NZSL Board meeting March 2025

The NZSL Board would like to share the following information from their recent meeting:

Interpreter standards update

• Interpreter standards are important so Deaf people and professionals such as doctors know information is being translated correctly.
• The Board has decided to trial a non-testing NAATI credential and registry for three years.
• The Board is committed to supporting more professional development opportunities for interpreters and to developing a complaints and feedback system.
• This is a first step. Over the next 3 years the Board will review and work out how to further strengthen interpreter standards.
• The decision to start small is partly due to previous concerns from the Deaf and NZSL community. We will carefully review progress to make sure the system is working well, before we make any more decisions to further strengthen standards.
• The Board has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to inform this decision. This includes Deaf Aotearoa Executive Board, SLIANZ Board and membership, interpreter booking agencies and other key groups.
• A working group will be set up with key sector stakeholders to advise further on the best ways to implement these changes.
• For more information on Interpreter Standards, please check out the webpage and Q&A  on the NZSL Board website.

 Meeting with MSD

• The Board met representatives from Ministry of Social Development’s Disability Support Services (DSS) business unit.
• DSS funds a wide range of services for Deaf people, including access to interpreters for primary health care, funding for hearing aid subsidies and cochlear implants, and access to equipment such as fire alarms and doorbells.
• DSS has been engaging and consulting people who access their services to get feedback on how to improve DSS support.
• The Board encouraged DSS to ensure Deaf peoples’ voices are included in their consultation.

NZSL Strategy

• The Board will be travelling around New Zealand to engage local Deaf communities on a draft NZSL Strategy. The Board is looking forward to sharing the Strategy, meeting people across the country, and learning what you think.
• 2026 is 20 years since NZSL Act 2006 was passed into law. The Board plans to celebrate the 20-year anniversary and will share more details of these plans later this year.

Community Grants

• Thank you to everyone that applied to our Community Grants fund for 2025. We have received the largest number of applications yet and look forward to reading all the applications. Successful projects will be announced in July.

Whaikaha update

• The Board met with the recently appointed Deputy Chief Executive for Outreach and Innovation at Whaikaha, Rebecca Elvy. The Outreach and Innovation group includes the NZSL Team, who supports the work of the Board. We discussed the Ministry’s priorities for 2025.