Language credentials available
TIS National adheres to the TIS National Allocation Policy when allocating an interpreter to your booking. You may wish to specify your preferred credential level when making your pre-booked phone or on-site interpreter bookings.
Credentials from the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) are the only qualifications officially accepted for the interpreting profession in Australia.
There are three main levels of interpreter credentials available through NAATI:
-
Certified Interpreter (or higher)
-
Certified Provisional Interpreter
-
Recognised Practising Interpreter
Some TIS National interpreters hold none of the credentials outlined above and are referred to as 'Nil-credentialed'. This generally occurs in very low demand languages where NAATI offers neither certification nor recognised practising status. These interpreters undergo TIS National interview and reference checking processes to ensure their work is of a high standard. For languages where certification is not available, TIS National may be able to allocate a Recognised Practising or nil-credentialed interpreter.
TIS National allocates interpreters in order of the allocation preferences in the table below:
Allocation preference |
NAATI Certification Model |
Suitability |
1 |
Certified Conference Interpreter |
Suitable for international or high level events and meetings involving conference type settings, which require consecutive or simultaneous interpreting. The interpreter is often required to use conference interpreting booths and equipment. |
2 |
Certified Interpreter |
Suitable for specialisations such as health, legal and formal proceedings. Also suitable for general conversations and interpreting non-specialist dialogues. |
3 |
Certified Provisional Interpreter |
Suitable for general conversations and interpreting non-specialist dialogues. |
4 |
Recognised Practising Interpreter |
Granted in emerging languages or languages with low community demand for which NAATI does not offer certification. Interpreters with this credential have recent and regular experience as an interpreter and are required to complete regular professional development. Suitable for general conversations and interpreting non-specialist dialogues. In a small number of cases, the Recognised Practicing Interpreter credential may also be provided as an interim arrangement in established languages where interpreters have been trained but testing is not currently available. |
5 |
Previous NAATI credentials |
A very small number of interpreters have chosen not to transition to the new certification scheme introduced by NAATI in January 2018. There are no quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that these service providers have maintained their professional skills. Given this, TIS National treats these service providers as equivalent to being nil-credentialed for allocation purposes. |
Nil credentialed
|
The list below outlines the languages where certification is available through NAATI. This list is updated regularly in line with information on the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) website.
When making your booking, please note that certification is not available in all languages provided by TIS National. For a full list of the languages offered by TIS National see the Languages available through TIS National.
Language | Certified Provisional | Certified |
Albanian | Yes | No |
Amharic | Yes | No |
Arabic | Yes | Yes |
Assyrian | Yes | No |
Bengali (alt Bangla) | Yes | Yes |
Bosnian | Yes | Yes |
Cantonese | Yes | Yes |
Croatian | Yes | Yes |
Czech | Yes | No |
Dari | Yes | Yes |
Dinka | Yes | No |
Farsi (alt Persian) | Yes | Yes |
Filipino (alt Tagalog) | Yes | No |
Finnish | No | Yes |
French | Yes | Yes |
German | Yes | Yes |
Greek | Yes | Yes |
Hakka Chin | Yes | No |
Hakka Chinese | Yes | No |
Hazaragi | Yes | No |
Hindi | Yes | Yes |
Hungarian | No | Yes |
Indonesian | Yes | Yes |
Italian | Yes | Yes |
Japanese | Yes | Yes |
Khmer | Yes | Yes |
Korean | Yes | Yes |
Lao | Yes | Yes |
Macedonian | Yes | Yes |
Malay (alt Melayu) | Yes | No |
Mandarin | Yes | Yes |
Myanmar language (alt Burmese) | Yes | No |
Nepali | Yes | No |
Nuer | Yes | No |
Oromo | Yes | No |
Pashto | Yes | No |
Polish | Yes | Yes |
Portuguese | Yes | Yes |
Punjabi | Yes | Yes |
Rohingya | Yes | No |
Russian | Yes | Yes |
Samoan | Yes | No |
Serbian | Yes | Yes |
S'gaw Karen | Yes | No |
Sinhalese | Yes | Yes |
Slovak | No | Yes |
Somali | Yes | Yes |
Sorani Kurdish (alt Kurdistani) | Yes | No |
Spanish | Yes | Yes |
Swahili (alt Ki-Swahili) | Yes | No |
Tamil | Yes | Yes |
Tedim Chin (alt Zomi [Myanmar]) | Yes | No |
Thai | Yes | Yes |
Tigrinya | Yes | No |
Turkish | Yes | Yes |
Urdu | Yes | Yes |
Vietnamese | Yes | Yes |
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