The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) held a training workshop and accreditation testing at Aurukun 12.06.17 –23.06.17. The NAATI team; Mahesh Radhakrishnan, NAATI Project Officer (Indigenous Interpreting), Co-trainers Michael Cooke and Gemma Ives and linguist David Osgarby facilitated the workshop and testing.

Pama Language Centre Linguist Louise Ashmore provided on the ground support and assistance with the planning and facilitation of the training workshop and assessments at Aurukun. Ancestral Language Experts Dorothy Pootchemunka, Dawn Koondumbin, Phyllis Yunkaporta and Vera Koomeeta supported the workshop as mentors. Assessments of the NAATI Paraprofessional Interpreter test for Wik-Mungkan-English were held 19–23rd June and three participants received accreditation. 

Further information about the NAATI Indigenous Interpreting project can be found at https://www.naati.com.au/projects/indigenous-interpreting-project-iip/

The increase in requests for translation and interpreting services across agencies has highlighted the need for a coordinated translating and interpreting service. The accredited interpreters and Ancestral Language Experts will be pivotal in developing a coordinated Interpretation and translation language service at Aurukun.