Victorians from linguistically diverse backgrounds will have more access to interpreter services thanks to the Allan Labor Government.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt announced applications are now open for the 2025 Interpreter Scholarship Program.
Scholarships of up to $8,000 are available for students undertaking a Diploma of Interpreting, Advanced Diploma of Interpreting or Introduction to Interpreting Skill Set course at RMIT University.
The program aims to enhance the access, quality and use of language services in Victoria to ensure non-English speaking Victorians can access essential services such as health care, justice and housing support.
The Interpreter Scholarship Program focuses on key languages in high demand across the state, including emerging community languages and those that are underrepresented in interpreter services.
Each year, the program includes a range of languages that have been identified as needing more certified interpreters. This year, scholarships are on offer to students seeking to undertake the courses in 2025 in one of the following languages:
Advanced Diploma: Arabic, Greek, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Vietnamese
Diploma: Burmese, Dari, Dinka, Punjabi, Portuguese, Samoan, S’gaw Karen, Somali, Russian and Urdu
Introduction to Interpreting Skill Set: Albanian, Bangla, Bislama, Chichewa, Gujarati, Hakha Chin, Hakka Chinese, Hazaragi, Hmong, Kayah (Karenni), Khmer, Kirundi, Kurdish Kurmanji, Lingala, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Nepali, Nuer, Pashto, Rohingya, Ukrainian, Sinhalese and Swahili
The scholarships are available for people who live in Victoria, speak any one of the targeted languages, are accepted into the RMIT University course, and hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency.
Individuals who meet these criteria and want to learn or develop professional interpreting techniques are encouraged to apply. Victorians from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds are among those encouraged to apply.
For more information, visit vic.gov.au/interpreter-scholarships.
As stated by Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt
“We are proud to back better language services for non-English speaking Victorians through this program.”
“It is so important that multicultural Victorians can access services to overcome any language barriers they face. Language services help with important aspects of life like visiting a doctor, attending court or communicating about a child’s education.”
