Working with Interpreters for Legal Practitioners

2 hrs
English

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Course Overview

This course is designed to give legal practitioners a working understanding of the Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals.

Australia’s cultural and linguistic diversity requires that Australian courts and tribunals are responsive to the needs of court and tribunal users. For proceedings to be conducted fairly, those involved in legal proceedings must be able to understand what is being said and be understood. To achieve this, it is not sufficient that the court or tribunal user be physically present: they must be linguistically present. As such, interpreters play an essential role in the administration of justice in our linguistically diverse society.

This course will cover

  • Interpreters in legal settings

    Learn how the work of interpreters is essential to ensuring access to justice and procedural fairness

  • Best practice standards

    Discover the best practice standards for interpretation in courts and tribunals

  • Roles and responsibilities

    Identify the roles and responsibilities of interpreters working in courts and tribunals

  • Using the Model Rules

    Apply the Model Rules that guide courts, tribunals, legal practitioners and judicial officers in engaging and working with interpreters and translators

How to complete

  • Learn

    Learn

    Read through each module, which provides information on how to work with interpreters in courts and tribunals.

  • Test your knowledge

    Test your knowledge

    Test your knowledge on how to work with interpreters in courts and tribunals.

  • Achieve

    Achieve

    Apply the Recommended National Standards to your legal practice in context.

Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity

The Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity is an initiative of Chief Justice French and endorsed by the Council of Chief Justices of Australia (CCJ).

Its purpose is to develop a framework to support procedural fairness and equality of treatment for all court users – regardless of their race, colour, religion, or national or ethnic origin – and to promote public trust and confidence in Australian courts and the judiciary.

The Council is composed of members drawn predominately from the judiciary, with select representation from legal and community bodies. Members are selected to balance gender and court level. The Chair of the Council is Chief Justice Helen Bowskill, Chief Justice of Queensland.

Council members are nominated by members of the Council of Chief Justices and appointed for two-year terms. The Council reports to the CCJ and provides policy advice and recommendations to the CCJ for approval.

NAATI

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) is the national standards and certifying authority for translators and interpreters in Australia. It is the only organisation to issue certification to practitioners who wish to work in this profession in Australia. NAATI is a not for profit company that is jointly owned by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, and are governed by a Board of Directors, who are appointed by the owners.

NAATI’s 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.

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