- [Interpreter] PD, professional development. Many people in our society have professional jobs, for example, lawyers, GPs, other doctors, and that's because they need very particular skills and knowledge for their specialist areas of work. 

- That's why they're looked up to as professionals. 

- It's very complicated and difficult work. And those people usually have what's called a license to practice. And part of that requires regular PD. It's not optional; it's mandatory. If they don't participate in regular PD, then their license may not be extended. And that's because their work always has new issues, technology, strategies, and information arising. 

- They have to keep up-to-date. Sign language interpreters are becoming professionalised. So we also need to look at our skills and development. We have plenty of complex and difficult work assignments. There's new information, new research, new ideas to exchange. We need to keep up with it! 

- Otherwise, we will lose competence. In the past, we got our NAATI qualifications as our license to practice as interpreters. Back then, you could either sit for your test direct with NAATI or do an accredited course to get your qualification. But post-qualification, there was no requirement to do more training or more PD, so it was very easy to plateau. And I've seen interpreters in the past get stuck in a rut, not really able to analyse themselves and improve their skills, not able to share with team interpreters the work they're doing. So what's happened is that NAATI has shifted direction. 

- They've had a look at other professional practice and decided that interpreters should have similar levels of ongoing knowledge development. So now, we have to have mandatory PD. When we receive our certification, that's for a three-year period. And if we show that we've done a certain amount of work and PD over that time, we need to document exactly the number of hours and points from NAATI's catalogue as evidence. 

- In that way, we can get approved for a further three-year certification. But if we don't do our PD, then we get penalised because it's not possible to have a further extension. It's very important to make sure that we're doing PD, not just for NAATI, but more importantly, for ourselves. Because if we don't keep learning and developing, keeping up with the research and the ideas and new ways of working with each other, then our skills cannot improve. 

- We have to keep on aspiring to continual development. ASLIA considers that professional development is essential for all interpreters, whether they're ASLIA members or not. Our aim is to see sign language interpreting around Australia delivered at a very high quality. And without ongoing PD, we can't achieve that. We understand that many interpreters work in isolation, and it's very difficult then, to self-analyse and improve without feedback or sharing and taking on new ideas. 

- So PD is good for the team, not just the individual. And of course, ASLIA is very keen to keep and grow the pool of interpreters we have. There aren't enough people doing this important work. 

- So if you keep on improving through PD and growth and development, then our whole profession grows. If you have a look at the NAATI website, you can see the term catalogue in relation to PD. And there you'll find a whole list of different types of PD activities with the different points that they score. 

- There are three different categories. The first category is called skills development and knowledge. The second category, industry, as in interpreting industry, engagement. And the third category, maintenance of our language skills. 

- So, in terms of skills development knowledge, that relates to doing PD activities that involve learning, like doing a course, or attending a workshop, perhaps becoming an ASLIA member and attending ASLIA meetings, or asking for some mentoring. The second category, industry engagement, that includes being more involved with an organisation like ASLIA or NAATI, or offering mentoring yourself, or providing a presentation about interpreting, or some teaching of interpreting skills. 

- Perhaps publishing written or in Auslan, an article. Part of category two also includes a mandatory ethics portion. Now that's either learning about ethics or delivering some information about ethics yourself. And the final category, maintenance of language skills, that includes activities like you're interpreting hours through interpreting jobs, or going to a specialised language course, say, linguistics, or a commitment to the deaf community by becoming a member of Deaf Australia, for example. 

- Perhaps some teaching about Auslan at a basic level. Or providing some Auslan information on social media. Those three categories have different point scores required. And NAATI says you have to achieve at least the minimum number of points per category. 

- Going over the point score is fine, but you have to achieve at least the minimum required. When you do have the minimum points or above, then NAATI can approve your further extension of your certification. 

- Please don't consider your PD obligations just for NAATI. It is for yourself and for your own personal development, and it shows your commitment to the deaf community in Australia. 

- So good luck with your journey and your PD development.