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Australian visa translation requirements — NAATI, and what applies outside Australia

Updated 2026-08-08

Almost every confused answer about NAATI comes from missing the split: it is a requirement for translations done in Australia, not a global requirement for Australian visas.

The split that explains everything

Australia's Department of Home Affairs treats translations differently depending on where they were produced.

If you are in China preparing documents for an Australian student visa, you are on the second row. You do not need a NAATI translator, and paying for one from China is a common and expensive misreading.

If you are already in Australia — applying onshore for a further visa, for a partner visa, for permanent residence — you are on the first row, and NAATI is the standard.

What NAATI is

NAATI is the national certification body for translators and interpreters in Australia. A certified translator holds a credential in a specific language pair and direction, and translations carry:

• the translator's full name;
• their NAATI credential number;
• their signature;
• the date;
• usually the NAATI stamp.

The credential is directional. Certification for Chinese into English is not the same credential as English into Chinese, and a document going the wrong way needs the right translator.

NAATI publishes a searchable directory of certified practitioners by language and location.

Outside Australia: what to put on the translation

The offshore rule replaces accreditation with traceability. The translator has to make themselves findable and state why they are qualified. So the certification block should carry:

• full name;
• postal address;
• telephone number;
• a statement of qualifications and experience in Chinese–English translation;
• a statement that the translation is accurate and complete;
• signature and date.

A certification block that names an agency and no individual, or that omits an address and phone number, does not meet the offshore rule as stated. This is the most common defect in translations prepared in China for Australian applications, because the Chinese conventions for a translation company's seal do not include a personal address and telephone number.

Completeness, on Chinese documents

Same standard as everywhere:

• Seal text translated as a bracketed description, not reproduced as an image.
• Every page of a booklet — the household register is the usual offender.
• Reverse sides and change records.
• Handwritten annotations.
• Blank fields shown as blank.

Chinese documents that come up most

Skilled migration: where accuracy pays

For points-tested skilled visas, employment references and qualifications are assessed against occupation criteria, and the assessing authority is reading the translation for specific things — job title, duties, dates, hours.

Two risks specific to Chinese employment documents:

Job titles do not map cleanly. 工程师 covers a wide range. A translation that picks the most flattering English title rather than the most accurate one is a problem later, because the assessment is against a defined occupation and a mismatch is discovered at assessment rather than at translation.

Dates and continuity. Employment periods drive points. Transcribe the dates on the document; do not reconcile them with a CV that says something slightly different. If they disagree, that is a fact to explain, not a discrepancy to smooth over.

Character documents

For the character requirement, police certificates are usually needed from each country where you have lived for a cumulative period, and the Chinese one is a 无犯罪记录证明.

Translate its qualifiers exactly. 在我辖区内 means "within our jurisdiction", and rendering it as an unqualified "has no criminal record" overstates a document that was deliberately limited. Home Affairs may then ask for wider coverage — which is better discovered before submission than after.

Apostilles

Since 7 November 2023 Chinese public documents receive an apostille rather than consular legalisation. Australia is a party to the Convention, and DFAT issues apostilles for Australian documents.

Whether Home Affairs wants your Chinese documents authenticated is a route-specific question — many visa applications do not require it, accepting certified copies and translations. The apostille does not affect the translation requirement either way. See apostilles on Chinese documents.

FAQ

Do I need a NAATI translator if I am in China?

No. NAATI applies to translations produced in Australia. From China, the translator states their name, address, telephone number and qualifications instead.

I am in Australia on a student visa and applying for another visa. Which rule?

The translation is being produced in Australia, so NAATI is the standard.

Can a Chinese notarial certificate be used instead?

A bilingual notarial certificate is a translation produced by a third party and is frequently accepted. Whether it satisfies the offshore requirement depends on whether the translator's details appear in it. If they do not, be prepared to supply a translation that carries them.

Does the NAATI stamp have to be on every page?

Practice is to certify the translation as a whole with the translator's details, signature and credential number. Providers commonly stamp each page, which removes any question about which pages are covered.

My NAATI translator is certified English into Chinese. Is that enough?

NAATI credentials are directional. For a Chinese document being read by Home Affairs, you need Chinese into English.

Sources

• NAATI — certification and the practitioner directory
• Department of Home Affairs — route-specific document requirements

Related guides

• Certified, notarised, sworn, apostilled — which one do you actually needFour words that get used interchangeably and mean four unrelated things. What each one certifies, who can produce it, roughly what it costs, and how to tell which your case requires.
• IRCC translation requirements for Chinese documentsCanada is the strictest of the major destinations about who may translate, and the rule is about interest in the outcome rather than competence. The certified-translator route, the affidavit route, and who is disqualified.
• Apostilles on Chinese documents — and why they do not solve translationSince 7 November 2023 Chinese public documents get an apostille instead of consular legalisation. What the apostille certifies, what it does not, and where the English translation has to come from.