Barnett, Michael --- "Mind Your Language - Interpreters in Australian Immigration Proceedings" [2006] UWSLawRw 5; (2006) 10(1) University of Western Sydney Law Review 109
∗ BA LLB, LLM (Hons), Lecturer in Law, University of Western Sydney.
1 The AAT has power to review the following decisions: refusals of protection visas or cancellation of protection visas which rely on Articles 1F, 32 or 33 of the Refugee Convention; decisions to cancel a business or a business visa; decisions to order the deportation of a non citizen convicted of certain crimes (see Migration Act s 65, 109, 116, 134(1), 134(3A), 134(4), 200); and decisions by DIMIA to refuse to grant or to cancel a visa under s 501 of the Migration Act on the basis that the non citizen does not satisfy the delegate of the Minister that the person passes the character test. The RRT or MRT may also refer to the AAT decisions that involve an important principle or an issue of general application (see for the RRT s 443(1) and for the MRT s 381(1)).
[3] In relation to criminal trials see Dietrich v The Queen [1992] HCA 57; (1992) 177 CLR 292, 331 (Deane J); R v Saraya (1993) 70 A Crim R 515, 516 (Badgery-Parker J) (with whom Kirby ACJ and Loveday AJ agreed); in relation to civil proceedings see Gradidge v Grace Bros Pty Ltd (1988) 93 FLR 414, 423-4 (Kirby P) 425 (Samuels JA) and 427 (Clarke JA) and Adamopoulos v Olympic Airways SA (1991) 25 NSWLR 75, 81 (Mahoney JA).
[4] Eg see Kioa v West [1985] HCA 81; (1985) 159 CLR 550, 629 (Mason J).
[5] Australian Law Reform Commission (1992) Multiculturalism and the Law Report No 57, AGPS, Canberra, Ch 3, para 3.1-3.62.
[6] Australian Law Reform Commission (1994) Equality Before the Law: Women’s Equality Report No 69, Part 1, AGPS, Canberra, Ch 7.
[7] Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department (1991) Access to Interpreters in the Australian Legal System, AGPS Canberra.
[8] K Laster & V Taylor Interpreters & the Legal System (1994) 120; S Berk-Seligson The Bilingual Courtroom: Court Interpreters in the Judicial Process (1990) University of Chicago Press, Chicago,163; N Segalowitz ‘Communicative Incompetence and Non Fluent Bilingualism (1976) 8 Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science 122; R Shuy ‘Language and the Law’ (1986) 7 Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 50.
[9] [2000] FCA 1172 para [42].
[10] Ibid para [43].
[11] Ibid.
[12] L Robinson Handbook for Legal Interpreters (1994) Law Book Company Limited North Ryde 2; Laster & Taylor above n 8, 115.
[13] Laster & Taylor above n 8, 116.
[14] Ibid 26-27.
[15] Ibid; also see I Dobinson & T Chiu ‘Access and Equity: The New South Wales Court Interpreter Service’ (2005) 17 (1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 30, 41; S Hale (2003) ‘What does ‘to fully and faithfully interpret the evidence mean?’ Conference Paper presented at the Interpreters and Legal Professionals Working Together in Courts and Tribunals Conference, 21 March UNSW; L Roberts-Smith Address AUSIT Conference Perth 25-27 October 2002, 6, <www.waiti.iinet.net.au/files/justiceLRS.pdf
>.
[16] Dobinson & Chiu above n 15, 41.
[17] [2004] FCAFC 30 para [106].
[18] Commonwealth Attorney General’s Report, above n 7, para 5.6.10.
[19] Refugee Review Tribunal Annual Report 2004-05, 15.
[20] Migration Review Tribunal Annual Report 2004-05, 15.
[21] eg s 353(1) of the Migration Act provides that the MRT in carrying out its functions shall pursue the objective of providing a mechanism of review that is fair, just, economical, informal and quick; s 420(1) provides similarly in relation to the RRT.
[22] Laster & Taylor, above n 8, 119.
[23] [1960] HCA 70; (1960) 104 CLR 419, Menzies J (432-433) and Kitto J (430).
[24] Laster & Taylor, above n 8, 115-120, 224.
[25] Perera v MIMA (1999) 92 FCA 507.
[26] Laster & Taylor, above n 8,116-117.
[27] Ibid.
[28] K Laster ‘The compromised “conduit”: conflicting perceptions of legal interpreters (1995) 6(4) Criminology Australia 9, 11.
[29] Eg see Singh v Singh [1971] EWCA Civ 10; [1971] 2 All ER 828, 833-4 (Megaw LJ).
[30] Laster & Taylor, above n 8, 121.
[31] RRT Annual Report 2004-05, 22.
[32] MRT Annual Report 2004-05, 24. During 2004-05 of the 8, 308 cases finalised by the MRT an application for judicial review was filed in 440 of those cases (5.3%).
[33] Perera v MIMA [1999] FCA 507 para [20].
[34] Ibid para [21].
[35] National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.
[36] Wabz v MIMIA [2004] FCAFC 30 para [69]; also see Long v MIMA [2000] FCA 1172 para [51]; Mahzar v MIMA [2000] FCA 1759 para [25].
[37] (2000) FCA 1101 para [18] –[19].
[38] Ibid.
[39] (2003) 195 ALR 502, 511.
[41] Ibid para [12].
[42] Ibid para [22], [24], [27], [28], [30], [39].
[43] Ibid para [24].
[44] Ibid para [26].
[46] [1999] FCA 507 para [28].
[47] Ibid para [39].
[48] Ibid para [41].
[49] Ibid para [45].
[50] See Tobasi v MIMA [2001] FCA 1510 para [35] – [41] and also see Liu v MIMA [2001] FCA 1362 para [44]- [45]; W284 v MIMA [2001] FCA 1788 para [30-31] and Mahzar v MIMA [2000] FCA 1759 para [30] – [31. Sub-section 425(1) was amended by the Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No 1) 1998 (Cth).
[51] Eg see Szaaj v MIMA [2004] FCA 312 para [41] – [42] (Hill J).
[52] [1995] HCA 58; (1995) 184 CLR 163.
[53] Plaintiff S157/20002 v Commonwealth of Australia (20003) 211 CLR 476.
[54] Re Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs, Ex parte Miah (2001) 205 CLR 57, 87; Refugee Tribunal, Ex parte Aala [2000] HCA 57; (2000) 204 CLR 82, 101; Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Yusuf [2001] HCA 30; (2001) 206 CLR 323.
[55] STPB v MIMIA [2004] FCA 818 para [1] (Finn J); SYSB v MIMIA [2005] FCA 1259.
[56] [2002] FCA 1050 para [61].
[57] [2001] FCA 1510 para [12].
[58] [2002] FCA 1519 para [8].
[59] [2003] FCAFC 230 para [17].
[60] Singh v MIMA (2001) 115 FCR1 para [27].
[61] Soltanyzand v MIMA [2001] FCA 1168 para [18].
[62] [2002] FCA 1375 para [33].
[63] [2002] FCA 1053 para [18] – [19].
[64] [2000] FCA 1759 para [26].
[65] Tobasi v MIMA [2001] FCA 1510 para [50].
[66] Ibid para [52].
[67] Ibid para [61].
[68] [2000] FCA 1172 para [57].
[69] Kfouri v Minister of State for Immigration, Local Government & Ethnic Affairs WAG 155 of 1993 para [7].
[70] [1999] FCA 7, para [1] (Burchett J), para [45] (Moore J) and para [55] (Katz J).
[71] Ibid para [45].
[72] Ibid.
[73] Ibid para [2].
[74] Ibid para [55].
[76] Laster & Taylor, above n 8, 123.
[77] Ibid 180-181.
[79] Ibid para [24] – [25].
[80] [2004] FCAFC 30 [para 74] (French and Lee JJ).
[82] [2002] FCA 1375 para [73].
[83] [2004] FCA 312 para [47].
[84] Ibid.
[85] [2004] FCAFC 30 para [69].
[86] Ibid para [106].
[87] [1999] FCA 1076 para [31].
[88] Ibid.
[89] Ibid para [35].
[90] W284 v MIMA [2001] FCA 1788 [para 35].
[91] Soltanyzand v MIMA [20001] FCA 1168 para [18] – [19], Long v MIMA [2000] FCA 1172, para [20].
[92] Dobinson & Chiu, above n 15, 43.
[93] M Inghilleri Translation, Interpretation and Asylum Adjudication ESRC 2004; <http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre> .
[94] L Robinson, above n 12, 2.
[95] <http://www.naati.com.au> .
[96] see <http://www.ausit.org/ethic.pdf> .
[97] L Roberts-Smith Address AUSIT Conference Perth 25-27 October 2002, 6 at www.waiti.iinet.net.au/files/justiceLRS.pdf
.[98] S Hale ‘Advocacy: The complexities of the bilingual courtroom’ (2001) 39 (6) LSJ 68-72, 71.
[99] Ibid 72.
[100] Laster & Taylor, above n 8, 30-41.
[101] Ibid 17.
[102] S Hale, above n 98, 71.
[103] Roberts Smith, above n 15, 7.
[104] Ibid 8.
[105] S Hale, above n 98, 72.
[106] Guideline 11.4, 16.
[107] RRT Interpreters Handbook, Commonwealth of Australia 2003; for an electronic version see <http:www.rrt.gov.au/publications/InterpreterHandbook.pdf<.