Our CEO
Mark Painting
Chief Executive Officer
Mr Mark Painting joined NAATI as Chief Executive Officer in July 2015 and has overseen the organisational transformation of NAATI, including the implementation of the national Certification System.
Mark is the chair of the Australian Mirror Committee (CS117) to the ISO Committee on Translating, Interpreting and Related Technology (ISO TC37/SC5). He is also a member of the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion, and the Industry Advisory Board for Monash University’s translating and interpreting program.
Prior to joining NAATI, Mark held several corporate and operational roles at senior executive levels in the Australian Public Service. In addition to his public sector career, Mark also has experience as Board Director and sat on several governance and audit committees. He has also been a lecturer/tutor at TAFE and university levels.
Mark holds a Master of Public Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Management and a Bachelor of Business. Mark is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Management and Leadership and an Executive Fellow of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).
Magdalena Rowan
Chair
Magdalena Rowan was appointed to the NAATI Board from 1 December 2023 and appointed as the Chair from 1 July 2024.
Magdalena Rowan has been a practicing certified interpreter and translator for over 40 years. During this time, she has also been involved in most facets of the industry. She has provided services across all levels of interpreting and translating. She has been an educator in interpreting and translating since the eighties, both at university and vocational levels in Australia and New Zealand. She was a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the T&I Public Service Training Package and has designed and implemented T & I courses as a senior lecturer at TAFESA, including courses for Indigenous and Sign language interpreters.
Ms Rowan has worked extensively with NAATI since the 1990’s including being a member of the NAATI Regional Advisory Committee for many years. More recently she has been involved in the development of the NAATI certification system and Continuous Improvement Program. She was a NAATI examiner for many years and also assisted in training examiners. Until recently, she was also a member, and then chair, of NAATI’s Technical Reference Advisory Committee (TRAC).
Ms Rowan is also a member of the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee, responsible for the development of the Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals. Ms Rowan regularly presents to professionals who work with interpreters and continues to be a practicing interpreter and translator in Spanish. In the past, Ms Rowan also practiced as an accredited Polish Professional Interpreter.
Ms Rowan has a Bachelor of Arts, a Postgraduate degree in Adult Education and an Advanced Diploma in Interpreting and Translating and has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Foundations for Directorship course. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators and a member of the New Zealand Society of Interpreters and Translators.
Ms Rowan’s term expires on 30 November 2026.
Prof. Nicholas Farrelly
Deputy Chair
Professor Nicholas Farrelly was appointed to the NAATI Board from 1 December 2023, bringing to the Board significant academic, leadership and organisational change experience. Professor Farrelly was appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Board from 1 December 2024.
After graduating from the Australian National University with First Class Honours and the University Medal in Asian Studies, he completed his M.Phil and D.Phil at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
Professor Farrelly was previously an Associate Dean in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Deputy Director of its Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, and the founding Director of the ANU Myanmar Research Centre.
For the past 20 years, he has published widely on Asian political, social and security issues, with a long-term focus on Thailand and Myanmar. He has also led a range of academic activities in Bangladesh, India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
At the start of his academic career, he co-founded New Mandala, which went on to become a pioneering website for Southeast Asian Studies.
Professor Farrelly is currently a Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Tasmania and previously, from 2020-2023, he was Head of the University’s School of Social Sciences. He also works closely with many different government, community and industry organisations. Professor Farrelly maintains a keen interest in educational, technological and cultural change.
In 2020 he was appointed by the Australian Foreign Minister to serve on the board of the Australia-ASEAN Council. He was re-appointed to this role in 2023. Professor Farrelly is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).
Professor Farrelly’s term expires on 30 November 2026.
Jeff McAlister
Board member
Jeff McAlister was appointed to the NAATI Board from 1 September 2023. Mr McAlister was appointed by the Board as the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee from 6 December 2024.
Mr McAlister is a senior government executive with extensive experience in trade, investment, and international relations across multiple jurisdictions including as Australia’s major overseas partners.
Since graduating with an MA (Hons) in Languages, Mr McAlister has had a lifelong interest in language and knows firsthand the value of quality translation and interpretation services to help business and migrants access services and reach agreements. Mr McAlister has worked on a range of Indigenous projects and is encouraged by the renewal of First Nations languages.
Mr McAlister is currently the Chief Investment Officer for the City of Gold Coast where he attracts and drives public and private investment into Australia’s fastest growing major city. He also does pro bono work providing migration advice for vulnerable migrants, and sits on the Board of the Licensed Immigration Advisers Association of New Zealand.
Mr McAlister’s term expires on 31 August 2026.
Gulnara Abbasova
Board member
Gulnara Abbasova was appointed to the NAATI Board from 1 July 2024.
Gulnara brings over 20 years of leadership and contribution in public policy and strategy, governance and regulation across civil society, government and intergovernmental organisations. This includes over a decade of community sector leadership at the intersection of social policy, migration and settlement, and multiculturalism, with a particular focus on gender equality and health equity.
Now the Director of the NSW Multicultural Centre for Women’s and Family Safety (SSI), Gulnara previously led the national multicultural peak body, and established and led the national migrant and refugee women’s alliance and Australia’s first national peak body on migrant and refugee health. Gulnara’s role in government was in public health services where she led work on policy, strategy and governance. Prior to moving to Australia, Gulnara’s experience was in the intergovernmental context, including working at the United Nations, with a focus on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and issues.
Gulnara brings extensive experience in the regulation of health professions through her previous service on the ACT Boards and national committees of the Medical Board of Australia and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. She currently chairs the ACT Board of the Medical Board of Australia and serves on the Dental Board of Australia.
Gulnara has been a trusted advisor on major policy reforms. Among her many contributions, she advised on the development of The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and served as a WHO’s leading issue expert in the implementation of a landmark global policy framework on migrant and refugee health.
Gulnara has a long-standing affiliation with NAATI through her work on improving access to language services particularly in the health sector, and her service on the NAATI Technical Reference Advisory Committee.
Andrea Creado
Board member
Andrea Creado was appointed to the NAATI Board from 1 July 2024.
Ms Creado is currently the CEO of a multicultural organisation in Western Australia with over 16 years of executive experience working with varied ethnic communities in a community health setting.
Ms Creado is also a Councillor with one of the largest local governments in WA which has a high proportion of culturally diverse populations. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development, Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Additionally, she sits on the Board of the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing and is a Committee Member and expert Reference group member for various government and community organisations. She is often invited by government to sit as the multicultural voice on various advisory groups related to women’s health and family and domestic violence.
As a first-generation migrant from India and a professional working in an industry where interpreters are used daily, Ms Creado has an in depth understanding of the importance of interpreting and translating services and champions the use of professional interpreters through her advocacy with various government bodies.
For her work Andrea has been recognised by various organisations – she has won the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award in 2012, The Soroptimist International Woman of Achievement Award 2023 and in 2023 was the recipient of the Social Impact Leadership Australia scholarship.
Ms Creado’s term expires on 30 June 2027.
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About Us
NAATI is a public, not-for-profit company that is jointly owned by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments.
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Learn more about how we re-invest into the translating & interpreting profession.
