About Us

Who We Are

The Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) is the national association for the translating and interpreting profession. Our members adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and follow continuous professional development. This gives the public the opportunity to choose from a pool of experienced and qualified translators and interpreters.

AUSIT is committed to providing a forum for exchange, fostering the development of professional relationships with fellow translators & interpreters, agencies and language service users, government departments, tertiary institutions and other industry stakeholders, and promoting ethics and quality standards through the industry.

AUSIT holds events and training workshops throughout the year to provide members the best opportunities to grow as translators & interpreters. This includes two signature events – the annual AUSIT National Conference and the AUSIT Excellence Awards.

AUSIT’s objectives are set out in its constitution. They include:

AUSIT’s Constitution sets out the objectives and rules of the association. Changes to the Constitution can only be made through a Special Resolution, voted on either at an Annual General Meeting or by an electronic ballot of members. The current Constitution was adopted at the Annual General Meeting in November 2018. Previous versions of the Constitution are available upon request.

Download Constitution
The following By-Laws are currently in force within AUSIT:
Download By-Laws
Learn more about the important work done by Australian translators and interpreters

What We Do

AUSIT offers a wide range of services to its members, and to government, industry, and the public. These services include:

AUSIT provides the translation and interpreting community with a professional organisation to promote the profession, improve the profile of translators and interpreters in the community and raise standards through professional development and the adoption of the AUSIT Code of Ethics.

AUSIT Board of Professional Conduct

The Board of Professional Conduct (BoPC) provides rigorously considered, evidence-based written opinions on matters brought to it that involve disputes, grievances, breaches of the AUSIT Code of Ethics, or other instances of professional practice that in the opinion of the applicant require examination and comment.

Before making an application, applicants need to be aware of what the BoPC can and can’t do. Other than the general ability of the Institute to expel members, the BoPC has no power of enforcement. Its primary function is to provide opinions to both applicants and respondents that may enable the parties themselves to resolve a dispute, or to better understand the events that have led to the application being made. The BoPC is primarily concerned with providing members with support and guidance, and would only consider punitive action as the very last resort.

The BoPC will not deal with disputes for which there are established methods of resolution such as the courts. This would include matters involving allegations of defamation, or non-payment of invoices for example. The BoPC will only deal with matters that require expert knowledge of translation and interpreting to resolve.

If you would like to apply to the BoPC to have a matter dealt with, please fill out an application form, and send it in confidence to AUSIT’s National Secretary at secretary@ausit.org.

Application Form – Board of Professional Conduct

The Translation and Interpreting Industry

Australia continues to be a leader in the provision of language services, particularly in the field of “community interpreting”, a term coined here in the early 1970s. It was the first country in the world to have a government-instituted accreditation authority in the field: the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), established in 1977, and the first to publish a code of ethics for the profession in 1996 (the AUSIT Code of Ethics), which has since been adopted, and adapted, by many associations and organisations in Australia and internationally.

Our translators and interpreters are held in high regard worldwide, and AUSIT members often travel overseas for important work in all fields of translating and interpreting.

Here below is a non-exhaustive list of current associations and organisations that make up our language services industry, together with some links to their international counterparts.

If you would like to see your organisation listed, please contact admin@ausit.org

Australasian Association of Language Companies. Founded in 2013, it  is an association of Language Service Providers of the private sector in Australia and New Zealand. It adopted the Revised AUSIT Code of Ethics and issued its own Code of Conduct in 2016.

The Australian Association for Literary Translation. Formerly known as ALiTra and established in the mid-1990s, it changed name in 2010. It is a national organisation that promotes an interest in all aspects of literary translation, sponsoring public lectures and events, and holding periodic conferences with university bodies interested in the theory and practice of literary translation.

International Association of Conference Interpreters. Established in 1953, AIIC promotes high standards of quality and ethics in the profession and represents the interests of its practitioners.

International Association of Conference Interpreters. Established in 1953, AIIC promotes high standards of quality and ethics in the profession and represents the interests of its practitioners.

The Australian Sign Language Interpreters’ Association. Established in 1991, it is the national peak organisation representing Auslan/English interpreters and Deaf Interpreters in Australia. It unites all the related state associations developed prior to its creation. Sign language interpreters can also hold NAATI credentials. AUSIT works closely with ASLIA.

American Translators Association. Established in 1959, the ATA seeks to advance the translation and interpreting professions and foster the professional development of individual translators and interpreters.

Chinese Interpreters and Translators Association of Australia. CITAA is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers with an executive committee for Chinese students, practitioners and other interested people.

Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs / International Federation of Translators is an international grouping of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists. The goal of the Federation is to promote professionalism in the disciplines it represents. 

International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters. Established in September 2009, IAPTI promotes ethical practices in the profession, without censorship and without conflicts of interest. It is open to all professional translators and interpreters who wish to join it worldwide.

The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. NAATI administers credential examinations, endorses interpreting and translation qualifications and  awards credentials to interpreters and translators working in Australia. Credentials are obtained by passing an examination. NAATI also awards recognition to practitioners with language combinations not covered by the examination system. The credential process integrates the AUSIT Code of Ethics into its examination system. NAATI credentials are a requirement for most public service interpreting and translating assignments in Australia. NAATI is not a professional association.

New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters. Established in 1985, it is a nationally representative body of translators and interpreters in New Zealand. It adopted the AUSIT Code of Ethics in 2012.

Formerly known as APESMA (the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia), Professionals Australia is a union-style organisation representing professionals from a wide variety of disciplines. In 2014, it obtained ACCC authorisation to collectively negotiate the terms of engagement for translator and interpreter members who operate as independent contractors, and to advise them on fair rates of pay and other contractual terms.

The Western Australian Institute of Translators and Interpreters Inc. Founded in 1975, WAITI played an active role in establishing AUSIT and the Code of Ethics. It is an independent practitioner voice committed to training, qualification and quality language services.

Submission form

for court interpreters to report incidents or issues that occur in court interpreting assignments.

Purpose and function of this information submission form.

This form enables you to report issues or problems that you encounter in the course of court interpreting assignments. These issues and problems will be collected by AUSIT to report to the JCCD (the Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity) to monitor the implementation of the Recommended National Standards. The reporting of these issues and problems enables AUSIT to work with the JCCD to suggest steps to address these issues and to avoid the repetition of these problems in the future.

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