AUSIT QLD Branch Presents: Big PD Day

The Big PD Day program is out now!

8:30am-5:00pm Saturday 23 August

University of Queensland St Lucia

Registrations close 20 August 2025

Don't miss the Big PD Day (formerly known as the AUSIT Queensland Mini-Conference) on Saturday 23 August. Connect with like-minded professionals, exchange ideas, and build lasting relationships.

Get ready for a full day of thought-provoking sessions, fresh insights, and meaningful conversations with colleagues. From practical skills to big-picture ideas, this year’s lineup has something for everyone.

Check out the program here and see what’s in store! In addition to the speakers we mentioned in our previous announcements, we are excited to welcome Fatih Karakas from NAATI, travelling from Melbourne to share information on national projects supporting practitioner development, as well as Dianna Padilla from the Language Services Department at Metro North Health, who will talk on the challenges and joys of interpreting in mental health settings alongside clinical psychologist Lucianne Palmquist.

This year, two slots have been set aside for interpreters and translators to share their professional stories. Do you have any pressing questions that you would like to ask or share with your colleagues? For example, you may be wondering how your colleagues deal with a talkative family member in a medical consult, how they deal with mistakes in interpreting or translation assignments, if they change their tone or style to suit different contexts and clients, if they tell their clients they are using AI for translations, if they accept automatic transcription in medical consults. Have you wondered what your colleagues do in these situations? Join us at the BIG PD Day for a moderated “ask a colleague” session. Bring your questions with you or send them in before by adding your question to this form.

This will also be an opportunity to spend the day in the company of colleagues and strengthen the bonds of our professional interpreter and translator community.

Join us for a full day of keynotes, workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities that will tackle current and pressing topics for our profession, bring practitioners together to meet and share experiences, and earn 20 PD points (or 10 Ethics PD points).

Presented in partnership with the University of Queensland and hosted by its School of Languages and Cultures, the Big PD Day will delve into important topics such as resilience, communication styles, technology and ethics, featuring speakers including:

• Carl Fordham, AUSIT National President, with a welcome message from AUSIT,
• Dr. Angie Knaggs, on resilience,
• Sam Berner, on the ethical implications of Critical Discourse Analysis,
• Dr. Renee Zahnow, on communication across cultures,
• Dr. Lucianne Palmquist, on mental health interpreting,
• Dr. Cristina Savin, on pricing translations,
• Elisabeth Kissel, on the basics of cybersecurity for translators,
• Lisa Ward and Dr. Faiza El Higzi OAM, on the importance of language work in a diverse nation,
  and more. You can view our full program here!

Questions? You can email our Qld Committee at qld@ausit.org.

AUSIT Queensland Branch AGM

AUSIT members are advised that the AUSIT QLD Branch Annual General Meeting for 2025 will be held during the Big PD Day, at 2pm Saturday 23 August 2025. The AGM is a FREE event all AUSIT members can attend. You do not need to register for the AGM if you plan to register for the Big PD Day. For further information about our AGM including nomination and proxy vote forms, please visit the website here. 

Venue and Parking

Sir Llew Edwards Building (Building 14), The University of Queensland, Cnr University Drv and Campbell Rd, St Lucia QLD 4067. Free parking is available at the St Lucia campus for the duration of this event. Best Parking - Zone 1472300 (refer Uni campus map below).

View on Google Maps

View Uni Campus Map.PDF

St Lucia campus is conveniently serviced by more than 10 direct bus routes from the Brisbane CBD and outer suburbs. The nearest train stations to the St Lucia campus are Toowong, Park Road and Dutton Park. The University of Queensland has a CityCat Ferry Terminal at the St Lucia campus.

St Lucia campus is easily accessed by bicycle, with a safe riverside bicycle path in Toowong, and the Eleanor Schonell Bridge in Dutton Park connecting the campus to the Brisbane CBD and surrounding suburbs.

For more public transport information, visit the UQ website here.

PD Logbook

Introductory PD. Please  consult the NAATI Recertification Catalogue to allocate the relevant PD Points. Some activities can be included under different categories, so please choose the most appropriate category for your recertification purposes.

Certificates and Recordings
Certificates for PD purposes will be issued to confirmed attendees only and may take up to two weeks to be sent out. This event will not be recorded.

Not a member of AUSIT? Join us to benefit from discounted member fees and future opportunities! When you sign up as an AUSIT Member you will pay lower fees for our Professional Development workshops and social events - Click HERE to find out more.