Question On Notice No. 1164 asked in the Legislative Council on 1 December 2022 by Hon Nick Goiran
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Health
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer to page 39 of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board Western Australia Annual Report 2021-22 that states ‘The
Voluntary Assisted Dying Board is aware concerns have been raised regarding the
wording in the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 that relates to
interpreters, including wording required by the Written Declaration under
section 42 which confuses the roles of interpreter and translator. It is recommended that wording in the Voluntary
Assisted Dying Act 2019 should be reviewed and revised as appropriate to
clarify and more accurately represent the professional responsibilities of an
interpreter engaged for the voluntary assisted dying process.' ;and I ask, what are the differences between the role of an
interpreter and the role of a translator in the context of the engagement of an
interpreter for the voluntary assisted dying process and as they relate to this
recommendation of the Board?
Answered on 14 February 2023
Section 42 requires an interpreter to certify on the written declaration that they have provided a true and correct translation of any material translated.
The role of an interpreter is to interpret a conversation between two or more people. Interpreters do not translate material, nor do they attest to the truth or correctness of translations. This is the role of a translator.