophisticated understanding of their role as members of a healthcare team. As the national peak organisation representing the interests of Auslan and Deaf Interpreters in Australia, Australian Sign Language Interpreters' Association (ASLIA) provide a significant proportion of professional development activities. On average, one event per year is targeted at skills required in the health setting.

Interpreters also have an important role in the legal sector. In the article Ensuring Interpreting Quality in Legal and Courtroom Settings: Australian Language Service Providers' Perspectives on Their Role, the authors found that formal training opportunities in Australia remain limited:

• Existing courses do not cover all the languages in areas of need, even in established international and community languages, not to mention the so-called “new and emerging” (N&E) and Aboriginal languages
• Access to training can be difficult, especially in rural and regional Australia
• Of the seven Australian universities that train Interpreters, only one offers Interpreter training in the N&E languages
• Among the ten vocational institutes (TAFE), only one is dedicated to Aboriginal languages interpreting.

In the above article, the authors argue that there is a long-standing tension, in Australia and internationally, between the growing demand for professional interpreting in legal settings, including courts and tribunals, and a shortage of qualified Interpreters. The article explores the ways in which eight major Australian Language Services Providers (LSPs) address the challenges of providing interpreting of a quality required in legal settings, including courts. In-depth interviews with LSPs' management reveal an uneven pattern of initiatives undertaken to address Interpreter training and legal/court expertise. To mitigate risk, some LSPs, especially those employing Interpreters in the Aboriginal and N&E languages, have undertaken capacity building and assumed a trainer's role not historically expected of them. While the scope of these initiatives remains limited and the pattern uneven, most LSPs have identified the necessary steps for Interpreter upskilling, even if they remain aspirational.

In the article See You in Court: How do Australian Institutions Train Legal Interpreters?, the authors question: How well does Australia prepare Interpreters to fulfil the linguistic needs of its numerous communities, including ‘established’ migrant, indigenous, ‘new and emerging’ and Deaf, in a variety of legal settings? This study provides an overview of formal legal Interpreter training offered by two types of educational institutions: academic and vocational.

The survey of the existing courses, curricula, aims and outcomes, content and settings, teaching methods and assessment, identifies the characteristics of these two approaches, considers advantages and disadvantages of each system, and questions their effectiveness for preparing competent graduates for legal settings. Relying on the educators' opinions, the authors consider what roadblocks Australian educational institutions encounter in meeting the requirements of the legal system and satisfying the needs of communities where qualified legal Interpreters are particularly lacking.

The article Interprofessional Relations in Interpreted Lawyer-Client Interviews: An Australian Case Study, explores the interprofessional relations between 25 Lawyers and 85 Interpreters when they work together in private legal interviews. The findings show that the majority of the Lawyers and Interpreters were satisfied with their working relations and positive about further improvements and training. However, Lawyers did not view those Interpreters who acted in contravention of their code of ethics as equal professionals. Because of a misconception about interpreting credentials, Lawyers were unable to link Interpreters' varying professional competence to their different training levels. At the same time, Interpreters lacked confidence to regard themselves as professionals equal to Lawyers. Further, statistically significant correlations were found between Interpreters' combined training and accreditation levels and their attitudes towards their relations with the Lawyers. The findings of this study have practical implications for the improvement of interpreted legal services.

Professional Interpreters and Vicarious Trauma: An Australian Perspective highlights an important aspect of working life for Interpreters – coping with vicarious trauma (VT). Through focus groups with 47 Australian public service Interpreters, the authors investigated their responses to VT in their practice, the influence of culture, and their views on how to maintain mental well-being. Participant Interpreters were found to employ various strategies to deal with traumatic client content and other work stressors, but cultural inhibitors prevented some from sharing their emotional vulnerability or seeking professional help. They indicated that they want to be treated with respect and as part of the professional team, rather than a machine or a shadow. Professional development is needed to clarify the limits of confidentiality, explain trauma and its vicarious possibilities, and to establish Interpreters' professional entitlement to briefing and debriefing. Stakeholders including educators, professional associations, interpreting agencies, and other professions and institutional users of interpreting services should work respectfully and collaboratively to prevent and help Interpreters recover from VT.

Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and Skills Forecasts

Interpreting and Translating IRC

• Public Sector IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast
• IRC membership
• SkillsIQ – Skills Service Organisation

Relevant research

Aboriginal Patient and Interpreter Perspectives on the Delivery of Culturally Safe Hospital-Based Care – Health Promotion Journal of Australia, Volume 32, Issue S1, 2021 – Vincent Mithen, Vicki Kerrigan, Galathi Dhurrkay, Talena Morgan, Natasha Keilor, Craig Castillon, Marita Hefler and Anna P. Ralph

Accessible Services for Deaf People Who Use Auslan in Hospitals and Health Services – Deaf Australia

As Auslan Interpreters Take Centre Stage, More Australians Than Ever are Learning the Language – Ilias Bakalla, SBS News

Auslan Enrolments Surge in Wake of Coronavirus – Andrew Brown, The Canberra Times

Auslan Interpreters Save Lives in Bushfires, But Only if They Make the TV Screen – Harriet Tatham, ABC Radio Sydney

Auslan Interpreting at Press Conferences [media release] – Deaf Australia

Auslan Scholarship Program Will Train NT's Newest Interpreters – Deaf Services and The Deaf Society

Census Reveals a Fast Changing, Culturally Diverse Nation [media release] – Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

COVID-19 is History's Biggest Translation Challenge – Gretchen McCulloch, Wired

Ensuring Interpreting Quality in Legal and Courtroom Settings: Australian Language Service Providers' Perspectives on Their Role – The Journal of Specialised Translation, Issue 32, 2019 – Ludmila Stern and Xin Liu

Extension of the Free Interpreting Service for COVID-19 Vaccinations [media release] – TIS National

Health Advocacy Project and Deaf Regional Health Project: Desktop Review – Aspex Consulting for Deaf Victoria and Expression Australia

Interpreter-Mediated Doctor-Patient Interactions: Interprofessional Education in the Training of Future Interpreters and Doctors – Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, Volume 29, Issue 4, 2021 – Jim Hlavac and Claire Harrison

Interpreters and Translators 2020 – Financial, Administrative and Professional Services Training Council

Interprofessional Relations in Interpreted Lawyer-Client Interviews: An Australian Case Study – Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, Volume 29, Issue 4, 2021 – Han Xu

Professional Interpreters and Vicarious Trauma: An Australian Perspective – Qualitative Health Research, Volume 31, Issue 1, 2021 – Miranda Lai and Susie Costello

Remote Interpreting Services are Essential for People with Limited English – During COVID-19 and Beyond – Judy Mullan, The Conversation

Response to COVID-19 – Translators and Interpreters Australia (TIA)

Scholarships Open for Language Speakers to Become Interpreters – NSW Government

See You in Court: How do Australian Institutions Train Legal Interpreters? – The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, Volume 13, Issue 4, 2019 – Ludmila Stern and Xin Liu

South Australian Interpreting and Translating Policy for Migrant and Non-Verbal (Sign) Languages – South Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Stepping Into the Future: Virtual Reality Training for Community Interpreters Working in the Area of Family Violence – The Journal of Specialised Translation, Issue 36b, 2021 – Leah Gerber, Jim Hlavac, Irwyn Shepherd, Paul McIntosh, Alex Avella Archila and Hyein Cho

Talking TIS: Summer 2021 – TIS National

Talking TIS: Winter 2020 – TIS National

The Coronavirus Pandemic and Bushfire Emergency Have Thrust Auslan Interpreters Into the Spotlight – Holly Tregenza, ABC News

Translated Information About COVID-19 – Victorian Government

Translating and Interpreting in Australia and New Zealand: Distance and Diversity – edited by Judy Wakabayashi and Minako O'Hagan

Understanding Community Interpreting Services: Diversity and Access in Australia and Beyond – Oktay Eser

WA Language Services Policy 2020 – Government of Western Australia. Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. Office of Multicultural Interests

Industry associations and advisory bodies

Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT)

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:

• PSP Public Sector Training Package.
• Auslan
  
  • PSP20218 - Certificate II in Auslan
  • PSP30218 - Certificate III in Auslan
  • PSP40818 - Certificate IV in Auslan
  • PSP51018 - Diploma of Auslan.
• Diploma of Interpreting
  
  • PSP50916 - Diploma of Interpreting (LOTE-English)
  • PSP52410 - Diploma of Interpreting
  • PSP52412 - Diploma of Interpreting.
• Advanced Diploma of Interpreting
  
  • PSP60916 - Advanced Diploma of Interpreting (LOTE-English)
  • PSP61110 - Advanced Diploma of Interpreting
  • PSP61112 - Advanced Diploma of Interpreting.
• Diploma of Translating
  
  • PSP50816 - Diploma of Translating.
• Advanced Diploma of Translating
  
  • PSP60816 - Advanced Diploma of Translating
  • PSP61010 - Advanced Diploma of Translating
  • PSP61012 - Advanced Diploma of Translating.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

• 2016 to 2020 program enrolments
• 2016 to 2020 program completions.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.