While Russian-born Anna was behind bars, she lost custody of her kids. Years later and now acquitted, it still hasn’t been completely restored. She says access to an interpreter could have spared their lives from being “ruined”.
Professor Ludmila Stern leads the Judicial Officers Working with Interpreters: Implications for Access to Justice project at the University of New South Wales.
Speaking to SBS Russian, Stern pointed out the link between interpreting services and access to a fair trial.
Stern said that interpreters in Australia’s courts often do not have allocated spots and are not always given time to prepare for hearings and review documents.
She added that lawyers and judges often do not speak slowly or with enough pauses to give interpreters adequate time to translate.
Earlier this week, interpreters gathered outside the County Court in Melbourne in protest following the recent changes to the pay scheme introduced by Court Services Victoria.
They say the state’s court system undermined their profession by cutting their hours and pay to save costs.
The minimum booking for an interpreter has been slashed from four hours to 90 minutes, resulting in interpreters losing much of their income.
Stern said that in Australia, the compensation for community interpreters does not match the complexity of their work.
Source: Anna lost custody of her kids in jail. She blames the lack of an interpreter | SBS News