About this service

Certain permanent residents and some temporary visa holders can use the Free Translating Service for translation of up to 10 personal documents.

‘Personal documents’ are documents that name you, belong to you, and are about you. Personal documents must also support your participation in employment, education, and community engagement.

Holders of one of the following visa subclasses are generally allowed to access the service and obtain free translations of up to 10 personal documents:

100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 124, 126, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 151, 175, 176, 186, 187, 189, 190, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 300, 309, 403, 405, 410, 445, 449, 476, 482, 485, 500, 491, 494, 785, 786, 790, 800, 801, 802, 804, 808, 820, 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, 846, 851, 852, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 861, 862, 863, 864, 866, 880, 881, 882, 883, 885, 886, 887, 888, 890, 891, 892, 893

In addition, you must meet the following conditions:

• The visa must have been granted within the previous two years. If your eligible visa was granted more than two years ago, you are not eligible to access the Free Translating Service.
• You must not have previously exhausted the allowable limit of 10 translated documents.

All other visa subclasses, including bridging visas, tourist visas, and working holiday visas are ineligible for the Free Translating Service. Australian citizens are also ineligible.

Some visa subclasses may have additional eligibility requirements, details of which will be verified during the application process.

You have two years from the date your visa was granted to access the FTS.

If you had document(s) translated under this service previously, your eligibility period is not re-set each time you have been granted a new eligible visa. If you submit further application(s), your eligibility will still be based on the visa used to assess your first use of the Free Translating Service.

You can have up to 10 personal documents translated to support your participation in employment, education, and community engagement in Australia. ‘Personal documents’ are documents that name you, belong to you, and are about you. Remember that each family member needs to lodge a separate application to get their documents translated.

Example 1: If you want to get documents translated that are in the name of a family member, for example, your children’s vaccination records, you need to create a separate application for each of your children. The maximum number of documents is 10 per applicant.

Example 2: If you want to get your and your spouse’s driver licences translated, then you need to lodge two applications: one for yourself and one for your spouse. The maximum number of documents is 10 per applicant.

The following personal documents are eligible:

• Academic transcripts. An academic transcript is a document that records the subject name and the mark awarded. Documents that include lengthy course descriptions or comments on student performance are not accepted as academic transcripts. University syllabi or similar documents are also not accepted for free translation.
• Birth certificates
• Business documents
• Change of name certificates
• Civil partnership certificates
• Custody documents
• Death certificates. You can submit the death certificate of an immediate family member for translation, even if your name is not mentioned on the document. This applies to their death certificate only. Any other documents of the deceased will not be eligible.
• Divorce documents and dissolution of civil partnership documents
• Driver licences. International driving permits are not accepted for free translation. Documents such as “driver certificates” are not accepted for free translation unless they are submitted in addition to the actual licence. Driver certificates/confirmations are considered as supporting documents, information will be included in the translation of the actual licence.
• Education documents
• Employment documents
• Family registers
• Household registration documents
• Identity documents
• Marriage certificates
• Medical documents
• Occupational licences
• Police clearance certificates
• Religious documents
• Vaccination documents

You cannot get the same document translated twice.

Visas and personal documents required for visa applications are not eligible for free translation.

Translator affidavits for family court or other legal purposes are not available within the Free Translating Service.

You can help someone else to apply for the Free Translating Service, but the application needs to be made in the name of the person you are helping. For example, if your family requires translation of birth records, then each family member needs their own individual application for the Free Translating Service. This is so we can check the individual eligibility of each person who needs documents translated.

Document allowances cannot be shared with others. Each eligible individual is entitled to 10 documents.

To complete the application form, you need to upload the following files (in colour):

• Your passport or ImmiCard
• Your visa grant notice or VEVO entitlement check (VEVO entitlement check must be issued within the last 90 days)
• The documents you need translated.

Please make sure to upload colour files, not black and white ones.

If your name was changed between the issue of your passport/ImmiCard and the issue of the documents you need translated, please include evidence (in English) of your change of name. If the document is in a language other than English, you may include it in the list the documents you need translated.

If you don’t speak English well, or at all, you can call TIS National on 131 450, request the language of interpreter you need, and ask to be put through to The Migration Translators on 02 8776 3383. You will not be charged for the interpreter, but you will be charged for the cost of the call to TIS National.

Please contact our helpdesk via email by submitting a contact form. We will respond to your enquiry within one business day.

You can also call on us 1800 962 100 between 9am and 5pm Sydney time, Monday to Friday (except for public holidays). If all team members are busy, you will not have to wait – an operator will take your details, and we will call you back within a few hours.

Your visa grant notice was issued to you, or to someone acting on your behalf, by the Department of Home Affairs. The grant notice includes your visa subclass number, your visa grant number, the date when your visa was granted and other information about your visa, including visa conditions and entitlements such as work and/or study rights.

You can check your visa status and your entitlements by using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system, or the myVEVO mobile app. You can access VEVO on the Department of Home Affairs website or by downloading the myVEVO app via your mobile app store.

You must have your visa grant notice or your VEVO entitlement check available to complete the Free Translating Service application form.

Yes, colour photos or scans are all we need. Make sure that the photos are clear and that nothing is cut off around the edges. Also, make sure you upload colour files, not black and white ones.

We do not require the photos or scans to be certified.

The Free Translating Service is funded by the Department of Home Affairs and delivered by The Migration Translators, an Australian translation agency specialising in NAATI translations.

Wherever possible, the documents will be translated by a translator credentialed by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). If a NAATI translator is not available in the source language, the documents will be translated by a professional translator from The Migration Translators’ panel.

The translation will be suitable for many official purposes in Australia.

The translations will be provided on a template and will be in extract summary format (up to 100 words), except in the following circumstances:

• Custody documents and medical documents will be translated in word-for-word format, up to five pages per document.
• Vaccination documents will be translated in extract summary format, up to five pages per document.
• Academic transcripts will be translated in extract summary format, up to five pages per document.
• Employment-related documents will be translated in extract summary format, up to 600 words per document.

If you can supply reasonable evidence that you need a complete word-for-word translation of a certain document, then we will translate the entire document. Reasonable evidence could include an email, a letter, or a link to the official website of an authority/institution (e.g. an education provider or a skills assessment provider) stating that a word-for-word translation is required. If a word-for-word translation is provided, then the first five pages will count as one document, the next five as the second document, and so on. You cannot have more than 10 documents translated under the Free Translating Service.

Once you have lodged your application, you will receive an instant acknowledgement email with your application number. Your application will then be assessed against the eligibility criteria within one to two business days, and you will be notified by email of the outcome.

We will email you the completed translation within 30 calendar days of its approval.

There is no priority or rush option available; however, the actual processing time might be significantly less than 30 days.

Upon delivery of the translations by email, you can also request paper originals to be posted to you by normal, untracked mail free of charge.

You can request a correction within a period of six months from the original application submission date. Please send an email to fts@migrationtranslators.com.au or use the contact form on the website. We will then investigate your request and, where necessary, provide an updated translation at no cost.

You can also call us on 1800 962 100 if you want to request a paper correction request form over the phone.

If your translated document has become lost or damaged, you can request a replacement within a period of twelve months from the original application submission date at no cost.

There are a number of commercial translating providers you can access. The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) is the national standards and accreditation body for translators and interpreters in Australia.

We recommend that you confirm the specific translation requirements with the institution that needs your translation before engaging a translator.

For example, if you are applying for an Australian driver licence in New South Wales (NSW), you need to have your translation completed by Multicultural NSW Language Services. You can call them on 1300 651 500, or visit a NSW Service Centre. More information is available on their website. If you are eligible to get your driver licence translated through the Free Translating Service, then you can use it to apply for a driver licence in New South Wales (and all other states and territories). The information above is only relevant if you are not eligible to use the Free Translating Service.

This website uses a range of security tools to ensure that the data you enter and the files you upload are secure. The underlying platform is certified to meet government standards. Your information will only be used for the translation process and will not be shared with any third party.

Please contact us through the contact form. We will acknowledge your enquiry within one business day.

You can also call us on 1800 962 100 between 9 am and 5 pm Sydney time, Monday to Friday (except for gazetted public holidays). If all team members are busy, then you will not have to wait – an operator will take your details, and we will call you back within a few hours.

If you need an interpreter, call TIS National on 131 450 and ask to be put through to The Migration Translators on 02 8776 3383.

For any feedback or suggestions regarding the Free Translating Service Policy (e.g. eligibility criteria or approved documents), contact the Global Feedback Unit of the Department of Home Affairs:

Online:
Click here

By phone:
13 31 77 between 9 am and 5 pm AEST (except Victorian public holidays)

By post:
Department of Home Affairs
GPO Box 241
Melbourne VIC 3001
Australia

More information about providing feedback to the Department of Home Affairs can be found here.