Topic 1: Current services and their usage

Current services offered

The NZ Relay Service offers a range of options to support communication between people. Mostly these are through the NZ Relay app or website, and the TTY (Teletypewriter) service is still offered, too. A TTY is a communication device that lets people who are Deaf, hard-of-hearing, experiencing hearing loss, or speech impediments type their conversations and have these relayed over phone lines.

The types of services you can get from NZ Relay include:

•  Text Relay
  • Deaf or hard-of-hearing people type their message. A Relay Assistant (RA) reads it aloud to the person you are calling and types their spoken reply back to you.
• Captioned Relay
  • The user speaks directly to the other person. A trained operator transcribes their spoken words into text so you can read what they are saying on your screen in real time.
• Speech to Speech
  • Those with speech impediments talk to the other person using their own voice or a synthesiser. An RA listens and repeats your words if needed to ensure you are understood.
• TTY Voice Carry Over
  •  A Deaf or hard-of-hearing person, who prefers to vocalise and speak directly to the other person, but reads their responses as text typed by an RA.
• TTY Hearing Carry Over
  • Designed for people with speech impediments. They can listen directly to the other party and then type their responses, which an RA then reads aloud to them.
• TTY to Voice
  • The user types on a TTY. An RA reads your text to the other party and types their spoken words back to you.
• Video Interpreter Service
  • Uses NZ Sign Language (NZSL), the user and an interpreter sign to each other via video. The interpreter then speaks to the hearing person via phone or video to bridge the conversation. This service can be used: Monday to Friday: 8 am – 8 pm, Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday: 12 pm – 5 pm.
• Phone User
  • Allows any person to initiate a call to someone who is Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or experiencing a speech impediment, by using any of the relay services mentioned above.

 All of these services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except for the Video Interpreter Service.

Services used

Since 2023, yearly usage of Relay Services, which is measured in the number of calling minutes, has peaked and remained steady. There has been a shift away from TTY services. Mobile and app-based usage is more common.

The data shows that while parts of the community still rely on TTY services, the usage of these legacy services has declined. TTY is only used for a small amount of time when compared to the Video Interpreting Service and the NZ Relay app.  

Data from 2022 - 2026 shows that:

• Video Interpreting (VIS) is the most used service
• The NZ Relay app (Captioned and Text Relay), combined with web Text Relay are the next most used services. 
• Speech-to-Speech (STS) usage, while small, remains vital for users with speech impediments.
• TTY Traditional Teletypewriter usage is also small and is for specific telephony hardware.  

Questions we would like to ask

MBIE is responsible for ensuring the Relay Service is fit-for-purpose. Due to advancements in technology and changes in the services users want, we’d like to know if all elements of the NZ Relay Service continue to provide value for users.

Consultation Questions 

The services you use

• What relay services are you using right now?
• Why did you pick these services instead of others?
• Do you change the type of NZ Relay service you use based on the conversation? If yes, what services do you use when?
• Have you stopped using any relay services? If so, why did you stop?

Future services

• Are there any parts of the current relay services that you think are unnecessary or could be phased out?
• If some services that are lesser-used were stopped, how would you like to see us support those impacted?
• How can we better let people know about the relay service so that more people who need it know about it and can use it?
• Are there any changes or updates to the NZ Relay Service offering that you would like to see?

< Return to report main page | Topic 2: Misuse >