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.

Some TIS National interpreters hold none of the credentials outlined above and are referred to as ‘nil-credentialed’. This generally occurs in emerging and very low demand languages where NAATI offers neither certification nor recognised practising status. These interpreters undergo TIS National interview and reference checking procedures 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.

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