Aboriginal Interpreter Service (AIS)
The Northern Territory Aboriginal Interpreter Service (NTAIS) was established in 2000 as a result of investigations which showed the need for a specific service to find, recruit, train, supply and co-ordinate interpreters and translators of Indigenous Aboriginal languages throughout the Northern Territory. The objective of the NTAIS is to assist in alleviating the language barriers faced by Indigenous people throughout the Northern Territory, particularly in relation to health and legal issues.
The NTAIS provides a predominantly oral interpreter service for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. To the greatest extent possible, it employs Aboriginal people as interpreters. These are often local community members who have undertaken some interpreter training. The NTAIS currently has interpreters for 105 Indigenous languages with the core of 15 major languages necessary to ensure geographical coverage of all areas.
The NTAIS offers a central booking service for government and non-government agencies that require on-site Aboriginal language interpreters. The NTAIS currently employs approximately 314 interpreters, including 77 who are accredited. In 2007-08, the NTAIS received 2975 bookings and completed 4283 interpretations.
The NTAIS receives joint funding from both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments. This funding has 2 purposes: the first is to support Northern Territory law and justice agencies and the second is to give Indigenous legal aid providers and family violence prevention and legal services (FVPLS) units in the Northern Territory free access to interpreters.