AUSIT Webinar | 20251020 Work Health & Safety for Interpreters

Understanding Psychosocial Risks and Workplace Protections

This professional development session will explore the intersection of Work Health & Safety (WHS) and interpreters’ workplace rights, with a special focus on psychosocial harm. Recent reports from Western Australia have highlighted the toll interpreters face when working with highly vulnerable clients — from sexual assault victims to voluntary assisted dying patients — without adequate protections, briefings, or debriefings. Many interpreters have spoken out about the psychological strain, the risk of burnout, and even a “mass exodus” from the industry.

Drawing on her leadership of Professionals Australia’s WHS campaign in WA, Tamarah Rowlands will unpack how workplace protections can and should apply to interpreters, and why these issues are urgent for the profession today.

Our Presenter – Tamarah Rowlands
Tamarah Rowlands is the WA Director at Professionals Australia, where she represents the interests of highly skilled professionals across STEM, including interpreters. With a background in union leadership and industrial relations, she specialises in building collective power in workplaces, negotiating better conditions, and advancing respect, recognition, and rights for members. Passionate and committed to achieving real outcomes through member-led organising and advocacy, Tamarah works to ensure professionals have a strong voice from the bargaining table to boardrooms and national policy debates.