Need for Translated Material

Introduction and Scope:

The costs of translating and printing of translated material means that careful thought needs to be given to the selection, type and quantity of translated material.

You should consider:

  • The languages your current and potential clients read and write

  • The level of literacy among clients not proficient in English

  • Other sources of information already available to the client

  • Your available budget

Also check the Healthtranslations Directory for any translations that have been produced by other agencies and that could be used, see www.healthtranslations.vic.gov.au

Determining if you need a translation

A number of factors must be taken into account when determining whether particular information or documents should be translated:

  • Type of Document egg Medical Reports generally should always be translated

  • The age and gender of clients

  • The type of services being provided to clients

  • Your region and the client demographics

  • Translations should be based both on available data and consultation with the local ethnic community under consideration for translated materials

Know your community

Before undertaking translations into a community language, establish how many people speak the target language in your catchment area. Maintain an up to date information base of your CALD population and the CALD population in the area you service. Also consult with field workers about which language group has a significant need for translated material.

When researching CALD population, one needs to separate these into two groups. One group is the established migrants, such as the Italian and Greek communities, and the other groups are the newly arrived migrants who emerge quite suddenly and often services are not prepared for them.

To research the established migrant groups, there is reliable data available from the following sources:

Research Sources

There are a number of sources of information from both Government and other agencies.
The list below is not meant to be an exhaustive source but enable adequate research to be conducted on the availability of existing translated resources:

Is the Document Already Available?

Investigate to see if a similar document has not already been translated. If a similar document has already been translated, it may be available in print, electronic or audiovisual form. With permission from the person/organisation holding the copyright of the publication, this document may be used and past translations may only need minor amendments. Please refer to Appendix D – Multilingual Publications Online.