at Australian Institute of Translation and Interpretation are both recognized by NAATI.
NAATI Approved Courses
NAATI, the acronym from National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters,is Australia’s only translation accreditation authority, and the only organisation authorised by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to conduct occupational assessments of translation professionals.
NAATI translation/interpretation accreditation used to consist of five levels - in order of seniority from 1 to 5. The current system has four levels only, ranging from level 1 to 4
(lower to higher levels), which is equivalent to Levels 2 to 5 used previously. Level 3 accreditation, as it is often referred to, is a cover term currently used for all professional translators/interpreters accreditations. It is an essential requirement for those undertaking translation jobs in Australia, and is also the minimum requirement by DIAC for applicants who wish to migrate to Australia as professional translators/interpreters or for those who wish to claim the 5 bonus points for mastering a community language. Level 3 accreditation is awarded in three categories/directions, i.e. English → Chinese translator, Chinese→English translator, and English & Chinese two-directional interpreter. In terms of Australia’s migration requirements, applicants shall satisfy the occupation assessment requirements once they get accreditation in any one of the three accreditation categories, thereby obtaining 60 points for occupation (highest) and the 5 bonus points for community language proficiency.
In general there are two ways to obtain NAATI accreditation. One is to sit examinations held by NAATI; the other is to do a NAATI approved course and successfully pass relevant examinations in the course of study. The statistics over years show that the accreditation rate through sitting NAATI examinations has been fairly low – less than 10%. This is mainly because the candidates are unfamiliar with the examination formats and criteria, nor have they undergone systematic training and practice. The best solution to this problem is to enroll in a NAATI approved course which offers systematic, professional training, thereby meeting the requirements of NAATI accreditation.
The Advanced Diploma of Translating and Advanced Diploma of Interpreting offered at Australian Institute of Translation and Interpretation are both recognized by NAATI. This means students having successfully passed the course examinations shall be automatically eligible to apply for NAATI professional accreditation (Level 3), without sitting the examinations held by NAATI.
