This section describes situations when sign language interpreters are required for deaf people to access services.

• Assume that a sign language interpreter will always be needed when meeting with a deaf person.
• Check in advance to confirm this is the case.
• Deaf people may need to communicate and access a service in different ways to hearing people.

Book a sign language interpreter if there is a risk that a deaf person may not fully understand information provided in English. In such cases, without sign language interpreters present the deaf person will have restricted access to a government service. Or, in a worst case, errors could be made in the deaf person's access to assistance or services.

It is especially important to provide a sign language interpreter in situations such as where informed consent is being sought or an assessment of their personal health needs is being done.

Your first contact with a deaf person may not be face-to-face. They may wish to book an appointment or obtain information without coming to see someone in person.

Ensure your services are accessible by allowing deaf people to make contact via telephone, fax, email or other ways. Some deaf people may not be able to leave their house due to illness or other factors.

How do I ensure deaf people can contact our service?

Always include fax and email contact details on public information, such as leaflets and websites, as well as telephone numbers. You need to make sure that any contact through fax or email is responded to in a timely way (such as would be expected when a hearing person makes contact using the telephone).

If you have regular contact with deaf people or have deaf staff, you could consider making a dedicated text telephone (TTY) available. It is possible to have a combined telephone which can handle both ordinary and text calls. If you do establish a TTY, ensure that all relevant staff are trained how to use it. You can ask Deaf Aotearoa for advice.

Ensure staff know about the New Zealand Relay service. This allows text telephone users and ordinary telephone users to communicate via a relay assistant. The relay assistant will type what you say and will read out any typed response. The relay assistant will explain the procedure to you when you first make or receive a relay telephone call.

Deaf people may use a sign language interpreter to interpret a telephone call for them. If this is the case, the interpreter will be with the deaf person in the same room and you will hear the interpreter's voice over the telephone.