NAATI

Testing Format - Paraprofessional Interpreter

Approximately 40 minutes in length, including 10 minutes unallocated time to allow for

unforeseen delays.
Section One: Cultural and Social Aspects (5 mins)
Four (4) oral questions will be put to the candidate based on the social and cultural aspects of
interpreting, two (2) in English, which will be answered in English, and two (2) in the other
language, which will be answered in the other language. The candidate will reply orally to the
questions. (5 marks)
Section Two: Ethics of the Profession (5 mins)
Four (4) oral questions will be put to the candidate based on NAATIs published collection of
codes of ethics of the profession for translators and interpreters, two (2) in English, which will
be answered in English, and two (2) in the other language, which will be answered in the other
language. The questions will be designed to elicit the candidates awareness of the ethics of
the profession. The candidate will reply orally to the questions. (5 marks)
Section Three: Dialogue Interpreting (20 mins)
There will be two (2) dialogues of 250-300 words each between an English speaker and a
speaker of the language other than English. The dialogues will be divided into suitable
segments, which will not normally exceed 35 words. (45 + 45 = 90 marks)
Policy on Repeats
Candidates are advised that with the exception of repeats necessitated by outside
interference, only one (1) repeat per dialogue may be requested without penalty. Further
repetitions will be penalised.

A dialogue will consist of 250-300 words made up of several English segments and several
segments in the other language. Over the entire dialogue, the first repeat will not be penalised.
All other repeats will attract a penalty of at least one (1) mark.
Repeats requested of questions in social, cultural and ethics sections, will not be penalised.
Pass Mark
To achieve a pass in this test candidates must score the following:
2.5/5 for Social/Cultural Aspects
2.5/5 for Ethics
29/45 for each dialogue (minimum score)
63/90 for two (2) dialogues
70/100 for overall marks
Testing Format Interpreter (Current Format)
Section One: Dialogue interpreting (2 x 25=50 marks)
There will be two (2) dialogues in different subject areas each of approximately 10-15 minutes
duration between an English speaker and a speaker of the LOTE. Each dialogue will be
approximately 400 words and will be divided into suitable segments which will not normally
exceed 60 words. Four (4) questions as described below will relate to and follow each
preceding dialogue.
Social and Cultural Awareness Questions (10 marks)
There will be two (2) questions related to each dialogue. The first question is asked in English
and is to be answered in English. The second question is asked in the LOTE and is to be
answered in the LOTE.
Ethics of the Profession Questions (10 marks)
There will be two (2) questions related to each dialogue. The first question is asked in English
and is to be answered in English. The second question is asked in the LOTE and is to be
answered in the LOTE.
Section Two: Consecutive interpreting of Passages (2 x 15=30 marks)
There will be two passages of approximately 300 words each. The first passage will be in the
LOTE and the second passage in English. After having listened to the passage, the candidate
is required to interpret into the other language almost immediately, providing a structured and
accurate rendering of the original. The passage will be read only once and no repeats of any
parts are allowed. Note-taking is encouraged. Two (2) weeks prior to the test, the
State/Territory Office will provide the candidate with the topics for each of these two passages.
To achieve a pass candidates must score a minimum of:
5/10 for Social/Cultural Aspects questions
5/10 for Ethics of the Profession questions
35/50 for both consecutive interpreting dialogues
21/30 for both consecutive interpreting passages
70/100 Overall

(New Test Format)

Section One: Dialogue interpreting (2 x 25=59 marks)
There will be two (2) dialogues in different subject areas each of approximately 10-15 minutes
duration between an English speaker and a speaker of the other language. Each dialogue will
be approximately 400 words and will be divided into suitable segments which will not normally
exceed 60 words. Four (4) questions and a sight translation task as described below will
relate to and follow each of the two dialogues.
Social and Cultural Awareness Questions (10 marks)
There will be two (2) questions relating to each of the dialogues. The first question is asked in
English and is to be answered in English. The second question is asked in the LOTE and is to
be answered in the LOTE.
Ethics of the Profession Questions (10 marks)
There will be two (2) questions relating to each of the dialogues. The first question is asked in
English and is to be answered in English. The second question is asked in the LOTE and is to
be answered in the LOTE.
Sight Translation (2 x 10=20 marks)
There will be two (2) sight translation pages in different subject areas, each of approximately
200 words in length. One (1) will be in the LOTE and is to be sight translated into English and
one (1) will be in English and is to be sight translated into the LOTE. Each one will be related
to the preceding dialogue.
Section Two: Consecutive Interpreting of Passages (2 x 15=30 marks)
There will be two passages of approximately 300 words each. Each passage will be divided
into two (2) sections of no greater than 170 words. The first passage will be in the LOTE and
the second passage in English. Each section will be played separately and having listened to
the section of the passage, the candidate is required to interpret into the other language
almost immediately providing a structured and accurate rendering of the original. The passage
will be read only once and no repeats of any parts are allowed. Note-taking is encouraged.
Two (2) weeks prior to the test, the State/Territory Office will provide the candidate with the
topics for each of these two passages.
To achieve a pass candidates must score a minimum of:
35/50 for both consecutive interpreting dialogues
21/30 for both consecutive interpreting passages
14/20 for both of the sight translation tasks
70/100 for these three parts (consecutive and dialogue interpreting and sight translation) of
the test overall
5/10 for Social/Cultural Aspects questions
5/10 for Ethics of the Profession questions

Testing Format - AUSLAN Paraprofessional Interpreter

Approximately 40 minutes in length, including 10 minutes unallocated time to allow for
unforeseen delays.
Section One: Cultural and Social Aspects (5 mins)
Four (4) oral questions will be put to the candidate based on the social and cultural aspects of
interpreting, two (2) in English, which will be answered in English, and two (2) in Auslan, which
will be answered in Auslan. (5 marks)
Section Two: Ethics of the Profession (5 mins)
Four (4) oral questions will be put to the candidate based on NAATIs published collection of
codes of ethics of the profession for translators and interpreters, two (2) in English, which will
be answered in English, and two (2) in Auslan, which will be answered in Auslan. The
questions will be designed to elicit the candidates awareness of the ethics of the profession.
(5 marks)
Section Three: Dialogue Interpreting (20 mins)
There will be two (2) dialogues of 250-300 words each between an English speaker and a
speaker of Auslan. The dialogues will be divided into suitable segments, which will not
normally exceed 35 words. (45 + 45 = 90 marks)
Policy on Repeats
Candidates are advised that with the exception of repeats necessitated by outside
interference, only one (1) repeat per dialogue may be requested without penalty. Further
repetitions will be penalised.
A dialogue will consist of 250-300 words made up of several English segments and several
segments in Auslan. Over the entire dialogue, the first repeat will not be penalised. All other
repeats will attract a penalty of at least one (1) mark.
Repeats requested of questions in social, cultural and ethics sections, will not be penalised.
Pass Mark
To achieve a pass in this test candidates must score the following:
2.5/5 for Social/Cultural Aspects
2.5/5 for Ethics
29/45 for each dialogue (minimum score)
63/90 for two (2) dialogues
70/100 for overall marks

Testing Format - AUSLAN Interpreter

Current Format
The test will take approximately 75 minutes, including 15 minutes unallocated time to allow for
unforeseen conditions.
Section One: Dialogue Interpreting One (25 marks)
There will be one (1) dialogue of approximately 10-15 minutes duration, to be interpreted in
consecutive mode, between an English speaker and an Auslan speaker. Each dialogue will
be approximately 400 words and will be divided into suitable segments which will not normally
exceed 60 words. Four (4) questions as described below will relate to and follow the dialogue.
Social and Cultural Awareness Questions (5 marks)
There will be two (2) questions. The first question is asked in English and is to be answered in
English. The second question is asked in Auslan and is to be answered in Auslan.
Ethics of the Profession Questions (5 marks)
There will be two (2) questions. The first question is asked in English and is to be answered in
English. The second question is asked in Auslan and is to be answered in Auslan.
Section Two: Dialogue interpreting 2 (25 marks)
There will be one (1) dialogue of approximately 10-15 minutes duration, to be interpreted in
simultaneous mode, between an English speaker and an Auslan speaker. Each dialogue will
be approximately 400 words and will be divided into suitable segments which will not normally
exceed 60 words. Four (4) questions as described below will relate to and follow the dialogue.
Social and Cultural Awareness Questions (5 marks)
There will be two (2) questions. The first question is asked in English and is to be answered in
English. The second question is asked in Auslan and is to be answered in Auslan.
Ethics of the Profession Questions (5 marks)
There will be two (2) questions. The first question is asked in English and is to be answered in
English. The second question is asked in Auslan and is to be answered in Auslan.
Section Three: Simultaneous Interpreting (2 x 15=30 marks)
There will be two (2) passages. The first passage will be approximately 400 words and the
second approximately 300 words. The first passage is delivered in spoken English, and the
candidate must interpret the passage into Auslan. The second passage is delivered in Auslan
and must be interpreted into spoken English. The second passage will be delivered using
approximately 20% to 30% finger-spelling and 70% to 80% Auslan.
To achieve a pass in this test, candidates must score a minimum of:
5/10 for Social/Cultural Aspects questions
5/10 for Ethics of the Profession questions
35/50 for both consecutive interpreting dialogues
21/30 for both consecutive interpreting passages
70/100 Overall

(New Test Format)

Section One: Community/Legal Interpreting
One Interpreting Dialogue (25 marks)
2 Social/Cultural Questions (5 marks)
2 Ethics Questions (5 marks)
One Sight Translation (related to the dialogue) (20 marks)
One Auslan to English Monologue (15 marks)
Section Two: Professional/Academic Interpreting
One Dialogue (25 marks)
2 Social Cultural Questions (5 marks)
2 Ethics Questions (5 marks)
One English to Auslan Monologue (15 marks)
The dialogues will be challenging including subject matter such as police interviews, court
cross-examinations, counselling, specialist medical terminology, and academic discussions.
The monologues will be focussed on judges court summations, university presentations etc.
rather than conference papers.
There will be no specification of the amount of finger spelling to be incorporated into the test.
This will be determined by the text itself and will therefore flow naturally in the presentation.
To achieve a pass, candidates must score a minimum of:
35/50 for both interpreting dialogues
21/30 for the monologues
14/20 for the Sight translation task
70/100 for the interpreting parts of the test (Interpreting dialogues, Sight Translation and
Monologues)
5/10 for Social/Cultural Aspects questions
5/10 for Ethics of the Profession questions