When the solicitor or client has requested an interpreter, in line with Legal Aid Queensland’s Language Services Policy, legal aid is available for an interpreter to communicate with clients and potential witnesses who are:
- from a non-English-speaking background and have difficulty communicating in English, or
- hearing impaired, or
- speech impaired.
Requests for the translation of documents will be referred to a senior grants officer for consideration.
Requirements
Extension of aid requests received from preferred suppliers or in-house practitioners
Practitioners seeking an extension of aid for an interpreter should electronically submit an extension for aid request via the Grants Online system along with the amount quoted to engage an interpreter.
Interpretation
Interpreting for court proceedings
Legal Aid Queensland will not pay for interpreters fees if this cost is borne by the court, refer to Practice direction no.7 of 2010 - interpreters - magistrates court criminal proceedings.
Reasonable fees
For the purpose of this policy, Legal Aid Queensland will consider the most cost effective option or method for providing interpreting/translation services. For example, Legal Aid Queensland may consider it more cost effective to fund a further conference with solicitor/counsel, interpreter and client than to incur the costs involved in translating written instructions/documentation received from the client.
Grant(s) of aid
The grant of aid for an interpreter (spoken language) is INT1.
The grant of aid for an interpreter (hearing/speech impaired) is INT2.
Extension(s) of aid
For criminal law matters only, an extension of aid is available for additional preparation where an accredited interpreter has been engaged for the purposes of interviewing an applicant is CINT. This grant of aid is available at each stage of proceedings.