Industry sustainability
Multiple government reviews have highlighted concerns about interpreter access, quality, and working conditions. The language services sector remains unregulated, with no industrial award, and many interpreters and translators report an intention to leave the profession. Supporting fair procurement practices and recognising interpreters as essential partners in service delivery is critical to sustaining the industry.
Embedding better conditions
The Queensland Government will embed improved conditions for interpreters and translators through the PSP and its future management. This includes:
- extending minimum engagement periods for on-site interpreting
- supporting psychosocial wellbeing, especially in complex or sensitive engagements
- expanding professional development opportunities, including agency-led training
- setting and monitoring minimum quality standards for fair treatment
- creating accessible feedback channels for interpreters and translators.
Longer minimum engagement periods
To reflect the time commitment required for on-site bookings, minimum engagement periods will increase from 60 to 90 minutes. The government will monitor how language service providers apply this change to staff and contractors.
Psychosocial wellbeing
Interpreters often face vicarious trauma when working in sensitive contexts.
Agencies are strongly encouraged to:
- provide advance flagging of complex or potentially traumatic engagements
- offer pre-briefings and post-engagement check-ins for sensitive assignments.
Language service providers are required to:
- match higher credentialed interpreters to complex bookings
- provide access to employee assistance programs
- submit reports on their compliance with these measures.
Professional development
Ongoing training supports interpreter wellbeing, skill development, and industry sustainability. The PSP will require:
- LSPs to offer professional development opportunities
- agencies to increase practical, topic-specific training
- performance reporting to track participation and compliance.
Parking support
Parking costs can be a significant burden for interpreters attending multiple appointments. While it's not always possible for agencies to over this cost, the PSP will:
- introduce booking flags to indicate parking availability – this will also help us understand how often parking is not available
- require LSPs to have systems that support interpreters with reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.
Interpreter feedback
To ensure interpreters and translators can raise concerns and contribute to service improvement, the PSP will introduce:
- an for interpreters to escalate concerns at any time to be available on the Queensland Health website
- a biennial survey to gather targeted feedback on working conditions, satisfaction and wellbeing.