In multicultural Australia, foreign language interpreting services are easy to find.

But it's much harder for Indigenous Australians to find someone who speaks their language, even for those facing criminal court cases and serious health conditions.

Have Your Say: Should interpreter services be made available to Indigenous Australians in the other states?

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction with a comprehensive service, offering interpreters for all of the Territory's 104 known Aboriginal languages and dialects.

The service is used to aid Indigenous people in legal and health issues but since the introduction of the NT Federal Intervention and other reforms demand has risen for communicating with housing and welfare agencies.

This week on Living Black, contributing video journalist Drew Ambrose goes to the NT to investigate the impact the service is having on the community. "It's there so [that] Aboriginal people have equity but there's other unintended benefits," says Colleen Rosas, of the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service.

Despite their usefulness there is a high turnover rate for interpreters. They either get poached by other employers or the stress of confrontational court environments takes its toll. Other states also call upon the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service regularly, although there are moves interstate to establish their own. Drew asks how this vitally important service can be assured a future.

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TRANSCRIPT

KG: Hello and welcome to Living Black. I'm Karla Grant.

Australia's multicultural society means foreign language interpreting services are easy to find. But it's
a different story for many of Australia's Indigenous people, even for those facing criminal court cases and serious health conditions.

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction with a comprehensive service.

Living Black contributing video journalist Drew Ambrose reports.

Reporter: From humble beginnings eight years ago to the biggest Indigenous translation service in the country. The Northern Territory has 104 known languages and dialects. And the Aboriginal Interpreter Service speaks all of them. In 2000, there were just six interpreters. To date, 700 have worked on the books. Right now, 295 are actively helping Indigenous people access legal, health, welfare and other general services across the Territory.

Colleen Rosas, NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service: It's there as, um, so Aboriginal people have equity, the same as other Australians to mainstream services.

Reporter: Rose Laymbalaymba speaks four Arnhem Land languages. Most of her work is done
in courtrooms and hospitals. Rose believes interpreters bridge the gap between Indigenous culture and mainstream society.

Rose Laymbalaymba, Interpreter: It does become very complicated especially if you are talking to old people using the old language, that communication between the interpreter and someone else who's questioning becomes really good.

Reporter: Rose often works with prosecutors and police officers on criminal cases. But she
says it's not easy balancing cultural sensitivities and the need to get factual evidence.

Rose Laymbalaymba: Rather than using 'rape' word, the language we use by saying (Speaks Aboriginal
language) - now, that word is "Have you, did you hold her?" That's another meaning, rather than offending this person.

Reporter: Criminal lawyer Charlena Musk says, increasingly, her Indigenous clients are requesting translators.

Charlena Musk, Lawyer: They're invaluable. Like, I was just doing a committal this afternoon where the witnesses are from Port Keats, and the witness needs someone who speaks Muranpatha and able to interpret Muranpatha, and the person we got an interpreter on the doorstep within an hour or so.

Reporter: Before the service was created, family members, prisoners or co-defendants would interpret for those accused of a crime. Charlena Musk says thousands of dollars in State funds were wasted when court cases were adjourned because evidence from Indigenous witnesses couldn't be translated. The Northern Territory's Chief Magistrate, Jenny Blokland, says before Aboriginal translation was available, reaching verdicts was much more challenging.

Jenny Blokland, NT Chief Magistrate: We would take a number of short cuts and perhaps thought
people understood. It's very hard to know whether they did or not but I certainly remember witnesses attempting to give evidence and just being unable to because they couldn't understand what was happening.

Reporter: Dr Philip Carson has worked in Indigenous communities for 18 years.
The Royal Darwin Hospital surgeon recalls drawing diagrams for Indigenous patients because there was no other way of communicating - a useful method when describing physical injuries but difficult to convey potentially life-threatening conditions.

Dr Philip Carson, Royal Darwin Hospital: Certainly there's many, both procedures and operations which are dangerous and many conditions which are life-threatening and in those sort of circumstances I'm sure there was a majority of Indigenous people were going into surgery only on faith and trust in the system without any real understanding of the issues involved, which makes us on the other side in a vulnerable position. We feel incredibly nervous and exposed.

Reporter: The Territory's Aboriginal Interpreter Service often supplies staff to South Australia, sometimes WA and occasionally Queensland, where the State Government has begun a pilot program to train interpreters in the legal system. In WA, where at least one in five people are Aboriginal, Indigenous translators are also hard to find.
Locals struggle to access basic services that many Australians take for granted.

Yvonne Henderson, WA Equal Opportunity Commissioner: There were examples given to us of where people didn't understand the medication they were being given, they didn't really understand the instructions, they didn't understand why they were being asked to take this medication and there were real concerns about their knowledge and understanding of the dosage.

Reporter: The Territory is trying to overcome a reluctance by service providers
and sometimes Indigenous people to use translators. Dr Carson admits he only uses interpreters when
Indigenous patients are experiencing serious ailments.

Dr Carson: They did understand what was going on, so they were less anxious and, not only that, it had that second effect of going home to their communities and saying, "Look, I had this baby by caesarean and I was awake," and so it became rapidly known it was an OK thing to do.

Reporter: With more open dialogue, professionals are learning a thing or two themselves about Indigenous Australia.

Jenny Blokland: I think in some ways having interpreters makes some issues more complex for us because we know more about the situation because of what they add and indeed it is more people being involved in the court process from local communities where the court sits, so that's got to be a good thing.

Colleen Rosas: Unintended benefits, I guess, that come out - things like the high employment for Aboriginal people. It's one of the only areas where Aboriginal people are actually employed for their own intrinsic
skills.