Cancellation by Users

A reference to ‘You’, ‘Your’ or ‘User’ within this Cancellation Policy has the meaning provided in the general terms and conditions of use available at General Terms and Conditions of Use.

This Cancellation Policy applies to all TIS National clients – whether fee paying or non-fee paying (non-fee-paying clients include those under a funded account arrangement and Free Interpreting Service [FIS] clients).

The policy and procedures set out below apply when You cancel a booking.

All clients must agree to the terms and conditions of use and this Cancellation Policy when registering for a TIS National account. This allows TIS National to ensure the assigned language practitioner does not suffer unreasonable financial loss if bookings are cancelled at short notice.

FIS clients should be aware that, while cancellation charges are covered by the Department of Home Affairs (as the funding body), cancellations require sufficient notice to minimise cost implications for the Australian Government.

Immediate phone interpreting jobs commence as soon as the interpreter is engaged and therefore cancellation is not possible after this point, and standard service charges will apply.

Fee-paying translations

Clients can only cancel a translation job (completed remotely at the translator’s own premises) if it has not been allocated to a translator. Once allocated, the agreed charges will apply.

To check if your translation job has been allocated, send an email enquiry to tis.translating@homeaffairs.gov.au.

Standard on-site jobs include both on-site translation and interpreting jobs for the purpose of the Cancellation Policy.

Sufficient notice

When calculating whether You have provided sufficient notice of cancellation, the determining factor is the time that TIS National receives notification. Where notice of cancellation meets the required minimum notice period, no cancellation charges will apply.

When You cancel a booking, the required notice period for the provision of ‘sufficient notice’ varies is set out below:

Longer notice periods apply for extended travel on-site bookings and deployments. This is in recognition of the longer period interpreters must block out when accepting these jobs and the higher administrative costs for TIS National. The cancellation policy details specific to deployments or extended travel on-site will be provided at the time of booking.

How to cancel a booking

• Pre-booked phone, video remote or standard on-site jobs booked on TIS Online: Through your TIS Online account.
• Translating jobs: Send a request by email to tis.translating@homeaffairs.gov.au and include the relevant quote or job details.

In exceptional circumstances such as when You do not have access to email or TIS Online and a booking is scheduled to start within 24 hours, phone TIS National on 1300 655 082 to cancel. However, subsequent notification in writing is required. 

Cancellation charges

Where You provide insufficient notice of cancellation, applicable cancellation charges vary depending on the type of job, as set out below:

Ancillary tasks

You may require a language practitioner to complete an ancillary task, which is an additional tasks before or after a job. If the assigned language practitioner completes an ancillary tasks before You cancel the booking, they will be paid, and You will be charged. This is the case even if You have provided sufficient notice of cancellation.

Amending bookings

Requests for changes to standard on-site, video remote or pre-booked phone bookings made less than 24 hours before the booking start time can only be considered if they qualify as minor changes. Minor changes are those which do not affect language practitioner allocation, such as:

• minor location changes
• extensions of the scheduled booking time which the assigned language practitioner is willing to accommodate
• language changes where the same practitioner also holds the highest available NAATI credential in the new language.

To request minor changes to a booking less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time, You should contact TIS National as early as possible:

• For pre-booked phone, video remote and on-site interpreting jobs email tis@homeaffairs.gov.au
• For on-site translating jobs email tis.translating@homeaffairs.gov.au.

Acceptance of minor changes is at the assigned language practitioner’s discretion and, if they are unable or unwilling to accommodate the change, normal charges will apply.

Significant changes without sufficient notice

Unless You provide sufficient notice, TIS National cannot accommodate significant changes to bookings that have a language practitioner allocated. Changes to the following criteria are considered as significant:

• Requested language
• Job location
• Date or time of job
• Requested language practitioner gender or NAATI credential level
• Additional requirements such as a Working with Children Check, NDIS Worker Screening Check or security clearance.
• The mode of interpreting (for example, change from on-site to video remote).

TIS National may also determine that other requests constitute a significant change where they have an impact on the original language practitioner allocation.

If You request a significant change without sufficient notice, TIS National will treat this as a cancellation. If you choose not to proceed with the job, cancellation charges will apply in these circumstances.

Cancellation fees payable to language practitioners

If a User (client) or TIS National cancels a booking without ‘sufficient notice’ as defined above, the assigned practitioner is entitled to a cancellation fee.

The applicable cancellation fee varies depending on the type of job, as set out below:

When calculating whether a User (client) has provided sufficient notice of cancellation, the determining factor is the time that TIS National receives notification, not the language practitioner.

Rarely, there may be short delays when passing notifications onto practitioners. In most cases such delays are no more than 5 minutes.

If TIS National has made all reasonable efforts to notify the interpreter of a cancellation with sufficient notice but the interpreter cannot be contacted, the interpreter will be deemed to have been notified with sufficient notice, and a cancellation fee will not be payable.

Language practitioner should refer to the Cancellation Policy Procedural Instruction in the TIS Online portal for further details on how the Cancellation Policy applies to them.