1. What is New Zealand Relay (NZ Relay) service?
NZ Relay service involves a relay assistant serving as the "ears and voice" on phone calls between a Deaf, hearing-impaired, deaf-blind, or speech-impaired user and a hearing party. The Relay Assistant (RA) speaks words typed by a deaf user on a textphone (TTY) or via the Internet and relays the hearing person’s spoken response by typing back to the NZ Relay user.
2. Is NZ Relay open 24 hours / 365 days?
Yes. NZ Relay is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year except for the Speech to Speech service, which operates from Monday to Friday 7.30am - 9pm and Saturday 9am - 5pm.
3. Are there any charges for using NZ Relay?
No. There is no call surcharge for relay assistance. Local and national calls are free of charge.
Calls between a landline and a cellular mobile phone, long distance overseas calls, and calls to a premium number (0900) are chargeable. You must pre-register to make chargeable calls.
Click here for more information.
Note: You must still pay for your telephone line rental.
4. What are the NZ Relay Toll-Free access numbers?
Local and National Calls*:
TTY: 0800 4 711 711
Voice: 0800 4 712 712
For cellular/mobile callers within NZ*:
TTY: (09) 237 8897
Voice: (09) 237 8898
For International callers dialling into NZ*:
TTY: +64 9 237 8897
Voice: +64 9 237 8898
Help Desk:
TTY: 0800 4 713 713
Voice: 0800 4 715 715
*Note: You must pre-register to make chargeable calls.
5. What is Voice Carry-Over service?
Voice Carry-Over (VCO) enables deaf or hearing-impaired people who prefer to use their own voice to speak directly to the party they are calling. The Relay Assistant (RA) will type the voice responses back to the VCO User who reads the typed message on a Textphone (TTY) screen. Click here for more information
6. What is Hearing Carry-Over service?
Hearing Carry-Over (HCO) enables people who are speech-impaired to use their hearing abilities to listen directly to their party. The Relay Assistant (RA) voices the typed responses from the HCO user to the hearing person, who then speaks directly to the HCO user without RA interaction. Click here for more information
7. Are there any limitations to number of calls or length of time through NZ Relay?
No. There are no limitations on the number of calls or length of time through NZ Relay.
8. How are emergency calls handled through NZ Relay?
Do not use relay for emergency services. Police receive all emergency text (TTY and FAX) calls for Police, Fire and Ambulance and coordinate these calls to the appropriate service. In case of emergency, please contact the Deaf emergency call centre directly:
Deaf Emergency Fax 0800 16 16 10
Deaf Emergency TTY 0800 16 16 16
Voice 111
If the NZ Relay call centre receives a request for a TTY emergency call, the NZ Relay call centre will attempt to outdial ‘111’ and relay the conversation between the caller and the emergency centre personnel.
9. Can I place NZ Relay calls long distance overseas?
Yes. You can make international (long distance overseas) calls through NZ Relay. Please have the country code, city code and telephone number ready for Relay Assistants. You must pre-register to make international calls. Click here for more information.
10. Can I make a NZ Relay call from overseas?
Yes. You can make a NZ Relay call from overseas to a New Zealand telephone number by dialing the NZ Relay international number to reach the NZ Relay call centre.
TTY: +64 9 237 8897
Voice: +64 9 237 8898
11. Will Speech-to-Speech be available through NZ Relay?
Yes. Speech to Speech is now a permanent service and operates Monday to Friday 7.30am - 9pm and Saturday 9am - 5pm.
12. Can I use Internet to access NZ Relay?
Yes. You can access the Internet Relay Service by clicking on 'Start Internet Relay' on the top of this window.
13. Can I use a mobile phone to access NZ Relay?
Yes. A voice user of a cellular mobile telephone can make a relay call. A TTY user can access the NZ Relay system from certain models of mobile telephones.
To reach the NZ Relay call centre from a mobile telephone the user must dial either of the following national numbers. Cellular toll charges are applicable.
TTY: +64 9 237 8897
Voice: +64 9 237 8898
14. When I reach an answering machine, can I leave a message?
Yes. When you reach an answering machine, you may leave a message with the NZ Relay number and your telephone number to call back.
15. What are the Terms and Conditions of NZ Relay?
NZ Relay is for communication with people who are Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have a speech disability. Only genuine calls through NZ Relay are requested.
The NZ Relay provider (Sprint) reserves the right to interrupt or disconnect any relay call that is not genuine.
For more information, visit www.nzrelay.co.nz and click "Terms of Use".
16. What is the role of NZ Relay Assistant?
The role of NZ Relay Assistant (RA) is to voice everything you type and type everything that is heard. The RA serves as a "live" human telephone wire who serves as a link between Voice users and people who are deaf, hearing-impaired, or speech-impaired that are using Textphones (TTYs).
17. How can I be sure that all NZ Relay calls are kept confidential?
All NZ Relay calls are private and confidential. When you hang up, your entire conversation is then erased. No records of conversations are kept or stored.
Prior to employment, every NZ Relay Assistant signs a Relay Centre Code of Ethical Behaviour agreement and undergoes a Relay Assistant code of ethics training.
18. How can I connect to NZ Relay using V18? (V18 is a communication code like Baudot and some TTYs use V18 and not Baudot)
- Dial NZ Relay's TTY number (08004 711711)
- The NZ Relay centre will answer with "HELLO GA"
- You will need to press the space bar a couple of times.
- The NZ Relay centre will then answer with "HELLO NEW ZEALAND RELAY ASSISTANT ---- GA"
- Make a relay call just like you would with a TTY.
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