Fact Sheet 91 – Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National

Overview

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship operates an interpreting service called the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National.

TIS National facilitates contact between non-English speakers and interpreters, enabling access to government and community services.

TIS National provides a 24 hour, seven days a week telephone interpreting service to all states and territories in Australia and has access to interpreters speaking more than 170 languages and dialects.

To access a telephone interpreter, clients call TIS National on 131 450 for the cost of a local call (call charges from mobile phones may vary). Special telephone conference call facilities allow a three-way conversation between the English-speaker, the non-English speaker and a TIS National interpreter.

A TIS National telephone interpreting service can be pre-booked if there are any special requirements. TIS National also provides on-site interpreters for face-to-face assignments.

TIS National has established priority telephone lines for emergency service organisations, some parts of the department, and medical practitioners in private practice.

TIS National contact centre routinely handles 3500–4500 calls per business day. During 2009–10, the highest demand languages were Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, Persian, Turkish, Spanish, Greek and Dari.

Access and Equity policy

The concept of access and equity is central to TIS National operations. First introduced in 1985, the Australian Government's Access and Equity policy aims to ensure government funded services meet the needs of Australians, regardless of their cultural and linguistic background, so they can participate fully in economic, social and cultural life in Australia. This includes services delivered by government agencies, community organisations and commercial enterprises.
See: Access and equity

Further information about TIS National is available on the department's website.
See: Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National

Service charges

TIS National provides interpreting on a fee-for-service basis to individuals, the Australian Government and state and territory government agencies, community organisations, and private sector businesses. The TIS National Schedule of Client Service Charges is available on the department's website.
See: TIS National charge structure

Fee-free interpreting service

Some individuals and organisations may be eligible to receive fee-free telephone interpreting and limited on-site interpreting services to facilitate their communication with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) permanent residents and citizens of Australia.

These include private medical practitioners (general practitioners and medical specialists) providing Medicare-rebateable services, pharmacies, Emergency Management Australia, trade unions, parliamentarians, local government authorities for some services and non-government, not-for-profit community based organisations for case work and emergency services where the organisation does not receive funding to provide these services.

More information on fee-free interpreting services and eligibility for these services is available.
See: Fact Sheet 96 – Eligibility for settlement services

Fee-free translating service

The department provides a fee-free translating service for eligible individuals settling permanently in Australia. This service is designed to assist new arrivals to participate in the community by having personal documents translated into English during their initial settlement period.

More information on fee-free translating services and eligibility for these services is available.
See: Fact Sheet 96 – Eligibility for settlement services

Automated Telephone Interpreting Service (ATIS)

ATIS allows English speaking clients to directly connect to interpreters in 18 high-demand languages. Users can access ATIS by entering their account and access numbers and selecting the required language. ATIS will automatically conference an interpreter in that language.

A 10 per cent discount on the TIS National scheduled charge is offered to ATIS users. Further information on ATIS can be obtained by contacting TIS National.
Telephone: 1300 655 820

Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Recorded information is available outside these hours.

Fact Sheet 91. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed December 2011.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009.