Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is one strong point of difference I have with the previous speaker, and that is that I don't believe in multiculturalism. I believe that there overwhelmingly is an Australian culture and that the Australian culture itself provides guardrails that temper what, in some instances, might be alternative views that work at angles to what is acceptable in Australia. I think that, if you believe all cultures have an equivalence, then, of course, you condone a whole range of things that I and many would find completely and utterly noxious.

Being part of the Australian community means that you have to comply with the mores and edicts of what we see as acceptable behaviour. So I come at this from a slightly different position. Part of complying with the Australian culture is the necessity to understand English. It is essential. There are no problems with being bilingual. There are no problems with your faith, your creed or your colour. They're absolutely and utterly part and parcel of the egalitarian nature of Australia. But, to maintain that egalitarian nature of Australia and to give people the greatest opportunities, it is essential that they are able to speak English.

So many people isolate themselves from all the protections that are warranted in the Australian system because of their inability to speak English. I won't refer to who they are, but there are people who have worked especially on trying to deal with sex slaves in Sydney, and one of the greatest problems they had was that they couldn't speak English and so they couldn't convey the issues that were before them.

So, although we must have a mechanism to assist people who struggle with English, the absolute emphasis must be on speaking English. You must get to a point where you can speak English. If I'm to go to France, I must get to a point where I can speak French. If I'm to go to Thailand, I must get to a point where I can speak Thai. And if you come to Australia, you must get to a point where you can speak English.

Sometimes people have romantic views about people in remote Indigenous communities where it's essential that they keep their language, but they think there's something good if they can't speak English. That is terrible, because you've completely ostracised them from the opportunities of Australia. Without the capacity to speak English, there are such limitations.

Also, in Australia, we have to ask the question on this: regardless of the attributes of a person, they must have the capacity to come to Australia and to become part of it—to be an effective, taxpaying member of this nation. We have two things that we must rely on, as we get ourselves into more debt and as we have more problems in regard to supply constraints on things such as housing: a person who becomes part of the Australian community cannot be in the crime pages and cannot be on social security. We must focus on that. Otherwise, rather than an asset, they become a burden. To become an effective part of the Australian community, it's essential that they have the capacity to communicate with the Australian community. Therefore, English becomes a part of that.

Madam Deputy Speaker Haines, I also want to bring to your attention something that has been brought to mine, and those are the requirements under the Public Service Regulations. I want to go to the Public Service Act 1999 in the Federal Register of Legislation. There is nothing in this that says that you have to speak English. You have to be polite, but you don't have to speak English. This means that, in certain areas where people, taxpayers, have to rely on or be serviced by people who represent the government, there is actually no requirement in the act for them to speak English. Now, I thought that that was bunkum when it was brought to my attention, but I've now found out that it's not. I think that this issue that was brought to my attention is a valid issue that needs to be resolved. It has also been brought to my attention that the wording of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in the Federal Registration of Legislation leaves out the requirement to speak English. So imagine if you're in a position where you are in need of a service and the person who you are dealing with—even though they are paid by the taxpayer—cannot communicate with you. There's something wrong about that.

So what do we have to do if we want to eliminate this? It goes both ways, in the provision of service. We need, in Australia, doctors. We need, in Australia, builders. We need, in Australia, teachers. But we need, in Australia, people who have the capacity to come here and immediately segue into the requirements of the services we wish them to be part of.

There is definitely a strong correlation between a key person's inability to speak English and sections who have been exploited, because they can't avail themselves of the protections that are required. Yes, for that you need a translation service, and that's essential, and I'm not saying that, for one section, we don't. But I'm saying that the impetus has always got to be that, in Australia, there has to be a drive for a common language that everybody has. It also has to be part of delivering a unity of purpose in Australia around what we are doing. If we go to an authentic multiculturalism, that, in its authenticity, will also state that you don't have to speak English, because culturally in some areas it's not appropriate. If you want to hold fast to a purist form of your culture, then it doesn't require you to speak English. What this leads to is enclaves. It also leads to Balkanisation. It leads to misunderstanding. It can lead to friction. Friction can lead to hate, and hate leads to hurt.

In Australia, more and more we have to have these discussions, because we can go on this train of saying marvellous things—of saying things that we believe will warrant accolades in this building. But I'll tell you about one commonality between everybody in this building, in this chamber and in the red one across the road, downstairs, is that they all speak English. Every attendant speaks English. Our communication to Australia is in English, and we know that it would be pointless and irrelevant if you couldn't. So if that's what we think is essential for us to do our job, why don't we believe that's essential for anybody else? I think there's a real sense of conceit where we say we'll basically look after you forevermore speaking another language because that's nice. No; that's actually hurting them. What you've got to do is say, yes, you have an issue, and we've got to help you. But the goal is not for you to stay in the language of where you came from. It's absolutely essential that you get to the language of the country that you now live in.

A fascinating thing and one of the great gifts of so many people is people who are multilingual and bilingual. I can say not so much now, because people pass on. At my Christmas dinner in the past, when the family got together, 10 languages were spoken around the table when everybody was there. And that is marvellous. But when you have other relatives turning up from other parts of South-East Asia, being part of the community and the family just doesn't work if you can't communicate with them.

I saw this bill, and it was something that had been brought to my attention by a constituent that said, 'When you get the opportunity, you must bring to the Australian public's attention that in sections of the public service—and I've quoted to you to the act—there is no requirement to speak English.' They said, 'I have been in that position where I've had a requirement for the person who's serving the government to speak the language of the nation, and they couldn't.' And when the person followed this through, they said, 'Surely there must be a requirement for them to speak English.' And they said: 'No, there's not. They just have to be polite. They have to be courteous.' This person said: 'How would I know? I can't understand what they're saying.' That this is something that needs to be brought. When I saw this piece of legislation come up, I couldn't help it, but I thought, well, now I'm going to have to ventilate that issue and make sure that, in further requirements in both state and federal acts, if you serve the government and you're paid for by the taxpayer, it is absolutely explicit that you must be able to speak in a form of English that is understandable and that gives you the capacity to do your job and serve others.

I don't want to delay the chamber, but I'll close where I started. Australia has to more and more realise that multiculturalism is a great idea, but an Australian culture is essential. Australian culture by its very nature does not ask what religion you are, what creed you are or what colour you are. But it asks that you comply within guardrails of how people act in this nation, and the things that are outside the guardrail you cannot make excuses for on the premise of your religion, your previous culture or filial lines. If you're outside the guardrails, you're outside the guardrails. We don't have to go into the graphic side of it, but I think we can all relate to sections of alternative cultures throughout Australia where things are completely and utterly applicable, completely and utterly acceptable and completely and utterly anathema to what this nation represents.

I have to comply with certain things I might disagree with, but I must comply. I must be tempered. I must accept what might be not my views, but it is part of that egalitarian nature of Australia that I leave other people alone to live their lives. I live mine. There's also the expectation that people who come here have to comply with that as well. You cannot say, 'Well, what I want in Australia is a culture that reflects where I came from.' No. If you come to Australia, you must have a culture that reflects where you are not where you came from. It is swayed by different views. It is accepted. It is moved by different ingredients, but it cannot be holistically changed into something that's entirely different.

I put that before the chamber. It is an item, a sort of caveat on this, that we have to take on board, because the last thing we want in Australia is the Balkanisation, the friction and the heat that come where people, by basically the language aspect of what they want, end up in an enclave. It remains in an enclave. It does not have the capacity to engage in a wider form with the Australian culture. Therefore those people within that enclave are sort of diminished in the rights that they have. For the Australian view in public, the nation is diminished in the reward that they can give back to us.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll just respond to a couple of points made there. All Australians are equal under the law, whatever language they speak and whatever culture they have. I don't think there'd be anyone here who would disagree with that. I'll point you towards—you've probably read it but not recently—the Hawke government's 1989 statement on multicultural Australia. In my view, it's probably the best articulation and expression we've had since Al Grassby's work in 1973, taken up by the Fraser government in 1978 and then the Hawke government's seminal statement in 1989. I think after that there was Turnbull and then there was the Gillard government, or Gillard then the Turnbull government.

The 1989 statement had a really good definition of multiculturalism. It talked about individual and communal rights to cultural expression. We've always been a multicultural continent. We've had First Nations Australians speak more than 250 languages; 167 of them are still spoken today. British settlement and then the expansion of European settlement changed the face of the continent. It's complex history, but we can have empathy in hearing different perspectives. Then our democratic system of government flowed from that—our institutions that I'm proud of and I think most people here sign up to. But then, of course, there was the miracle of modern Australia, where for 50 years overwhelmingly we've been peaceful. We've been the most successful multicultural country.

I do think, though, that a lot of what you expressed there, Member for New England—put aside some of the fears and anxieties, and we can argue about how policy is applied—has already been the traditional expression of multiculturalism. It's the rights that come from individual and communal cultural expression. That includes speaking your first language when and where you want to. English is our common language, and I'll touch on that in a moment. But the rights have always been within defined limits. It's not just in the law but is, as people say, in values. There have always been defined limits. To the extent that some in our society may have lost focus on that and think that these rights are untrammelled, that's a problem.

We would do well to remember this: the other bit is that coming to Australia also comes with obligations—and the Prime Minister has talked about that extensively in recent times and before then—one of which is that you leave your ancient prejudices and hatreds at the door. My definition of an Australian—it's a working definition and always open to feedback—is 'anyone committed to our country, to our democracy and our institutions and our values'. There are values set in the Home Affairs migration stuff. I don't think they're heavily contested. Add to that the principle of mutual respect for their fellow Australians.

Hate and violence don't stem from diversity; they spread from polarisation and social distance and misinformation. I know from the conversations we've had about many issues that many—I won't say all, but many—of your intentions are good. But I do worry deeply about the utter meltdown that we're seeing with the so-called alternative government, and I refer you to my Sky News interview this morning. I've encouraged some of my opponents to get their act together for the good of the country because, frankly, I think the opening it's provided to the party you've now joined is a disgrace, and it's causing fear and a spike in racism and hostility in my community. I don't believe that the conflation with issues of race and migration is accidental with the so-called Nazis, those who are more extremist. People have every right to be concerned about migration, but the conflation with issues of culture and race then does a lot of active harm to people who I represent. Anyway, there you go—something resembling a genuine exchange.

The Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 does put TIS National on a sound constitutional and legal footing, and that's critical to the functioning of modern Australia. English is—say it clearly and proudly—our official and common language. It is important these days, and increasingly important, to have a good command of English. We want as many people in our country as possible to speak English. You have better opportunities in the labour market, you can better connect and you can better understand what's going on in society and fulfil your human potential in our country. We provide a lot of support for that. For 77 years we've had the Translating and Interpreting Service in our country. We have the Adult Migrant English Program, we have community based classes and we have the state and secondary classes to welcome new kids who don't speak English. That's really important.

But you don't have to have perfect English to be a good Australian. You don't have to speak English to university standard or without an accent—or with whatever accent the previous member seems to think is acceptable; I don't know. You don't have to have perfect English to be a good Australian. The reality also, for some people who come to our country later in life on parent migration or humanitarian pathways or others—or for people with cognitive disabilities in family groups, who we see through the community—is that, try as hard as they might, they're not capable of getting to the standard of English that allows them to function and participate in society. It doesn't make them stupid and it doesn't make them bad Australians; it's just the reality. There are also many people in my community and across the country who have a reasonable command of English, but it's not sufficient for really complicated things—serious health issues, financial issues, insurance, legal proceedings, justice proceedings and so on.

The work that TIS National has done over many years is absolutely critical to the functioning of our society and economy. Although English is our official and common language, we are proudly multilingual. We have over 300 languages regularly spoken in Australia—hundreds in my electorate alone—and the language ability of our people, of our citizens, is a bridge to the world. It's a bridge to human understanding. It's a bridge between families and generations, and it also facilitates trade and economic opportunities. People in Australia can speak pretty much every language in the world, and most of the dialects. There are a few from the Pacific islands and others—and PNG and others—that we've struggled with at times because they're particularly rare, but overwhelmingly the breadth of languages and the multilingualism are enormous national assets. It's something that the government values. It's been part of modern Australia for decades. You know, you couldn't play with your Greek friends on Saturday mornings because they'd be off at Greek school. Now, in my electorate, it's 60 or 70 languages that I've counted that kids are studying on weeknights or weekends, whilst English is also their main language. I was really proud to be part of a government that, at the election, committed another $25 million to the community language schools across Australia.

Language also brings new ideas and concepts into our country, in that translation is only ever an approximation of meaning. There are some things—natural phenomena, feelings, ideas, events, people, emotions, concepts—which only exist in their first language. There are words that, when any professional translator looks at them, will make their head explode because there's no actual word that's equivalent in another language, and they have to try and explain around that. People come to Australia with other languages as their first language. It might be the language they want to speak when they shut their front door at home or speak with their friends—who honestly cares? I've said clearly that a good command of English is really important to participate in society, but we're enriched by this linguistic diversity. It's something we should treasure. I see firsthand, though, the importance of the work day in, day out in my electorate of translators and interpreters. My office in Dandenong literally could not function without the work of professional translators and interpreters and the six, seven or eight languages, depending on who's in on a given day, that my staff speak and use regularly throughout their work. The same is true for our businesses and for our economic sector. Smart insurance companies and smart finance companies are getting this. I made the point before that people can speak perfectly good English, but they think, 'Hang on a minute—I don't want to sign that document without making sure I really understand every word, because there are some really big funny legal words there.' You need a professional translator and interpreter. They might pass an IELTS test to a certain level, but they're still not professional in legal or medico-legal language. Who is, really? It's jargon—hospitals, schools, police, lawyers, emergency services, Centrelink, government agencies—at every level.

Large swathes of the government and the private sector in this multilingual country could simply not function without the work of TIS National and the broader translation and interpreting profession. We've seen in natural disasters, and we saw during COVID, the importance of having language ability that could quickly be used to get messages out to communities. We see it in emergency services and in hospitals. We see it, as I said, in prosecutions, and we see it with some of the most vulnerable people in society. Some of them, as I referred to earlier, are good human beings and good Australians who love this country. But for whatever reason—their family circumstances, their cognitive abilities, their opportunities—they've just never managed to master English. They might have gone—and we see it, sadly—to English classes for years. It reminds me of trying to learn to swim as a kid. Mum took me every Saturday; I still couldn't really swim. There you go.

I want to give a shout-out, though, to a group of informal interpreters who are often overlooked: the kids of refugee families. A very traditional pattern is that the refugee kids come to this country with families that are hungry and that are entrepreneurial. They're more likely to start a business than any other Australian and to have a crack. In the year 2000, six of our country's eight billionaires had come here as refugees. That defies the silly stereotype we hear too often that they all come to get on welfare. It's kind of offensive when you look at the data. But the kids of refugee families grow up very quickly. Almost always, those kids learn English. They get it in primary school, they speak it, they understand society and they understand the systems. But their mothers in particular are often stuck at home with caring responsibilities for some years before they can even get out of the house to get to the English classes. It's just the nature and reality of life. The kids are often put in situations, from a very young age, where they're being asked to interpret in really inappropriate situations, whether it be family violence, medical emergencies or diagnoses, police or other community organisations, or businesses coming to the door. So I give a shout-out to the kids involved, but there are many occasions when those families really should be accessing professional translation and interpreting services.

The bill is a comprehensive legislative framework. It gives TIS National a clear statutory basis. Robodebt was an absolute disgrace of the former government, but the royal commission exposed the malfeasance. The most vulnerable in society were sent fake debt notices by the Commonwealth for money they didn't owe. Robodebt has impacted all areas of government post the royal commission—and sometimes, frankly, in a ministerial role it's a pain because the Public Service has taken a recommendation, and taken it seriously, to review the constitutionality and legality of a whole range of things that the Commonwealth has done for years. This is one of them. They've said: 'You know, when we have another look at this, we're not so sure about the legal basis on which everything's been done, so we're taking it seriously. We're methodically going through all areas of government and making sure that they are on a sound constitutional and legal footing.'

So I commend the Minister for Multicultural Affairs for doing the proper work of government and bringing this legislation forward so that TIS National can continue to operate. It provides services for all three levels of government as well as the private sector and individuals: 24/7 telephone interpreting supporting triple zero emergency services, hospitals, courts and other urgent needs; remote video interpreting; onsite interpreting; document translation services; and so on. Last term, I had ministerial responsibility, and it was really fabulous to go and see firsthand the staff doing the work—their passion and their commitment. Workforce issues we can deal with another day. They've got a bit of an ageing workforce and a workforce structure problem, largely because of how governments have chosen to procure for many decades. The gig economy doesn't work that well with younger people, so we need to have a look at that with the states and territories. But I really commend the work of translators and interpreters right across the country, and I'm pleased that this legislation has been brought to the House.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to follow on from the previous speaker by saying it's 100 per cent right that you do not need to speak full English to be a patriotic, committed, invested Australian. But, when it comes down to providing pathways so that people can be full participants in the Australian way of life, we know the foundations of people's language and capacity to communicate with their fellow citizens are not just something that is, frankly, desirable; they are also the pathway by which people can not just become citizens and full economic participants but, of course, also socially integrate into the rest of the country. We don't want to be a nation of enclaves. We want to be a nation of big citizens enlivened by their full participation in the rest of the community.

That's the basis on which we're supporting the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025, because we see the capacity for new Australians to become full participants in the Australian way of life as central to their success. We want them to succeed. That is why, of course, we had the Fraser government establish SBS many years ago. It made an investment in the future broadcasting potential of this country so that it didn't matter where you were, where you landed from and where, of course, you built a life in this country. You had not just a pathway to connect back to the knowledge and information that was available from your traditional homeland but, in addition to that, a clear pathway to English education and to becoming a full participant in the Australian way of life. That is liberalism lived large, and we want to see that at every point, because it's in the best interest of investing in our people. The legislation we're talking about here is nowhere near as grand as the great Liberal achievement of broadcasting for multicultural Australia. This is a much more technical one. But it still is part of making sure that, no matter how you came to this nation and whatever the cause, there's a pathway for you to have that sense of full citizenship.

The previous speaker spoke particularly about those who go on the pathways of resettlement through migration programs, including refugees. These are often people who were displaced because of intolerable acts and prejudice and persecution in their homeland. What they are seeking when they seek a pathway for resettlement here in Australia is not just safety—although that is, of course, absolutely true—or avoiding refoulement—although that is also true. It is to then go on and build the foundations of a life where they can build and invest in their family, become economic participants and do things like establish small businesses. I know, Deputy Speaker Aldred, that with your past history at the Franchise Council you understand that new Australians are some of the biggest investors in small businesses, because they understand that that's the pathway for wealth and opportunity. That, of course, is why so many of them become horrified at how Labor seeks to demonise the self-employed, the small businesses and those who stand on their own two feet and why they see such common ground with the spirit of the speech which I give today, which I know that you and other members on the Liberal side, such as the member for Longman, share with me. The member for Longman fundamentally understands that full economic participation and small businesses are the foundation of our economic success—not just as individuals or families but as communities—and therefore also the pathway for our shared success as a nation.

We know that TIS National has operated since the 1970s, and we know the important role that it plays. We know that it is an essential part of making sure that translation services through telephone operations can be central to every Australian being able to participate. Of course, this in itself is one of those great achievements that we have supported along the way for many years. What we want to do is continue to expand those services to make sure that they're contemporary and meet the challenges of the 21st century. We want to make sure that, if you make this nation your home, you have the resources and the capacity to live out your best life for yourself and your family.

This is an important step. It's a central step because it speaks not just to the type of nation that we are, but, more importantly, to the type of nation that we want to be—a cohesive and connected one where people have a sense of equal dignity and understanding about who they are and what they want to achieve together. That's the basis on which I support this bill.

Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak to the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025. This bill is about providing a clear statutory framework for the essential services that TIS National has provided for more than 75 years. Their services have benefited so many Australians. This bill is important because it is another way that the Albanese government is delivering for Australians with limited English proficiency by ensuring they have the resources to get the help they need.

The Australian government began providing translating services in 1947 and interpreting services in the 1950s to support postwar migrants. In 1973, Australia became the first country in the world to provide a telephone interpreting service. This is a service that so many people, including those in my electorate of Tangney, continue to use today. TIS National provides some really important services for our communities, with translating and interpreting services for government agencies, for the private sector and for individuals. Telephone interpreting services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure these services are always available for triple zero emergency calls and other urgent matters. TIS National also provides remote interpreting, video and onsite interpreting, and translation services. TIS National also provides free services including free interpreting services for doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals, as well as trade unions, real estate agencies and parliamentarians. The free translation services provide new arrivals with translations of their key personal documents into English to help support migrants' participation in employment, education and community life.

I want to speak about my electorate of Tangney, which is one of the most diverse electorates in Western Australia. I also want to touch on my own story as someone who migrated to Australia with my wife and three children back in 2002, when I was in my early 40s. When my wife and I first arrived in Perth, we did not speak much English. Navigating a new country with different systems is not easy for any migrants. For those with limited English proficiency, it can be even more challenging. Learning terms like 'Medicare', '100-point ID check' or 'bulk-billing' can be confusing. Documents that prove your qualifications or show your children's progress at school can also be challenging when they are all in English. TIS National services can make all the difference to all migrants, especially the new arrivals.

I enrolled in English classes when I arrived in Australia, first at a local library, then at TAFE, before I joined the WA police force. I think my English has improved in the many years that I have called Australia home, but I will never forget what it was like to be a new migrant with limited English trying to navigate my way in my new home. I will also never forget how difficult it can be to try to access these services in English when you have limited English skills. I acknowledge not only the friends, neighbours and communities that helped me become more Aussie but also the important services like TIS National that help make it easier for all new migrants.

As the federal member for Tangney, I have had many constituents with limited English skill come to my office for support. The TIS National service has been so helpful in assisting them to connect with the services they need. One of my constituents migrated to Australia as an adult with very limited English skill. He spent long days and years on his feet working in a hot and busy kitchen and doing manual labour. It is tiring, backbreaking work. After he was involved in a car accident and was without any family to assist him, TIS National helped by providing interpretation services when he contacted my office. TIS National helped him to access services such as the ATO and the hospital that treated him. TIS National provided him with trusted interpretation and ensured he could access and communicate with these government services in a safe manner.

All Australians must be able to access government programs and services, regardless of their culture or language background. When I was a police officer in Western Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw firsthand the critical nature of this access. As someone who speaks many languages, I have over the years developed close and trusting relationships with many different multicultural communities in Western Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, multicultural communities were concerned, in part due to the rumours and misinformation that were everywhere. These rumours and misinformation contributed to the low vaccination rates that we saw in all the multicultural communities, especially in Western Australia. Many of the families and communities with limited English skill were unable to access the accurate information being provided in English by the government. Instead, they saw the misinformation in their home and community languages. Some communities believed this misinformation and refused to get themselves vaccinated.

I saw that we needed to provide all Australians, regardless of their culture or linguistic background, with access to the correct information. As part of my role with the WA police force, I helped to translate the correct information into different languages. Many of my colleagues helped as well, and all of us worked every day to get the translations of the correct information out into the multicultural communities. We had medical professionals go out into the community and we helped translate their words so that communities with limited English could access these experts and professionals. They could ask questions and understand the correct information, and once they were able to access the program and services, I saw how they began to trust information that was based on evidence, not rumours. This ultimately led to increased vaccination rates in our communities.

The WA police force, the health department and all governments and community leaders worked together to make sure communities and people understood the health advice about vaccinations. We made sure people were fully informed about COVID-19 and about vaccination. Key to their understanding was translating and interpreting. This bill—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 17:25 to 17:3 7

This bill reflects our government's commitment to a united, cohesive and multicultural Australia. By passing this legislation, we can continue to build a stronger Australian community for the benefit of all Australians. TIS National's services are essential services for social cohesion. Language support is fundamental to safety, participation, fairness and equality. All Australians must be able to access important services. I speak in support of this bill, which will help ensure these services remain strong, accessible and future ready. If enacted, the proposed legislation will ensure clear and enduring statutory support for TIS National's services.

The bill sets out the functions provided by TIS National, which operates as part of the Department of Home Affairs. The proposed legislation would provide for the performance of these functions. It would enable the Secretary of the Department to provide or arrange for the provision of translating and interpreting services to support communication involving the Commonwealth and its agencies, as well as state and territory and their agencies, by people interacting with the Commonwealth and its agencies as well as with states and territories and their agencies. It would also, in coordination with states and territories, address national needs that would not otherwise be met.

The legislation will also expressly provide for other services provided by TIS National, including developing, training and supporting translators and interpreters to provide services for the purposes of TIS National's core functions. The functions provided for in the proposed legislation support the ongoing provision of these existing services, which are crucial to facilitate communication and engagement with people with limited English language proficiency. This bill provides a clear statutory framework for TIS National's essential services, and I commend it to the House.

Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025, legislation that goes to the core of access, fairness and social cohesion in our country. Australia is proudly a multicultural nation. One in three Australians were born overseas, in all corners of the earth—all contributing to our rich and vibrant country. Hundreds of languages are spoken in homes, workplaces and communities across Australia. But multiculturalism cannot exist in name alone. It must be backed by practical systems that ensure people can engage with government, health care, education and the justice system in a language that they understand. This bill does exactly that.

Under the Whitlam Labor government in 1973, Australia became the first country in the world to provide a telephone interpreting service to ensure that new Australians with limited English proficiency could navigate our government systems and programs and participate fully in our society. This service laid the foundation for what we now know as the Translating and Interpreting Service, or TIS National, within the Department of Home Affairs. This bill continues our commitment, as the Albanese Labor government, to give legislative authority for TIS National to continue its vital work in delivering translating and interpreting services that Australians rely upon.

Currently, TIS National provides translating and interpreting services to agencies across all levels of government, to the private sector and for individuals, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The telephone service ensures that emergency services, hospitals, health services, courts, police and frontline government agencies can communicate with people with limited English proficiency at any time, in any circumstance. Alongside telephone services, TIS National provides remote interpreting services via video, and also on-site interpreting services. It operates the Free Interpreting Service, which supports doctors, pharmacists, unions, real estate agents and parliamentarians to communicate with Australians. It also delivers the Free Translating Service, to help new arrivals translate critical documents into English and support their contribution in employment, education and society.

With each wave of migration, TIS National has evolved and met demand. The service has developed and trained translators and interpreters who play a vital role in ensuring that translation of government information in health and legal settings reaches those who need it most.

These services are not niche or marginal; they are central to the functioning of government, and the numbers show it. Right across Australia in the last six months, 777,000 people have used the service nationally, including 77,000 in Queensland alone.

While TIS National has operated for decades, legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor makes clear that its functions require express legislative authority, particularly in relation to services provided beyond government agencies. This bill provides that certainty. It establishes a clear statutory basis for TIS National in the new act, empowering the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs to provide or arrange translating and interpreting services for Commonwealth government agencies; for migrants; to facilitate communication by government officers; for state and territory governments; by telephone or other means; and under national arrangements addressing shared needs. Importantly, the bill does not change how services are delivered. It strengthens their legal foundation.

Australians trace their heritage from almost every country. This diversity enriches us. It also creates a responsibility—a responsibility to ensure that people can understand their rights and obligations, seek help when they are unsafe or unwell and access services they pay for and are entitled to. It means a patient can understand medical advice, a victim can seek help, a worker can assert their rights and a parent can engage with a school community. That is why we have introduced this legislation, which expressly authorises TIS National to develop, train and support translators and interpreters for our multicultural country.

The robodebt royal commission laid bare the consequences of government programs operating without clear legal authority, transparency or accountability. Since introducing the Racial Discrimination Act in 1973, Labor has championed multicultural policy as a foundation of Australian values and social cohesion. Strengthening translating and interpreting services is just one part of the Albanese Labor government's broader commitment to multicultural Australia.

Before coming to government, Labor established the Multicultural Engagement Taskforce, which consulted widely with culturally and linguistically diverse communities across Australia. The taskforce listened to multicultural Australia to help inform Labor government policies that would affect them. It consulted with culturally and linguistically diverse community leaders, local councillors, service providers, community organisations, business networks and ethnic peak bodies from the cities, suburbs and regions. The taskforce investigated the quality of access to Commonwealth government agencies; current support provided in the areas of small business, entrepreneurship and innovation; barriers and needs regarding access to Commonwealth government services; and networking and partnership opportunities that help link community groups to Commonwealth government services.

The taskforce heard consistently that multicultural and CALD communities were unaware of government services, with language barriers limiting access and communication failures undermining trust. Language was not a peripheral issue; it was a structural barrier. Further, there was significant but underutilised potential for partnership between all levels of government to support grassroots multicultural organisations. When those opposite were in power, they failed to make government services accessible to multicultural and CALD communities. COVID-19 amplified multicultural communities' vulnerabilities and exposed failures under the then coalition. Under the Liberals, NDIS applications were not tailored to the needs of multicultural and CALD communities, and reporting on the equity of access to government services was not mandated. The cuts to the Public Service further undermined the ability of frontline staff to support our multicultural and CALD communities.

We are judged on our commitment to a multicultural Australia not by what we say but by what we do. That is why the Albanese government is investing $190 million over two years to provide direct support through the Supporting Multicultural Communities Program. It will deliver competitive grant funding to support infrastructure, amenities, events and programs for multicultural communities. Young Australians should be connected to the language of their parents, grandparents and communities and take part in the global job market. The government is delivering the Community Language Schools Grants Program, which is enabling schools to deliver professional language programs, and it will play a part in preserving languages in multicultural communities.

We know that community organisations can make significant decisions, plan for the future and better support their membership if they have long-term funding certainty. That is why Labor is investing in the Modernised Multicultural Grants Program. It will deliver longer term funding to support multicultural organisations to hold local events, improve facilities and deliver language programs. Labor also recognises the role of multicultural independent media and their place in sharing important information. The $10 million independent multicultural media grants for transformation and sustainability will support eligible Australian independent media organisations to transition to sustainable new media practices. This program will back their future. These are just some of the Albanese Labor government's programs to strengthen our multicultural nation. Through this bill, we take another step towards making government and services more accessible for multicultural Australia. It is another step towards making Australia more inclusive and a stronger nation.

In Bonner we are fortunate to have a vibrant and multicultural community, where different cultures and traditions come together and shine. There are 48,883 Australians from 167 countries right across the world who call Bonner home. That includes more than 3½ thousand Australians who were born in India and more than 5½ thousand from China. We have people from Kazakhstan, Uruguay and Mozambique. Each and every one of these new Australians can receive translation and interpreting support if they need it to navigate our complex government systems and contribute to our community. In Bonner, there are currently 164 people registered to use the telephone interpreting service. They are being supported to receive the support they need.

This is more than a bill. It speaks to the idea of who we are as Australians. It reflects how we value fairness. It reflects our belief that language should never stand between a person and their rights. It is about ensuring that every Australian, regardless of where they were born, the language they speak at home or how they recently arrived can understand government, access essential services and participate fully in Australian life.

We know that those who have benefited from this service in our country have played a huge part as well in building it—as workers, carers, entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders. It was a Labor government that established the first form of a government funded translation and interpreting service. I'm proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government, which is strengthening the service and enshrining it in the law. Labor stands for an inclusive, multicultural Australia. This bill reinforces that commitment today.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on and support the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill today because translating and interpreting services have always held a special place in Australia's story. When you look at Australia's story, we look at our wonderful multicultural story. We have people that live here, that settle here, from all over the world. Language is more than words. Language carries with it its identity, dignity and the ability to feel seen and understood. It's very important.

When someone arrives newly to this country or someone has perhaps been here for many years but has never been able to learn the language because of their basic education—perhaps they didn't go to school when they were very young in a war torn country, perhaps they've been here for years and have been isolated because the husband's been at work and the wife has been home or the other way round or whatever the reason—there are many circumstances that bring them to the point where they do not speak the language within the place that they live. With Australia being Australia, with such a high migrant and multicultural community, this is fundamental to what we do and who we are and a basic right that everyone deserves.

There are moments when an interpreter does so much more than just translate. They open the door, they provide hope, and they are someone to listen. They are who someone can actually tell what they feel, who someone can be listened to by and who can then go on and convey that particular message to whoever it may be. We don't always get it right, and maybe sometimes we don't give translating and interpreting the importance that they deserve. I know that we regularly use translating and interpreting services in our electorate office. When we have constituents that can't speak English and speak a different language, we will engage the interpreting services for translating over the phone during a constituent meeting.

The issue of translating and interpreting services is that, without that particular service, great disasters can be brought to a person's life. And I can think of two stories that I'm aware of of two people who went through a particular issue not knowing the ins and outs of it because of the language difficulties. The first one is a woman who has now passed away. When she was conveying this story to me, she was in her late 80s. She migrated from Greece in 1921. Her husband brought her out from a little island in the Aegean Sea. She spoke no English, he was at work all day, and she was having great difficulties having a baby. She couldn't conceive for whatever reason. After many, many difficulties she fell pregnant and had the child. But in childbirth she nearly died. That's all she could tell me.

I asked her the question about why she didn't have any other children, and she said to me, 'Because I had a very difficult childbirth, extremely difficult, and I nearly died, I never went on to have other children.' And I said to her, 'Did you speak to doctors et cetera?' She said, 'Yes, after many years, after giving birth to my first child and thinking that it was just God's will that I wasn't having a second child, we decided to go and see a doctor 10 years after.' The question from the doctor was, 'When did you have your hysterectomy?' She had no idea because of the language barrier. Her husband couldn't speak English. There were no interpreting services in those days. And there she was for 10 years trying to have a baby, not knowing that they had performed a hysterectomy. Now they most probably saved her life. They saved her life, no doubt, at that point when she was having difficulties. But what a sad story. What a really sad story when you think about it.

Now, not going back that far, only five years ago I had a particular constituent that contacted me. He would deal with our office regularly. His English was quite capable—not perfect but capable. He had been airlifted from mid-north South Australia after a horrific accident and taken to hospital to have an operation. I went to see him, because his family rang me—they were interstate—to try and find out what was happening. The nurse was explaining to me that he needed an operation immediately the next day and that it was a fairly major operation to do with his stomach and spleen et cetera. It was even technical for me, being competent in English, to understand what the actual ins and outs of this operation were. So I suggested to the head nurse in the ward at the Royal Adelaide Hospital that they arrange an interpreter for the next day, when the doctor was going to come. The interpreter obviously didn't turn up for whatever reason.

He was operated on, and I went to see him after the operation because, apart from just being a constituent, he had become a very good friend. He couldn't tell me what sort of operation he'd had. They just operated on him. He said to me that he didn't know. The operation was the removal of part of his spleen and a few other things. But, again, it's another sad story. The operation most probably saved his life, but he deserved interpreting services. People in those situations need to know exactly what's happening to them, especially in health. Then we go to the courts. That's a different matter again. Your legal rights, your rights under the law—you should know and understand what your rights are.

This bill before the House will strengthen interpreting services. It will streamline them and give more access to people. But it is important in a country like Australia that we ensure that people have the ability to understand. When they're going through government agencies for health care and legal matters, and even going to see the school teacher, it's sometimes a burden and there needs to be an understanding of what is said.

Three weeks ago, I was in Athens, and I went to a shopping centre just to buy something—I can't remember what it was—in a supermarket. I saw a little Chinese boy. He would have been about 10. His mother obviously couldn't speak the local language at all. They were migrants. I was watching him run up to the shop attendant to tell her something in Greek, because he obviously went to school there. He would then run back to his mother and explain it to her. She would then tell him what product they were after. Finally, they got the product they wanted.

It reminded me of many migrant stories here in Australia, with kids as young as 10, 11 and 12 interpreting for neighbours who couldn't speak English—and even me for my parents on many occasions, even though their English was fairly competent, and for friends. I still do it today. I still get people coming into the electorate office with letters saying, 'What does this say?' So it's not just an extra service that we throw on top just to make it look good. It is important. It is absolutely critical to a country like Australia. We want people to be part of our community and to participate in everything we offer that is fantastic in this country. We want people to feel like they are part of the community. We don't want to see horror stories, where people are having hysterectomies and not knowing that they've had one because there was no-one to interpret or to explain to them at that point what was happening, or like in Bill's case at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he had half his spleen taken out and a whole range of other things through that operation and had no idea what was being done. I'm not saying that he would have said no, but it would have been good to know. It's good to know what you're doing. We accept it as part of our everyday life.

Translating and interpreting services are absolutely vital. This bill introduces a dedicated legal framework that actually outlines how the Department of Home Affairs will administer and deliver translating and interpreting services through the translating and interpreting service system. But, beyond the legal language, what it really does is protect something deeply human and something deeply important to people—and that is having the information that involves their actions, whether they say yes or no. We all know that we have a right to say yes or no to things that are being offered to us. This is one of those areas where issues that relate to health, to legal matters, to a whole range of things are so important. It's been part of Australia's fabric for generations.

The interpreting service started in '47, when we agreed on the Migration Act to bring over many migrants in a planned manner. We decided back then in 1947, as a nation, as a result of the post-World War II migration program, that we needed interpreting services for those people. Over the decades, the interpreter services have grown alongside Australia's multicultural communities. And we want them to grow. We want them to be strong, and we want to ensure that every single person has access to an interpreting service if required.

Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dealing with the complexities of life is difficult at the best of times. Paperwork, red tape, rules, regulations and just paying bills take up an incredible amount of time, not to mention patience. Then, of course, there's the issue of computers. If the connection isn't down, then the printer can almost certainly be jammed. For those of us whose first language is English, what I've described is manageable—if only just, at times. But it is so much more isolating if English is not your first language.

My electorate is home to 152 discrete language groups. The data in the 2021 census is revealing in this regard. Sixty-six per cent of households in the electorate of Werriwa use a language other than English at home. Of these, Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Spanish are the most common. With regard to parenting, just over 68 per cent of Werriwa residents state that both parents were born overseas compared to the national average of 36 per cent. The diversity in my electorate is one of the things that I love about it, but it still can present challenges—especially when helping constituents with their matters. One of the most important tools for me and my staff is the national Translating and Interpreting Service, TIS National. Using TIS is often a game changer. When language barriers emerge, either over the counter or more likely on the phone, a quick call to TIS National can make all of the difference.

It's not an exaggeration to say you can hear the barriers fall away as constituents speak to an interpreter in their own language. It means the constituent can properly express themselves and be guaranteed that any confusion or misunderstanding can be dealt with promptly, and it adds another benefit. A number of times in my electorate office the children of constituents have acted as interpreters for their parents. I thoroughly understand why this is the case, but it can be far from ideal for any number of reasons. Using TIS means the use of children as an intermediary isn't necessary, and, if nothing else, it frees them to go back to school and allows them to still be children.

The Australian government began providing translation services in 1947 and interpreting services in the 1950s. The original aim was to support and help post-World-War-II migrants, and the services provided by TIS are fundamental to full participation in our society. The funding of the service for all three levels of government, plus the private sector and individuals, underscores that language is important and is not an optional or discretionary service. Rather, it's fundamental to safety, participation, fairness and equality.

The services provided by TIS National are exceptional and world class. It provides translation and interpreting services to government agencies across all three tiers of government. Telephone interpreting services are key here, but there is also remote interpreting via video and onsite interpreting and translating services. It provides 24/7 telephone interpreting—supporting triple zero services, hospitals, courts and other urgent needs. Then, there's the free interpreting service and the free translation service for key non-government entities, including doctors, pharmacists, trade unions, real estate agencies and parliamentarians. The FTS also provides new arrivals with free translation into English of key personal documents to support their participation in education, employment and community life.

Finally, TIS National also supports the training and development of translators and interpreters. In 2024, advice provided by the Australian Government Solicitor, the AGS, advised that TIS National required express legislative authority, in particular, in relation to services provided to private-sector bodies. This bill, then, is vital in addressing the risks identified by the AGS in its legal advice. Specifically, the bill establishes a statutory framework for the services provided by TIS National within the Department of Home Affairs.

The proposed legislation sets out the functions provided by TIS National and will ensure clear and enduring statutory support for these functions. It's particularly noteworthy that the legislation will enable the Secretary of the Department to provide or arrange the provision of translating services to the Commonwealth or agencies and to the states and territories or agencies. It will allow for the facilitation of communication by a person with these Commonwealth, state or territory agencies, authorities, bodies, organisations or office holders. The legislation will also expressly provide for other services provided by TIS National, including development, training and supporting translators and interpreters for the purposes of TIS National's core functions.

I can only begin to imagine the difficulties constituents face when English is not their first language. Thank goodness that, when it's needed, TIS National is available. I know firsthand the wonderful work it does. It's a terrific investment in ensuring that everyone can fully participate in our society. Such a service requires our support not only in a budgetary sense but also for a legislative framework that ensures it can carry out its vital functions and service without worry or concern. I commend the bill to the House, but I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and interpreters at TIS National. They are a great support for my office when we need them for our constituents.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025. The Translating and Interpreting Service, or TIS National, is an absolutely essential service that ensures that all Australians can fully participate in our civil life, our communities and our economy. It allows Australians from diverse backgrounds equal access to public institutions and services, and it allows the private sector to reach new domestic markets.

TIS is an indispensable piece of infrastructure for modern, multicultural Australia. The last census showed that over 5.5 million Australians speak a language other than English at home. In my electorate of Menzies, we're fortunate enough to have the proportionally largest Chinese Australian population of any electorate across the country. We have the largest Iranian population. We have established Greek and Italian communities and emerging Indian communities—people from almost every country on earth. It's an incredibly diverse community, and I'm honoured to represent it.

I have had extensive experience with TIS, particularly when I worked with the then Department of Immigration and Citizenship and later the Department of Home Affairs. In some roles, it was a service I used almost every day. For those who haven't used it, you can call TIS on 131450, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to request an interpreter. You can also book interpreters in advance. Hopefully, everyone in this place knows that our offices have access to TIS client numbers, and we can use them to make sure that we are reaching out to all members of the communities we represent. Of course, government departments and other public institutions are major clients but so are other essential services.

When I worked in refugee and migrant settlement services, we ensured that new arrivals were aware that they could request an interpreter. Let me give you a couple of examples of how vital this is. Imagine going to a hospital or GP and being unable to communicate what your symptoms are. Imagine if a doctor was giving you advice, advice that might preserve your health or even save your life, and you could not understand them. Thankfully, the TIS Doctors Priority Line is available to GPs, specialists, nurse practitioners, endorsed midwives, pharmacy staff and approved health practitioners. This means they can provide all Australians with the care they need when they need it. Without this, people would suffer and illnesses and diseases would worsen.

Where health professionals did not offer or accede to requests to use an interpreter, sometimes the children of clients would have to act as interpreters—sometimes for very sensitive matters. I believe we've had a few members of the chamber talk about how this becomes a necessity sometimes, but, thankfully, TIS is there and is a much better service in terms of being able to preserve the privacy and dignity of people, particularly when they're accessing health services.

I also saw the essential work of TIS when I was working as a judge's associate at the County Court. Imagine if you were a victim of crime and had to give evidence before a court but could not understand, let alone respond to, the questions that were put to you. Imagine if you were accused of a crime but had no way of understanding the proceedings. Imagine if you were pursuing civil relief but were unable to understand the complex legal procedures that were happening and that would determine whether or not you get compensation for, say, a personal injury matter or damage to your property.

I saw firsthand the work of highly skilled TIS interpreters who were able to provide professional and accurate interpretation so that all of those involved in the legal process—judges, lawyers, plaintiffs, defendants, victims and the accused—could participate equally. I also saw the work of TIS when I was volunteering at community legal centres. We had many clients from migrant and refugee backgrounds come in seeking free legal advice when I volunteered at the Fitzroy Legal Service. A large number of those clients came seeking support for family violence issues and property issues, and the only way they were able to communicate their problems and receive advice from the lawyers there was through TIS.

There might be some people who say that people immigrating to Australia should learn English. Of course, this is something that we not only encourage but also support people to do. Most skilled and student visas have a requirement that people pass a test demonstrating a high level of English, and we have the Adult Migrant English Program, which provides free English language tuition to people with migrant and refugee backgrounds. But you don't need to speak perfect English in order to be a proud and fully participating Australian. We're talking about highly technical areas sometimes—health, law, government services—that people who even speak English as a first language struggle with and that can be very difficult to understand if your native tongue is not English. TIS ensures that all Australians can communicate with each other and provides equal access and participation. TIS has existed in one form or another since World War II. It fosters understanding, community and engagement. It is an essential pillar of social cohesion.

Our tabling of this bill reflects this government's commitment to social cohesion. We are one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world. Nowhere is this more evident than at our local citizenship ceremonies, at which many of us have the honour to represent the parliament in our elected roles. Like many of us here, I attended a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day, at Manningham Council. As always, it was one of the most uplifting parts of the job, seeing the happiness and the pride of all the new citizens fully joining our great nation and being able to share that special day with them.

On Australia Day, I also attended an event in my electorate, in Box Hill, held by the Federation of Chinese Associations (Vic). It was a wonderful reflection of modern multicultural Australia, a celebration of both our national day and Chinese New Year. Those in attendance enjoyed a traditional welcome to country and musical performances from Indigenous Australians as well as traditional Chinese performances, such as a face-changing performance.

In my electorate of Menzies, we are demonstrating our commitment to multiculturalism and social cohesion with a $200,000 commitment to multicultural festivals run by the very hardworking Asian Business Association of Whitehorse, who represent a number of small businesses as well as medium-sized businesses in my electorate. This includes the Manningham Chinese New Year Festival, which will take place this Saturday, 7 February, at Doncaster Reserve. This is the second year the festival will be held, and our support means more people in our community can celebrate and experience Chinese culture. There will be food stalls, rides and cultural performances. Then on 21 February we'll have the Box Hill Chinese New Year Festival. This has become a real highlight not just of our local cultural calendar but of Melbourne's cultural calendar, and it now attracts over 100,000 people per year. Growing up in Melbourne's east, we always had to go into the city to celebrate Chinese New Year, so it means a lot to me that we can have these cultural celebrations in our local area and with our local community. The sharing of culture and fostering of understanding is so important to maintaining social cohesion.

I contrast this approach of bringing people together, which we are committed to, with the divisive approach of those opposite. We have not forgotten that, during the election campaign, one of their senators—the campaign spokesperson no less—accused Chinese Australians who were getting involved in the democratic process of being Chinese spies. After the election, their former attorney-general George Brandis said that they were 'running out of people to offend'. Well, they found some more. Another one of their senators accused Indian Australians of voting as a monolith and used her platform to spread disinformation about our migration system. More recently, at a time when we have been focused on eliminating antisemitism and maintaining social cohesion, former prime minister Scott Morrison, backed in by Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg, called for all Muslim religious leaders to have to register and be accredited by the government—this, from the party that apparently stands for individual rights and small government.

Now, of course, we know that the evidence points to the two men who carried out the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi being motivated by an adherence to Islamic State, a perverted form of Islam. But the idea that the 813,000 Australian Muslims should be held collectively responsible for the actions of two men who perverted their faith is, to be frank, offensive. It would be like saying: 'All Australians should be held collectively responsible for the actions of the person who carried out the Christchurch massacre.' They should not be, and they are not. Islam is a religion of peace. It was put to me perfectly by one of our local Muslim leaders: the actions of Ahmed Al Ahmed, one of the heroes of Bondi, better represent the values of Islam than the actions of the two men who carried out the atrocity at Bondi.

This weekend, our local mosque, the United Muslim Migrants Association, will be having an open day for all members of the community to come and learn about Islam. I attended last year, when our local religious leaders welcomed people in and gave as much of their time as was needed to answer any questions people might have had. Sometimes these questions would have been challenging for them. Sometimes the questions relied on very outdated stereotypes and misinformation. But the Muslim leaders answered them with perfect graciousness and patience. That is what we need in our communities—not division, but building understanding, dispelling misinformation and reaching over cultural divides.

We stand with all Australians, embracing people of all faiths and backgrounds—Chinese, Indian, Jewish, Muslim. We want to bring Australians together and maintain social cohesion, and that is exactly what we are doing with this bill.

This bill creates a strong legislative framework to underpin TIS. It follows advice from the Australian Government Solicitor that says TIS National requires express legislative authority. It also considers the findings of the robodebt royal commission. We understand the importance of having proper legal foundations for government action. We also respect the advice of our independent public servants and legal counsel, unlike those opposite.

TIS is staffed by dedicated public servants who connect people who need interpreting services with the language experts they need—accurately, quickly and professionally. It is also staffed by highly skilled interpreters, accredited at different levels, who are able to interpret a wide range of areas, from the everyday to the highly technical health and legal areas.

When I was a public servant with the Department of Home Affairs, I was proud to be a CPSU union delegate. Towards the end of my time there, after the Albanese Labor government came to power, the then minister for home affairs, Clare O'Neil, came to announce that jobs in TIS that had been outsourced—jobs where people were working on insecure contracts—would be brought in-house. Dozens of people were given secure public service jobs, giving them certainty about their future and the ability to have a career path within the department.

It's so important that we recognise their hard work and the vital role that TIS plays in providing these services, because, without them, many people would be disenfranchised from the economic and cultural opportunities that come from being able to fully understand the language and the matters that they need to, to engage with government, engage with health care and engage with legal services. I commend this bill to the House.

Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025. This bill is about supporting our multicultural community. It's about making sure that members of our multicultural community are looked after. It's about strengthening an important and successful service, and ensuring that, when we look to the future, we see one where every single member of our multicultural community is taken care of. Australia's multicultural diversity is so important to who we are; it's so important to my community, where cultural festivals and local establishments bring people together; and it's so important to our country.

We're living in a time when social cohesion is more important than ever—social cohesion or having respect and care for each other or celebrating both the things that make us different and the things that make us the same. This bill is about continuing our care for multicultural communities. It's about meeting them where they're at, ensuring that they can always access key services and supporting them to participate fully in the economic and social life of our country.

This bill will establish a statutory framework for the translating and interpreting services provided by TIS National within the Department of Home Affairs. If enacted, the proposed legislation will ensure clear and enduring statutory support for TIS National. It won't change the way in which the services of TIS National are provided or funded. Rather, it will simply provide a clear legislative framework for the services, providing certainty and ensuring their continued availability to support our community into the future. With this bill, we're protecting the important services that TIS National provide to people with limited English language proficiency and ensuring that, no matter their level of English proficiency, every member of our community can access key services and support.

TIS National is a translation and interpreting service operated within the Department of Home Affairs for the purpose of promoting equitable access to key services for people in our community with limited or no English language proficiency. It's a key mechanism by which we ensure that these members of our community aren't left behind. Many Australians may not have heard of TIS National, but it's a service we use regularly in our electorate office and in the wider community. It dates back to the late 1940s, when we welcomed a new wave of postwar migrants to settle in Australia. For many of us in this place, as well as many of my constituents, these migrants were our parents or our grandparents. It was actually the first time the Australian government opened its doors to migrants from beyond the British Isles, who spoke a mother tongue other than English. In that way, TIS National is one of the foundational services of modern multicultural Australia. Since the forties, these services have grown and evolved to meet the needs of the Australian community. In 1973, they included the world's first telephone interpreting services—still a core component of the TIS National services today.

Today, TIS National's free interpreting services allow the government and other service providers to engage an interpreter or translator to assist in communicating with clients. Through TIS National, service providers can book a telephone, online or in-person appointment with a translator and can be connected directly to a phone interpreter within a few minutes of calling. Service providers that use TIS National include medical practitioners, allied health professionals, pharmacies, NGOs providing casework and emergency services, legal services, trade unions and real estate agencies. Indeed, TIS National performs a key function in ensuring good health outcomes for our multicultural communities. TIS National also accepts calls from people with limited proficiency themselves, giving them the option of arranging a translator themselves before engaging with the government or another service provider. It's actually the only interpretive service in Australia to offer this option.

In 2026, TIS National has access to more than 2,700 language practitioners in over 150 languages. It operates 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and provides over 1.3 million interpreting services each year. It is the strong foundation on which all of our work to ensure that members of our multicultural communities have equitable access is built.

Of course, when it comes to participating fully in Australian society, nothing can substitute for the ability to understand and speak English. TIS National is not a substitute for becoming proficient in English. Rather, it's an acknowledgement that learning a new language is no easy feat. For some people in our community, like women who are raising children and older first-generation migrants, learning English often means years of intentional effort and study, requiring them to seek out opportunities to learn and practise and find time to work on their English every single day.

To support migrants to improve their English, the Adult Migrant English Program, provided by the Department of Home Affairs, offers free English tuition provided by a volunteer tutor to all migrants and humanitarian entrants. The AMEP has been teaching migrants English for over 75 years, and it assists around 50,000 to 60,000 eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants each year. Over these 75 years, the program has supported countless members of our community to improve their English and to gain the confidence to participate more fully in Australian society. It also facilitates all important bonds between new migrants and established members of the community, providing new migrants with a point of contact—someone to ask when they have questions about how the public transport system works or what the rules of AFL are. It's a service that provides real, personal support to new migrants and makes their integration into the economic and social life of our country that little bit easier.

In recent times, the AMEP has actually been expanded so that more migrants can access free English tuition for longer until they reach a higher level of proficiency. That said, we must continue to provide a bridge—a service that supports and gives grace to new migrants new migrants while they're building their language skills and gaining confidence. Acknowledging that learning a language is a process ensures that, no matter what stage they're at with their English learning journey, they are never left behind.

My electorate of Gorton in Melbourne's western suburbs is incredibly diverse. There are tens of thousands of families across the electorate, and amongst those families we have one of the highest proportions of first- and second-generation migrants in Australia. More than 33 per cent of my electorate was born overseas, and more than 30,000 of my constituents speak a language other than English at home. In my electorate office, we're regularly visited by constituents who speak English as a second language or, for many of my constituents, even a third or a fourth language. We have the number for TIS National blu-tacked next to the reception in our electorate office so we can make a quick call for an interpreter whenever we need.

The importance of protecting and strengthening a service like this in a multicultural country really can't be understated. Most of my constituents with migrant backgrounds are proficient in English or speak enough to get around day to day without too much trouble. But anyone who has lived or travelled in a country that speaks a different language knows that, when it comes to administration, complex issues and situations of high stress or emotion, the holes in your language skills become apparent very quickly. At that point, having the option to speak a language you're comfortable in is so important. If the person supporting you isn't proficient in your language, you need help from someone else.

Recently, my electorate office was visited by two constituents, a young girl and her mother, seeking an update on a humanitarian visa application for a close relative. This young girl and her mother were both refugees from Afghanistan themselves. When they visited my office, our young constituent spoke on behalf of her mother. Her mother was distressed, and this young girl was caught in the middle, translating back and forth as we tried to ensure both sides were on the same page.

The children of migrant families are loved and cherished, and their parents have often been through incredible hardship to give them the opportunities for a better life. However, we know they often face a heavy burden. They're usually more proficient in the language of their new home than their parents, so they have to step up and help out. They become the translator—the one that helps with the paperwork, reads the bills, makes the phone calls and goes to every appointment. They're adultified long before they become actual adults. For their parents, who are faced with adapting to a new country, a new language and a new life, these experiences can be incredibly disempowering. They find themselves unable to advocate for themselves or for their families in the same way they have their entire lives—often the same way that got them and their families to Australia in the first place.

When we received the update on the visa application, we provided it to our young constituent. But we made it clear that, if her mother needed an opportunity to hear this information directly, we'd be happy to see her back in the office for an in-person meeting with a translator. Two months later, there was a message in the inbox asking to set up a meeting. The opportunity to have this meeting with a translator from TIS National on the phone took the pressure off our young constituent to speak on behalf of her mother. It gave her mother an opportunity to be heard, to hear the information she needed from the source and to ask questions she still had directly and hear the answers herself. That's the power of free translation services in our electorate offices.

But it's not just about complex visa matters or issues that might bring you to an electorate office. It's much more basic than that. Language barriers prevent migrants from accessing and receiving a whole lot of important information and services. They can prevent migrants from calling triple zero; understanding information from emergency services, like the SES, when natural disasters occur; reporting crimes; or going to the doctor.

Many studies have highlighted the negative impact of language barriers on migrants' access to health care, and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare even reported that low English proficiency, and more than 10 years in Australia, is actually linked to a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke and lung conditions, even though people born overseas generally have fewer long-term health conditions than those born in Australia. That's a finding which speaks to the seriousness of this issue and the crucially important part of making sure that a language barrier does not prevent migrants from looking after their own health. It's so important that we produce materials in language and proactively reach out to migrants, to provide in-language and culturally-appropriate education and support. A service like TIS National is the foundation of all of this because, for migrants and service providers alike, when communicating directly is not possible, it's so important that the option to call an interpreter is there to fall back on.

The Albanese Labor government is bringing in this bill because we know the importance of multicultural and social cohesion in our country. We're one of the most successful multicultural nations in the world. We've been an example for other countries. But we're living in a moment when our social cohesion, the thread that joins us all together, is under threat. And make no mistake: it's under threat from hate and extremism that seek to divide and want to make us believe that we cannot live harmoniously alongside one another. Our government doesn't buy this story, and we will not let it divide us. That's why the government established an office for multicultural affairs and elevated to cabinet, for the very first time, the standalone position of Minister for Multicultural Affairs. That's why we brought in the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 and it's why we're strengthening our existing legislation to ensure that every member of our multicultural community has equitable access to services.

The decision to pack up your life and move to a different country is one of the biggest you can make. Our government recognises that and is committed to supporting migrants every step of the way. I commend this bill to the House.

Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural nations in the world. Our story is one of migration—of people arriving on this continent from every corner of the globe, bringing with them skills, traditions, faiths, languages and hopes for a better future. Australians come from all walks of life and from almost every country on earth. Some arrive with English skills better than many members of this chamber. Others, particularly those reuniting with family, arrive with limited or no English skills at all. That diversity is not a weakness; it is one of our greatest strengths. But it also brings with it a responsibility to ensure that language is never a barrier to dignity, safety, opportunity or participation in Australian society. That is why government funded translating and interpreting services are not a luxury; they are essential nation-building infrastructure.

Australia first established government translation services in 1947, in response to the large influx of postwar migrants from Europe. At that time, we recognised a simple truth: people cannot integrate, work, access health care or comply with the law if they cannot understand it. That system was built upon in 1973, when Australia became the first country in the world to introduce a national telephone interpreting service. Today, TIS National supports more than 2,700 interpreters across over 150 languages. Those interpreters work across metropolitan suburbs, regional towns, courts, hospitals, police stations, medical facilities, workplaces and homes. They are vital to improving quality of life, ensuring fairness and allowing residents to access services they would otherwise be completely locked out of. Access to language is also essential to a healthy democracy, because informed citizens must first be able to understand the systems that serve them and the processes that enable their participation.

I know personally just how impactful programs like this can be. When I arrived in Australia as a young girl, I could not read English. I struggled to speak it properly. Even when I could manage a casual conversation, I certainly could not understand complex processes, legal language or government forms. Like many migrant families, the Fernando family relied heavily on family friends and community members to translate for us—a reality that thousands of my constituents in Holt continue to rely on every day. I learned English by reading classical novels such as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It was hard work. When I first started, it would take me more than three months to finish a single novel. Through the hard work, perseverance and support of incredible teachers, including Ms Tassle, Mrs Rainsford, Mr Hall and Mr Jappie, those months to finish a novel turned into weeks and those weeks turned into days. Learning a language is hard at any age.

Learning a new language is far easier when you are younger. For older migrants, parents, and grandparents who move here to join their children, learning English is a much more difficult task. That is why translating and interpreting services are so crucial in electorates like mine. In Holt, 47 per cent of residents speak a language other than English at home. Most speak English at an extremely high standard. We are also home to one of the largest refugee populations in the country. This diaspora from Afghanistan, Cambodia and Sri Lanka has escaped conflict. It represents families, small-business owners, carers, factory workers, cleaners, nurses and grandparents—people who contribute every day to our community but who struggle to access services without support. Language access is not merely a matter of convenience for these people. It is fundamental to participation and economic opportunity. When people understand their rights, their employment conditions and their responsibilities, they are able to enter the workforce sooner, contribute more quickly and help drive Australia's economic growth.

One of the best services delivered by TIS National is the free translating service. If a person has been granted a long-term visa within the last two years, they are entitled to have up to 10 personal documents translated free of charge. That includes birth, death and marriage certificates, school certificates, academic transcripts, letters of reference, bank statements, employment records and medical documents. These translations would otherwise cost hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars. By removing that cost, the government removes barriers to employment, education, housing, health care and settlement. It helps new arrivals find work, enrol their children in schools, secure rental property, open a bank account and access Medicare and other essential services. This is why TIS National is so vital—because a modern multicultural Australia only succeeds when residents are able to integrate and engage fully with Australian society.

TIS National not only supports engagement with government agencies; interpreting services are also available for non-government interactions, including with doctors and other healthcare providers, ensuring patients understand diagnosis, consent to treatment and receive safe care. These services are also used by trade unions to help workers understand their rights and protect themselves from exploitation and by real estate agents and housing providers to help families find secure accommodation. In times of crisis—whether they be bushfires, as we've recently had in Victoria, floods or public health emergencies—clear communication saves lives, and these services ensure that no-one is left behind when urgent information must be understood.

Crucially, these services are used by women escaping domestic and family violence. Language barriers can trap women in violent relationships. It can isolate them from society and limit their knowledge of where they can reach out to. It can prevent victims from seeking help, reporting abuse, understanding intervention orders or accessing crisis accommodation. For women who do not speak English fluently, an interpreter can be the difference between safety and continued harm. That is why this bill matters. Whether it's a woman escaping domestic violence, a new mum trying to access the parenting payment or an older Australian trying to access health care, this service provides great benefits.

Up till now, these translating and interpreting services have been delivered by successive Australian governments without explicit legislative authority. While such arrangements are not uncommon in government, they carry risk. They rely on administrative practices rather than statutory certainty. This bill fixes that. It provides a clear legislative framework that formally empowers the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs to continue delivering translating and interpreting services. It ensures transparency, accountability and continuity.

We know the demand is real. The most recent census showed that 3.4 per cent of Australians have low English skills, meaning they do not speak English well or at all. Some of the highest demand for interpreting services comes from communities with heritage in Vietnam, Greece, Korea, Italy and Spain—communities that have helped shape and build modern Australia. These services are relied upon daily by police, courts, aged-care providers, GPs, hospitals, the ATO, the Administrative Review Tribunal and the Federal Court.

Without interpreters, justice cannot be delivered fairly, health care cannot be delivered safely, government cannot be accessed equally. Labor understands this. It was a Labor government, led by Gough Whitlam, that dismantled the White Australia policy. It was Labor that laid the foundations of modern multicultural Australia, recognising that diversity strengthens our nation, but only when people are supported to participate fully. This bill continues that proud tradition. It recognises that language should never be a barrier to opportunity. It recognises that government services must be accessible to everyone, not just those fluent in English, and it recognises that a strong, cohesive Australia is one that everyone can understand, engage in and belong to.

TIS National is not just a service; it's a lifeline—a bridge between systems and people. This bill ensures that that bridge remains strong. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the interpreters themselves. They are highly skilled professionals who step into complex and often emotionally charged situations to ensure accuracy, dignity and fairness. The work you do every day is so vital, and it supports thousands of members in our community.

In closing, I want to thank the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Dr Anne Aly, and the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, for ensuring that the government's translating and interpreting services remain strong into the future. For that reason, I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.