Brisbane, Queensland
Translation services in Brisbane, ordered online
Official Translation is a Queensland-based online service. Photograph your document, order from your phone anywhere in Brisbane, and the translation arrives by email as a PDF. NAATI certification is an option, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator, for the offices and hire desks that name one.
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Driving in Queensland on an overseas licence?
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Common reasons for a translation in Brisbane
Four situations, and what each authority says
We quote the wording rather than summarising it, so you can see for yourself what the office in front of you asks for.
Transferring an overseas licence at TMR
Transport and Main Roads asks you to “bring a recognised English translation (if the licence is not in English) from an approved National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) translator”.
TMR names three sources for a translation on transfer; a NAATI-certified translator is the one we provide. The full wording, and the two routes we do not offer, are on licence translation for Queensland.
Source: TMR, transfer an overseas licence (last updated 13 April 2026)
Driving as a visitor, or being pulled over
“If your licence isn’t in English, you should carry a recognised English translation of it when you’re driving. Show this translation to police when you have to show your driver licence.” Carry the translation with your licence whenever you drive, on your phone and on paper — Queensland’s page does not say whether a screen alone is enough. The visitor rule in full, and what the page does not say about permits, is on driving in Queensland on an overseas licence.
Source: Queensland Government, driving on an overseas licence (last updated 19 February 2024)
Picking up a hire car at Brisbane Airport
Hertz’s rental terms accept a licence that “is in English or, if not in English, is accompanied by a certified English translation”, and do not define certified; Thrifty’s terms are much the same.
What each of the big hire companies says, and what to have in your hand at the counter, is in airport car hire on a non-English licence. Order in good time before you fly and the PDF is on your phone when you land.
Source: Hertz Australia, rental terms (checked 3 September 2026), with Thrifty’s rental terms paraphrased (checked 3 September 2026)
Visa, citizenship and passport paperwork
For a partner visa file translated in Australia, the Department of Home Affairs says: “Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.” That is the NAATI certification option. The checklist it comes from is quoted on partner visa document translation; Home Affairs’ citizenship wording, which also points to a translator accredited by NAATI, is quoted on citizenship documents.
Source: Home Affairs, subclass 820 checklist (page last updated 10 August 2026)
Where NAATI comes in, in Queensland’s own words: “The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) has a list of approved translators.” That is the only pointer the visitor page gives, and it does not define recognised. We quote the rule; for driving, choose the NAATI option. The NAATI option in full: NAATI translation, ordered online. A worked Brisbane example: transferring a Punjabi licence in Queensland.
Source: Queensland Government, driving on an overseas licence (last updated 19 February 2024)
Online, or we come to you
No counter to visit, and a visit if you want one
We do not have a shopfront, so there is nowhere to queue: an online order happens entirely on your phone or laptop. In Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Logan you can also book a visit (A$80) and we photograph your documents with you and place the order on the spot.
Order from anywhere in the city
Photograph every page, front and back, and order on the order page. The full price is on screen before you pay, in Australian dollars, and we add nothing at checkout. Up to 4 pages online; a longer document is priced by email first.
Three delivery windows
Normal delivery is within 3 days and is included. Urgent is 12–24 hours, and ASAP arrives within 4 hours where a translator for your language is available at that moment. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday. Each surcharge is shown on the order page.
If an office wants paper
Nothing is printed or posted. The PDF prints on any printer, and on the NAATI option the translator’s digital stamp carries a QR code that can be scanned from paper. Where a printed copy is enough, and where it is not, is in PDF or hard copy?
Common questions
Questions about ordering from Brisbane
There is no office to visit, and you do not need one: photograph the document, order online, and the translation arrives by email as a PDF. If you would rather we did the photographing, book a visit in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or Logan (A$80, on top of the translation price): we come to you, photograph your documents with you, hand them straight back, and place the order together on the spot. If the office you are dealing with wants a printed copy, print the PDF; on the NAATI option, the translator’s stamp and QR code print with it.
TMR’s pages do not say. Its transfer page says all documents must be originals, and does not spell out whether that sentence reaches the translation; the words digital, PDF and printed never appear in relation to translations. Print the PDF, take it with your licence, and if you want certainty, ask the customer service centre before you go. We would rather say that plainly than guess for you.
Sometimes, yes. ASAP aims to deliver within 4 hours where a translator for your language is free at that moment, and Urgent takes 12–24 hours; both are estimates, and the order page shows an estimated date against each speed before you pay. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday. If your pick-up time is fixed, tell us before you order and we will say honestly whether we can meet it. The safer plan is to order before you fly, so the PDF is already on your phone at the desk.
Queensland’s pages point to NAATI and name no other source for visitors, so for TMR, the police, a hire desk and any Brisbane office that names NAATI we steer you to the NAATI certification option, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator. Standard is a translation with no statement or stamp, for when nobody has asked for certification. When in doubt, ask the office before you order.