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7 Costly Mistakes
to Avoid in Government Translations

Tuesday 28 April 2026 | 2PM AEST

How can government translation projects be delivered in ways that improve clarity, quality and cultural relevance for multicultural communities?

Join Ethnolink for a practical webinar exploring the issues that commonly undermine government translation projects and what stronger practice looks like. This session brings together insights from translation planning, plain English, language selection, multilingual content design, quality assurance, and community-informed delivery.

Whether you work in the Australian Government, State Government or Local Councils, the principles of effective government translations remain largely the same. That makes this webinar especially relevant for professionals working across communications, marketing, campaigns, content, community engagement and related roles.

Across government, translation projects can fall short for many reasons. Sometimes the English source is too complex. Sometimes the wrong languages are prioritised. Sometimes content is translated too literally, reviewed too late, or published without enough thought around accessibility, format, distribution, and community uptake.

Grounded in real-world delivery, this session will unpack the common failures that weaken translation outcomes, what helps projects succeed, and how government teams can set multilingual communications up well from the beginning.

In this webinar, you’ll learn: 

  • How government translation projects commonly go off track
  • How source content, audience insight and language selection shape the final outcome
  • Why literal translation often creates confusion, risk or disengagement
  • What stronger quality assurance looks like before translated content goes live
  • How format, accessibility and channel decisions affect whether content is actually usable
  • Why translation should be considered alongside distribution, trust and community context
  • Practical lessons to help teams plan better multilingual communications projects
  • Plus, a live Q&A session

This event is free to attend. Register today.

Register Today

Our Speakers

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Costa Vasili

CEO and Founder of Ethnolink, Costa works regularly with government and private-sector clients to advise them on best practices in CALD engagement strategy. He is a thought leader in multicultural communications, with over ten years of experience in the translation and localization industry.

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Bethany Sheahan

Bethany is Ethnolink’s Head of Production and an expert on ‘quality translation’ standards and guidelines, particularly within Australia. Bethany oversees Ethnolink’s production department and is responsible for all aspects of translation project journeys.
 
 
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About Ethnolink

Ethnolink is Australia’s largest multicultural communications and engagement agency. We help organisations reach multicultural and First Nations audiences. Our team provides expert research, strategy, creative, translation, media, and engagement services.

We work with over 900 government departments, not-for-profits, and businesses across Australia every year.

Learn a little more about Ethnolink

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