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The NAATI Certification System
NAATI is the national standards and certifying authority for interpreters and translators in Australia.
NAATI sets and maintains high national standards for the translating and interpreting sector, and it is the only organisation to issue credentials or certification to people who wish to work in this profession.
NAATI is a public, not-for-profit company that is jointly owned by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments.
Mission
Our mission is:
- to set and maintain high national standards for the translating and interpreting sector
- to enable the existence of an adequate supply of appropriately certified translating and interpreting professionals, responsive to the changing needs and demography of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse society.
Achieving this mission will maximise people’s ability to engage and participate in Australian society.
Vision
A connected community without language barriers.
What is a translator or interpreter?
To translate or interpret means to accurately convey meaning of what is written, spoken or signed from one language into another. Translators and interpreters are highly skilled professionals, with a specific skill set learnt through formal training and experience.
Translators deal with the written word. They translate written content from one language to another.
Interpreters deal with spoken and signed language. In dialogic settings, they interpret what each participant says into the other’s language.
Certification of translators and interpreters
We uphold the standard expected of translators and interpreters through out Certification System. NAATI certifies people wishing to work as a translator or interpreter if they apply and meet certain prerequisite and testing requirements. NAATI certification is the industry standard for working as a translator or interpreter in Australia.
Our Certification System is unique. It is the only universal, national system in the world to certify practitioners in so many languages and credential types.
There are over 10,000 translators and interpreters holding more than 15,000 credentials in over 175 languages, including Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and signed languages.
NAATI offers various credentials to reflect the changing needs of our multicultural community: from Recognised Practising credentials for languages which have low demand for certification testing and languages of new and emerging communities where testing is not available, up to highly specialised credentials for more complex interpreting assignments requiring advanced interpreting skills or specialist knowledge.
NAATI offers specific support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Language interpreters through our Indigenous Interpreting Project funded by the Commonwealth Government.
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 with evidence of work practice and professional development.
Prerequisite requirements
Anyone wishing to gain a NAATI credential to work as a translator or interpreter must meet prerequisite requirements set by NAATI. There are several ways to meet these prerequisite requirements. The most streamlined way to demonstrate meeting all of the prerequisites is by completing a NAATI Endorsed Qualification. NAATI Endorsed Qualifications are tertiary translating and interpreting qualifications (diploma-level or higher) which have already been assessed by NAATI as teaching and assessing the skills and knowledge required by the translating and interpreting profession.
For full details on the prerequisites and how to meet them, or for more about Endorsed Qualifications, refer to our website.
The four key prerequisite requirements are:
Training requirements vary substantially from diploma up to specialised master’s degrees, depending on the level of certification. Refer to our website for information on the training required for each credential.
Demonstrating minimum English language proficiency required for the credential type.
Demonstrating knowledge and understanding of either the AUSIT or ASLITA Code of Ethics (whichever is relevant) to apply it to situations in professional practice, client interactions and other professional activities.
Note: NAATI offers the Ethical Competency test to applicants who have not met these prerequisites prior to applying to NAATI.
Demonstrating the knowledge and skill required by translators and interpreters to identify culturally specific information in the source language, appropriately reflect these in the target language and deal with clients in a culturally appropriate manner.
Note: NAATI offers the Intercultural Competency test to applicants who have not met these prerequisites prior to applying to NAATI.
Credential types
NAATI’s Certification System aims to reflect the changing needs of our multicultural community by offering credentials at different levels to people who wish to work as a translator or interpreter. The credentials are described below, including when someone holding this credential should be engaged for a specific job, and a brief summary of the tasks NAATI assesses under each. For full details on the different credentials, refer to our website.
NAATI determines whether to offer or cease certification testing in each language by assessing it against a set of agreed criteria. This includes the size or demand of the community that speaks that language, feasibility for developing certification testing (for example, availability of examiners to set and mark the tests) or availability of training. You can view which languages are available for each certification type here.
Recognised Practising credentials (translator or interpreter)
NAATI offers Recognised Practising credentials in languages which have low demand for certification testing and languages of new and emerging communities where testing is not available.
Recognised Practising Translator and Recognised Practising Interpreter credentials acknowledge that the holder has work experience as a translator or interpreter and a minimum level of training, as well as meeting the other prerequisite requirements. The training requirement is the same as the Certified Provisional Interpreter credential (the entry level of interpreter test offered by NAATI).
There is no test required to be granted one of these credentials, but applicants must provide evidence of work practice. In the absence of an available certified translator or interpreter for a language, Recognised Practising practitioners may be asked to complete the same work as someone who holds a certification.
Translator certifications
Certified Translator (CT)
This is currently the highest certification available for translators.
Certified Translators can work with complex but non-specialised content in most situations.
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Translation of non-specialised texts
- Revision of a non-specialised translation
Interpreter certifications
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Interpreting face-to-face (or video) and remote (telephone) dialogues between an English and other language speaker, facilitated by live role-players.
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Interpreting dialogues between two people
- Sight translation of documents from one language (written) to another (verbal)
- Interpreting monologues (consecutive and simultaneous interpreting)
While CSHIs may work in the same institutions as Certified Interpreters, they are competent to interpret complex, highly specialised, expert-to-expert communication in those institutions.
They also have a sophisticated understanding of their role as members of a healthcare team including, for example, supporting a medical handover, research consultations between international partners or in training sessions.
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Health knowledge test
- Interpreting monologues (consecutive and simultaneous interpreting)
- Interpreting a monolingual exchange (simultaneous interpreting of multiple English speakers in a complex setting)
While CSLIs may work in the same institutions as Certified Interpreters, they are competent to interpret complex, highly specialised, expert-to-expert communication in those institutions.
They also have a sophisticated understanding of their role in legal settings, for example as officers of the court.
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Legal knowledge test
- Dialogic extracts task (consecutive interpreting of a simulated cross-examination scenario)
- Interpreting monologues (consecutive interpreting)
- Interpreting a monolingual exchange (simultaneous interpreting of multiple English speakers in a complex setting)
They interpret in situations such as speeches and presentations at high-level international exchanges, like international conferences, summits, meetings and negotiations (such as UN summits, bilateral treaty negotiations) across a broad
range of domains.
Tasks assessed by NAATI
- Interpreting a monologue (consecutive interpreting) of an unseen speech
- Booth interpreting monologues (simultaneous interpreting) of seen and unseen speeches
Recertification requirements
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 recertify with NAATI. Recertification means providing evidence of meeting the minimum professional development criteria set out by NAATI.
Recertification is a universal requirement across all practitioners and credential types.
More information about recertification can be found here.