What is NAATI?

NAATI stands for National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters and it is the accreditation body for interpreters and translators in Australia.It is a non-profit company owned jointly by Commonwealth, State and Territory governments of Australia and is governed by a Board of Directors, who are appointed by the owners. The body is responsible for setting, maintaining and promoting high professional standards for the translating and Interpreting industry with over 15,000+ practitioners, holding over 20,000 credentials in more than 170 languages and it is the only organisation to issue this certification.

This certification by NAATI, is an acknowledgement that a person has the abilities required by the translation and interpreting industry and meets their professional standards. It assesses practitioners, translators and interpreters against set standards so that English speaking and non-English speaking Australians can have smooth and effective interaction.

Services offered by NAATI

Testing for certification

CCL (Credentialed Community Language) Test

Community Language Aide

Assessment of skills for Migratory purposes

Why NAATI?

Each and every official translation and interpreting service in Australia requires translators and interpreters to be NAATI accredited. Moreover, any personal documentation that has been offered by a foreign country needs to be translated into English for submission to an Australian Government. These documents may include :

  • Payslips/ Salary slips
  • Academic Transcripts
  • Bank Statements
  • Birth Certificates
  • Marriage Certificates
  • Death Certificates
  • Driving Licences
  • Divorce Certificates
  • Police Checks
  • Educational Qualifications

These translations will only be performed by a NAATI accredited or recognised translator in order to be accepted. Thus, highlighting the importance of certification.

Different Accreditations or Certifications

Following are various Certifications/Accreditations depending on experience of the translators and demand for their language of expertise :

  • Advanced Translator - Senior and formerly known as NAATI Level 5
  • Advanced Translator - formerly known as NAATI Level 4
  • Professional Translator - formerly known as NAATI Level 3
  • Paraprofessional Translator - formerly known as NAATI Level 2
  • Recognition - This credential is awarded where accreditation is not available in that language.
  • NIL credentialed - This credential is awarded to some interpreters who hold none of the credentials outlined above. This is generally for languages with low demand, and in this case NAATI offers neither certification nor recognised practising status.

About NAATI-CCL test

CCL Test stands for Credentialed Community Language Test and is an assessment of language abilities of an individual at the community level. This is not a professional certification and is taken by applicants looking to lodge a point based visa application. Upon successfully passing the test, the applicant is awarded with five bonus points that are also referred to as CCL points.

Format of the Test and other requirements: (Latest updates in wake of the COVID-19 situation)

  • Mode of examination : Online (Via Microsoft Teams)
  • Format : Two dialogue recordings will be played. Both the dialogues represent conversations between a native English Speaker and a native Language Other Than English (LOTE) speaker. Each dialogue contains roughly 300 words, divided equally in English and Language other than english. These dialogues are divided into segments.
  • Technical requirements : Internet connection, Suitable device specifications, Headset, suitable volume levels etc.
  • Topics covered : Business, Consumer Affairs, Employment, Health, Immigration/Settlement, Legal, Community, Education, Financial, Housing, Insurance, Social Services.
  • Assessment of the test : Two examiners will be assessing the candidate. Both of these examiners assess the candidate individually. Incase of a disagreement, an additional examiner is considered to determine the candidate's final result. The assessment is generally based on two significant factors that include :
    • Language Quality
    • Language register

    Marks are deducted upon making errors. These errors are marked by the examiners and thus an overall evaluation is achieved. Certain common types of errors that hinder the candidate from achieving a good score are :

    • Level of accuracy
    • Distortions
    • Omissions
    • Insertions
  • Marking of the test : Maximum marks that can be scored by a candidate are 90. Both the dialogues are of 45 marks each. To pass the test, the candidate must score a minimum of 29 marks in both the dialogues individually and a total of 63 out of 90.