Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999

The court may at any time, having regard to the nature of a proceeding (including the type of allegations made in the proceeding and the characteristics of the parties and witnesses), give directions relating to 1 or more of the following matters—

any particular attributes required or not required for an interpreter to accommodate any cultural or other reasonable concerns of a party or a witness, including, but not limited to—

gender; and

age; and

ethnic, cultural or social background;

the number of interpreters required in the proceeding and whether relay interpreting should be used;

establishing the expertise of an interpreter;

the steps to be taken to obtain an interpreter who is certified, registered or recognised by a recognised agency or is otherwise qualified to act as an interpreter;

the steps to be taken before an order under rule 429VG is made;

the information about the proceeding that may be provided to a person in advance of any hearing in the proceeding to assist the person to prepare to act as an interpreter for the hearing, including, but not limited to—

pleadings; and

affidavits and statements; and

lists of witnesses; and

other documents;

when, and in what circumstances and under what conditions (if any), the information mentioned in paragraph (f) may be provided;

whether an interpreter is to interpret a witness’s evidence consecutively, simultaneously or in some other way;

other resources an interpreter may need to consult in the course of acting as an interpreter, including, for example, dictionaries and other reference works;

the length of time for which an interpreter should interpret during a hearing without a break;

security for an interpreter, including, if necessary, arrangements to preserve the anonymity of the interpreter;

practical matters relating to an interpreter, including, for example, the seating for and the location of the interpreter, and any necessary equipment to assist the interpreter;

the disqualification, removal or withdrawal of an interpreter, including on the application of the interpreter or any party to the proceeding or by the court on its own initiative;

the payment of interpreters;

any other direction the court considers appropriate.

Subrule (1) does not limit the generality of the court’s power to control its own procedures.