Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What do Shona, Pulaar, Sinhalese, Dinka and Zo all have in common? These are languages from southern Africa, West Africa, Sri Lanka, South Sudan and Burma. All are offered by the TIS, the Translating and Interpreting Service. They are part of the 155 different languages and dialects supported. The list also includes Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish and Urdu—all of which, among many, many others, are commonly spoken in homes, businesses and community groups in my electorate of Moreton in Brisbane's southside.

In 2021, there were 5.6 million people in Australia—that's 22 per cent—who reported using a language other than English in the home. Those 5.6 million people are our families. They're our friends. They're our neighbours. They're our work colleagues. They're our doctors. They're our support workers. They're our teachers. They're our bus drivers. And there are so many more across our nation!

Providing translating and interpreting services is part of the government's commitment to our multicultural nation, ensuring access and equity and promoting social cohesion. Official translating and interpreting services have operated for more than 75 years. They began when the Australian government provided translation services for postwar migrants in 1947 and were enhanced when interpreting services were added in the 1950s. In 1973, Australia led the world with the establishment of a telephone interpreting service, and the translating and interpreting services have continued to evolve ever since.

Times have changed since back then. In a few short weeks we will mark International Mother Language Day. It's a celebration of diversity. It's a celebration of multilingualism. For me, it's a time to reflect and contrast the difference between what it was like back then. My family immigrated to this country in the late 1800s. We emigrated from China, and my family is of Hakka ancestry. At that time, once the White Australia policy was put in place, people who looked like them, people who looked like me, people who looked like my mum and myPoh Poh and my Gung Gung weren't invited back to this country for some time. What happened in that period was that they lost their language, and, whether it was Hakka, Cantonese or any of the other languages spoken, they did not have the opportunity to maintain their multilingual presence within our family. So it is a good time to reflect on the importance of multilingualism and on the importance of translating in that context from where we have come.

TIS National provides over 1.3 million translating and interpreting services annually to a wide clientele, including local, state, territory and federal government agencies, the private sector and individuals. Telephone interpreting services are provided around the clock, ensuring support for emergency services access and for crucial matters such as hospitalisation and legal proceedings. TIS National also offers face-to-face and video remote interpreting, bringing the service back from the original pioneering telephone service in the seventies all the way through to now.

There are also free-of-charge interpreting and translating services provided for non-government entities such as doctors and other medical professionals, trade unions, real estate agents and for us parliamentarians. TIS National further supports people new to Australia with free-of-charge translation of their personal documentation, which helps them in their new community with work, education and community participation.

Another key focus for TIS is investing in workforce training to equip translators and interpreters to upskill in emerging community languages. There is also training for working in complex environments such as medical and legal settings. I'm incredibly proud to represent the most multicultural electorate in all of Queensland. In my electorate, these services are important. They're not just important on this day; they are important every day.

The purpose of this bill is to establish express legislative authority within the Department of Home Affairs for the services TIS National provides. This will create a statutory framework and ongoing support for TIS National. This measure was recommended by the Australian Government Solicitor and is a responsible and proactive measure. The Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 will shore up constitutional support for TIS National's functions and establish clear legislative authority. This will remove any ambiguity and also significantly reduce the legislative authority risk. In short, it is about confirming comprehensive support for the vital services TIS National provides to millions of Australians. It will not change how TIS National currently operates and does not involve additional expenses.

Specifically, the bill will enable the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs to provide or arrange the provision of translating and interpreting services to the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency, authority, body, organisation or office holder. This covers all the services I outlined, through the agencies and associated bodies and office holders of different government agencies across the country. It also covers the additional activities of TIS National, such as training and support for translators and interpreters. This is crucial to meet the needs of different phases of migration and humanitarian intakes.

The government's Multicultural Access and Equity Policy outlines the obligation that Australian government departments and agencies have to ensure accessibility, responsiveness and equitable outcomes regardless of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It is necessary because, as of the end of June 2024, there were 8.6 million Australians who were born overseas. This diversity enriches our society through a wide range of cultural backgrounds, traditions, foods and languages, and many tens of thousands of those 8.6 million Australians live on the south side in the seat of Moreton. Access means that barriers of culture and language should not impede the delivery of programs and services, and equity means that these programs should deliver outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse Australians on par with those for all Australians. Achieving this bolsters social cohesion and allows people to engage with government agencies and institutions in a way that offers safety and in a way that offers confidence.

If English is your first language, you don't worry about how you will explain your symptoms to your GP. If English is your first language, you can seek legal advice easily on a hotline. If English is your first language, you can navigate government systems like Services Australia more easily. TIS National enables those with limited proficiency in English to have those conversations and to seek that advice. They can have those interactions freely in their preferred language, confident that the interpreter is understanding and expressing nuance and complexity. When you're sick, this is important. In fact, it could be life saving. When it's about your finances, this is important because it might mean the difference in how your family lives into the future. When it's about the law, this is important because it has a big impact on people's families.

Research tells us that TIS National has had a positive impact in enabling people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to access mental health supports. TIS National supports NDIS participants to find providers. It supports them to have a plan. It supports them to undertake a review, to have meetings and to access required supports. In many of these cases, having an interpreter takes the pressure off a family member to interpret as well as fulfil their caring responsibilities.

This bill supports the aim of the Multicultural Access and Equity Policy, which is to ensure that all Australians have the opportunity to achieve their potential and to participate in the social, economic and cultural life of our nation, helping to drive our future prosperity and build stronger and more cohesive communities. The Albanese Labor government stands proudly with our migrant community. This is why the Minister for Multicultural Affairs was elevated to cabinet and it is why the Office for Multicultural Affairs was established in the first place. These measures, this bill and TIS National's vital role in all aspects of our community all contribute to Labor's commitment to our modern multicultural society.

I spoke this morning about where my office is in Sunnybank. I spoke about being able to throw a rock, draw a line around it and see many, many small businesses. I can tell you that those small businesses are run by so many different people from diverse backgrounds. When it comes to small business and to our multicultural community, what is clear about Moreton is that our multicultural community drives the economy. It's an important driver of our community. It's an important driver not only of making sure that we have social cohesion but also of making sure that people have jobs. Whether it is economic or social, or whether it is community, it is all about making sure that every single person, regardless of their skin colour or their faith, is included in our society. This is something that we must practise every day.

As Minister Aly pointed out just a few short months ago, when we talk about multiculturalism in this country, we need to make sure that we go beyond food. We need to make sure that we go beyond colour and dance and movement. These things are incredibly important. They enrich who we are as Australians and they absolutely are part of the bedrock of our Australian culture of mateship, of a fair go, of looking after each other and of having each other's backs. But it is also important to go beyond that. It is important to go beyond the food and the colour. It is important to go beyond that vibrancy, because in this country what we value is making sure that everyone gets a guernsey and that everyone gets a go—and that everyone gets a fair go at that.

When we talk about translating, making sure that services across the breadth and depth of our Commonwealth service system are available and accessible to everyone is important. Accessibility and availability of all services for all Australians is not just about equity; it's about who we are as a country. I'm so proud to represent a multicultural community that is backed by an Albanese Labor government that understands that, an Albanese Labor government that is not just talking about it but is putting its money—and its services and its legislation—where its mouth is, because we need to celebrate our multicultural community, but we also need to make sure that, as a country, we provide everyone, every Australian, with the support that they deserve.

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