Frequently asked questions

Health Translations is a free online directory that collects and indexes multilingual health and wellbeing information produced by a range of organisations in Australia. It is comparable to a library catalogue and is an easy way to find and access reliable translated health information. You can search for a certain topic and/or language and it will show you a list of available resources and languages (including English). 

Health Translations was originally developed for health professionals to support and improve their communication with clients from culturally and linguistically (CALD) communities. It is also directly accessed by refugee and migrant communities who are looking for information in their preferred language.
 

The site is accessed by health professionals and members of the public from all over Australia. The library is also accessed internationally, mainly from countries with large, diverse populations such as Canada, India, Europe and the U.S.
 

The site currently has an average of between 600,000 to 700,00 page views per year. It's the largest collection of translated health and wellbeing resources in the world. 

Information on the site covers more than 100 health and wellbeing topics including Asthma, Diabetes, COVID-19, Mental Health, Family Violence, Housing, Centrelink, and many more. 

Watch the short video to learn how to navigate the Health Translations library efficiently. Learn how to customise your search based on language, topic, keyword, organisation, or file type, and unlock the full potential of the extensive translated resources collection.

Health Translations links currently to over 28,000 resources in more than 100 languages.
 

The website has Editorial Guidelines to ensure information is accurate and useful. We also review information on a regular basis to ensure it is up-to-date.

The information available on Health Translations is produced and hosted by other trusted Australian organisations. They are often peak bodies with an area of expertise that they publish about. The Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health (CEH) maintains a content partnership with these organisations. CEH collects, indexes, and adds translated materials. Some resources are also developed by CEH.
 

The Health Translations team constantly review the site to ensure information is relevant, current, and accessible. Our process of review ensures that errors like broken links remain under 1% of the resources available and are quickly addressed.
 

Health Translations is a Victorian Government initiative. The website is managed and maintained by the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health (CEH). 

Watch the short video to learn more about CEH's services.

Currently, the most popular languages accessed in Australia are:

1. Vietnamese
2. Arabic
3. Chinese (Simplified)

Once you find a resource you are interested in, click the file link in your preferred language. Depending on your browser and browser settings, the file will either open in a new browser tab OR automatically download to your computer's downloads folder. This can make it appear as though the resource link is broken. In these situations, please refer to the download instructions here.

Yes! We strongly encourage you to do this as our resources help you provide reliable multilingual information to your clients in their preferred language. All resources can be used and distributed freely as long as you don’t use them for commercial purposes or alter their content.

The Victorian Government’s Multicultural Policy Statement emphasised that access to healthcare is a basic right for every Victorian. People born overseas, particularly women and girls, are identified as being likely to have significantly poorer health than people born in Australia. Making health information available in the languages people are most comfortable using allows them to understand more and make better-informed decisions. The policy statement highlights Health Translations as part of an initiative to help address this issue.

Plain English is a style of writing in which the language, structure, and presentation of a document all work together to help the reader. A document written in Plain English is easy to read, understand, and act on after just one reading. It is usually written at a grade 5-8 level.

Easy English is a style of writing that is simple and concise, focuses on key information and uses words and images to help readers understand the information.