Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand was formed more than 30 years ago by D/deaf New Zealanders.

Originally called the Deaf Association of New Zealand Incorporated, it was formed in November 1977. The organisation began providing services to the Deaf community when it opened its first office in Auckland in 1980. This office opening was quickly followed by offices in Christchurch and Wellington.

Deaf Aotearoa was developed by Deaf to meet community needs, in particular the fact that there were no interpreters in New Zealand.

The Deaf Association of New Zealand Incorporated became Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand in June 2009, reflecting our pride in being a unique, inspiring, valid and true community living in Aotearoa/New Zealand and embraces New Zealand Sign Language as an official language of New Zealand and the Deaf culture.

Since its beginnings then, Deaf Aotearoa has grown into an organisation with more than 50 staff (over half are Deaf or hearing impaired), 13 offices throughout the country and a membership list of over 2,000. Click here to see office locations.

Complaints Process

We have a video clip explaining the complaints process we have here are Deaf Aotearoa. To view this video, please visit YouTube.