Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Following the horrific terrorist attack in Bondi, the Prime Minister observed that we take pride in the fact our country is enriched by both the world's oldest continuous culture and people of every background and tradition, who have enriched our nation with their hard work and their aspiration. That statement speaks to the enduring strength of Australia as a multicultural nation. But pride in our diversity must be matched by the systems that ensure inclusion in practice, not just in principle.

This legislation gives effect to that responsibility. It affirms that linguistic background does not diminish a person's belonging, their contribution or their place in Australian society. By providing clear statutory support for translating and interpreting services, the bill ensures multicultural communities can access government essential services and civic life on an equitable basis, reinforcing social cohesion and enabling continued contribution to our nation's prosperity and unity. The Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 goes to the heart of who we are as a nation. It's about fairness. It's about dignity. Australia is one of the most successful multicultural nations on the planet, and that success has never been accidental. It is the result of deliberate choices made generation after generation to ensure people are not locked out of opportunity simply because English is not their first language.

This bill provides a clear and enduring statutory framework for the essential services delivered by TIS National—services that have quietly but profoundly supported Australians for more than 75 years. While the legislation is technical in parts, its purpose is deeply human. It is about ensuring a grandmother can understand her doctor, a new arrival can speak to Centrelink without fear or confusion, a parent can engage with their child's school and someone calling triple zero in a moment of crisis can be understood and helped without delay. This bill sends a clear and unequivocal message: language support is not discretionary. It is fundamental to safety, participation, fairness and equality. As we heard from our previous speaker, Australia first began providing translating services in 1947 and interpreting services in the fifties in response to the arrival of postwar migrants rebuilding their lives in a new country. I'm proud to represent an electorate that is home to many Italian and Greek Australians, who made those journeys after the war and who went on to contribute so deeply to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our nation.

In 1973, under the Whitlam Labor government, Australia became the first country in the world to offer a national telephone interpreting service. That decision recognised something profoundly important: that, while English is the predominant language in Australia, it has never been the only language spoken in Australian homes. Since that time, translating and interpreting services have continued to grow and evolve, adapting to new technologies, new communities and new forms of service delivery while remaining a cornerstone of Australia's multicultural settlement framework. This bill strengthens that proud legacy, but it also firmly looks to the future. It ensures that the services provided by TIS National are not merely preserved but strengthened, supported by clear legislative authority, modern governance arrangements and a mandate that reflects the realities of modern Australia and the needs of an increasingly diverse community.

At its core, this legislation establishes a statutory framework for translating interpreting services provided by TIS National within the Department of Home Affairs. It sets out clearly and transparently the functions of TIS National, including the ability of the secretary to provide or arrange for the provision of translating and interpreting services to Commonwealth agencies and officeholders, to facilitate communication between individuals and government, including states and territories, under formal arrangements via telephone, via video, on site or via other communication technologies and to meet national needs that would otherwise go unmet.

The bill also recognises the broader role TIS National plays—not just delivering services but building capability across the sector by supporting, training and developing interpreters and translators, particularly in new and emerging community languages and specialist settings like health and law. In doing so, the legislation gives statutory backing to what communities already know to be true: these services are essential infrastructure in a modern, multicultural nation.

The community I represent in Melbourne's north-west is one that truly highlights Australia's migration story throughout the generations. In suburbs like Avondale Heights, Keilor East and Niddrie, many older postwar Italian and Greek Australians still speak English as a second language. These are the people who helped build our country, who worked in factories, on construction sites and in small businesses, and who raised families and strengthened our communities. Yet, even after decades in Australia, navigating complex systems like health care, aged care, housing and legal services can be daunting without language support. For them, TIS National is a lifeline. It is the difference between understanding a diagnosis and leaving confused and anxious, or between asserting their rights and quietly stepping back.

The same is true for newer Australians in Flemington, Kensington and Moonee Ponds—communities from Somalia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, China and beyond. These are families who are rebuilding their lives after conflict and hardship; young people balancing school, work and family responsibilities; and parents engaging with schools, early childhood centres and medical services for the first time. For these communities, access to interpreting services builds confidence. It builds trust and it builds connection, not just to government but to the broader Australian community.

Our prime minister and our government are steadfastly focused on social cohesion and unity strengthened through statements and values. But we know cohesion is not built on rhetoric alone; it is built through action, through trust and through everyday interactions between people and the institutions that serve them. For multicultural communities, language access is the foundation of that trust. When people can communicate clearly with government—with government agencies, health services, schools, courts and emergency responders—they feel included, they feel respected and they feel that the system is working for them, not against them. Without language support, people can feel isolated even while living in the middle of a vibrant community. They may avoid seeking help, misunderstand critical information or disengage altogether, not because they don't want to participate but because the barriers feel insurmountable. That disengagement does not just affect individuals. It affects families, it affects communities and, ultimately, it affects social cohesion itself.

Services like those provided by TIS National are therefore not just transactional; they are relational. They are about building a sense of belonging and about ensuring people feel safe to ask questions, seek help and engage with institutions in moments that matter most. This is particularly important in moments of vulnerability: when someone is receiving medical care, when they are dealing with the justice system, when they are navigating aged care, housing or family services, or when they are calling for help in an emergency. In these moments, clear communication is not a luxury; it is essential to dignity, fairness and safety.

Social cohesion depends on people believing that our institutions are accessible and fair, regardless of background, accent or language spoken at home. By embedding translating and interpreting services in legislation, this bill strengthens that belief. It sends a powerful message that participation in Australian society is conditional not on perfect English but on shared commitment to one another and the values of fairness and inclusion.

This legislation gives effect to our government's multicultural access and equity policy. It affirms that access to government programs and services should not depend on cultural and linguistic background. It reflects the Albanese Labor government's commitment to a united, cohesive and multicultural Australia—one where diversity is not merely tolerated but valued and supported—and it recognises that language support underpins participation across every domain of life, from health care and education to employment, housing and civic engagement. By placing TIS National on a clear statutory footing, we are providing certainty to service users, interpreters and translators and to the agencies that rely on these services every day.

Australia's multicultural story is forever evolving, as are the needs of the communities we serve. Every generation of migration—from postwar European migration and migration from South-East Asian communities to more recent arrivals from Africa, the Middle East and beyond—brings new languages, new settlement patterns and new cultural practices. Our interpreting and translating services have had to evolve alongside our nation, and this bill recognises that reality. By placing TIS National on a clear statutory footing, the legislation ensures that these services are not only protected but positioned to grow, adapt and modernise in step with Australia's changing demographic and technological landscape.

Being future ready means investing in workforce capability, supporting the training and development of interpreters and translators, particularly, as I said, in new and emerging community languages. It means ensuring that there is capacity when new communities arrive—not years later, but from the outset—so people can engage safely and confidently as they settle into Australian life. It also means embracing modern service delivery. Telephone interpreting remains a cornerstone, especially for emergency and urgent services that operate 24 hours a day. But video interpreting, onsite services and remote technologies are increasingly critical, particularly for regional access, complex appointments and situations where visual communication matters. This bill ensures that the legislative framework keeps pace with those realities, enabling services to be delivered flexibly, securely and efficiently wherever and however they are needed.

Future-ready services are not just about technology; they are also about resilience. They ensure that during times of crisis, whether they be public health emergencies, natural disasters or sudden surges in humanitarian arrivals, Australia has the language infrastructure needed to respond quickly, clearly and compassionately. They ensure that language services are not an afterthought but a core part of national preparedness. And they ensure that Australia continues to grow and diversify its systems so they grow with us, rather than leaving communities to catch up on their own.

This bill is concerned with the practical operation of fairness in our multicultural country. It recognises that meaningful participation in Australian society depends on the ability to communicate with government and essential services and that linguistic background must not be a barrier to safety, access or inclusion. This legislation acknowledges and repeats the enduring contribution of multicultural communities to Australia's social, cultural and economic life and affirms that those contributions are not diminished by the language spoken at home. In electorates such as Maribyrnong, this reality is evident across generations—as I said, from postwar migrants who helped build modern Australia to those newer migrants from Africa and Asia who continue that legacy today. For these communities, these services, supported by this bill, are essential.

It is about building public confidence in accessibility and fairness of government systems. It supports social cohesion by ensuring that individuals can engage with institutions in a safe, informed and equitable manner. This bill, as I said, also positions these services to remain responsive to future needs, recognising the evolving linguistic diversity of Australia and the importance of maintaining capacity, professionalism and reliability in service delivery. For these reasons, and because a cohesive and inclusive society depends on systems that work effectively for all Australians, I commend the bill to the House.

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