Language Services Policy

At the time of the 2021 Census 1,004,932 of Queensland residents said they used a language* other than English at home. This represents 19.4 per cent of the state's population. Of those, 90,851 said they do not speak English or do not speak it well (1.8 per cent of the state's total population). *Languages include migrant community languages, First Nations languages and Auslan (Australian Sign Language).

The Queensland Language Services Policy outlines the importance of engaging interpreters and using translated information to improve access to the full range of government and government-funded services for people with difficulty communicating in English.

The Queensland Language Services Guidelines provides Queensland Government agencies with information and examples of how to implement the Queensland Language Services Policy within their department.

The Queensland Language Service Policy Data Dictionaries defines what data is required to evaluate performance, and ensures consistency across Queensland Government agencies in the way data is captured.

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI)

NAATI is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, jointly owned by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 .

NAATI's role is to set and maintain high national standards in translating and interpreting to ensure there is a supply of appropriately credentialed translating and interpreting professionals responsive to the changing needs and demography of Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse society.

On 1 January 2018, NAATI introduced a new certification system to improve NAATI's standards. According to the system, interpreting and translating professionals need to recertify every three years upon demonstrating their currency of practice and participation in professional development. The government owners of NAATI have endorsed NAATI's certification system.

Statement of Endorsement of NAATI's certification system

• Statement of Endorsement of NAATI's certification system (PDF, 362 KB)

Preferred Supplier Panel (PSP)

Queensland Health leads the whole-of-government Preferred Supplier Panel for the Provision of Interpreting and Translation Services 126161 (the PSP).

The PSP is the Queensland Government’s common-use procurement arrangement for all government agencies to engage language services. Interpreting and translation services can be engaged from approved suppliers with set terms and prices through the PSP.

In accordance with the Queensland Procurement Policy, common-use supply arrangements must be used unless an exemption applies and is approved by the relevant agency delegate.

The PSP Deed and supporting documents (including a pricing schedule) is available to Queensland Government employees on the Queensland Government Arrangements Directory (QGAD).

Please note that you need to be on a Queensland Government device or network to access this link.

If you have any queries about the PSP, please email SPLanguageServices@health.qld.gov.au.