How to become an interpreter in Australia
Interpreters transfer spoken or signed languages into other spoken or signed languages, usually within a limited timeframe in the presence of the participants requiring the translation.
Pay and growth are for the wider social professionals group, which is as fine as the data goes. The all-jobs median is $1,852 a week. Jobs in the social professionals group are projected to grow 21.2% between May 2025 and May 2035, faster than the 13.3% projected for all jobs. Projections are indicative, not forecasts, and JSA says they don't yet reflect generative AI.
What the job involves
- Provides simultaneous and consecutive verbal or signed renditions of speeches into another language.
- Renders the meaning and feeling of what is said and signed into another language in the appropriate register and style in a range of settings such as courts, hospitals, schools, workplaces and conferences.
How to get there
What it usually takes. A bachelor degree or higher. This is the skill level Jobs and Skills Australia gives the social professionals group, and some roles differ.
What people in the job have. Highest qualification held: 53% a degree or higher, 25% a diploma, 6% a Certificate III or IV.
Many jobs also need registration, a licence or a specific accredited course. Check the professional body or regulator before you choose.
Courses that can lead here
Estimate your ATAR and this page shows the gap to each course. Your marks stay on your device.
Victoria0 matches
VTAC lowest selection ranks, December 2025 offer round.
No match in VTAC's list. Some courses, medicine especially, don't publish a cutoff or use their own admissions.
NSW and ACT1 match
UAC lowest selection ranks, December Round 2, 2025-26 admissions.
Bachelor of Arts (Interpreting and Translation) · Western Sydney71.25Queensland0 matches
QTAC course pages, ATAR/Selection Rank profile for semester 1, 2026.
No match in QTAC's list. Some courses, medicine especially, don't publish a cutoff or use their own admissions.
Western Australia2 matches
TISC Course Search: lowest ATAR offered for 2026 entry and guaranteed offer ATARs.
Master of Translation Studies via Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) Assured Pathway · UWA, Perth98.00 guaranteed Master of Translation Studies via Bachelor of Arts Assured Pathway · UWA, Perth90.00 guaranteedMatched on course names, 3 across four admissions centres. A lowest selection rank includes adjustment points and moves every year. Check prerequisites and whether the course is accredited for this job.
Graduate outcomes, national
Undergraduates surveyed about four to six months after finishing, in 2025, across all providers. Full-time work is among those available for it. All graduates: 75.4% and $77,000. These are national figures for the study area, not for this course or uni, and a first-year salary says little about later pay. Source: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025.
Does it fit your interests?
Strongest interest areas for this kind of work: Conventional, Artistic, Social.
From O*NET ratings for "Interpreters and Translators", the closest US occupation in JSA's correspondence (a good match). US ratings are a guide to Australian jobs, not a measurement of them.
Careers with similar interests
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Share your storyJob data: © Commonwealth of Australia, Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profiles, February 2026 and Employment Projections, May 2025 to May 2035 (Victoria University), CC BY 4.0. Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.2 to O*NET-SOC 2019 Taxonomy correspondence.
Graduate outcomes: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025, National Report Tables (Social Research Centre, for the Australian Government).
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Curve ATAR has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.