News and events
Internet relay now working fine
8 May 2013
The technical problems affecting internet relay this afternoon have now been fixed Between about 2.30 and 4pm AEST some customers were unable to access internet relay or had their calls dropping out. ...
'Quiet Signs' hits one million, screens in Serbia
7 May 2013
As part of a launch in Belgrade of the Serbian edition of a book on the theory and practice of sign language interpreting, the Australian Ambassador to Serbia, Dr Helena Studdert, presented the NRS ...
New NRS relay services 2013 – latest info
1 May 2013
The NRS will progressively roll out a range of exciting new relay call options from July. See more about the full range of services. The first two services to be launched will ...
Internet relay via MSN working fine now
17 April 2013
Due to a technical problem overnight, NRS users couldn’t make internet relay calls via MSN. MSN is now working as normal, but we will continue to monitor the situation closely. There was ...
Change of NRS website address
25 March 2013
Today the address of the NRS website was changed from www.relayservice.com.au to www.relayservice.gov.au. This change reinforces the NRS website as part of an important Australian Government program, and as a source of ...
New e-learning experience for health professionals
11 March 2013
The NRS is today launching a special e-learning module, ‘Understanding the NRS’, for health and aged care professionals. If you're a health professional who needs to know more, or refresh your knowledge ...
Human Rights Commission celebrates 20 years with some great films about disability
7 March 2013
Geoffrey Scott is a sculptor, painter and, sometimes, comedian. Being deaf from birth hasn’t stopped him from being creative. But when it came to making phone calls, Geoff hit a wall. He ...
Big improvements in NRS are coming
8 February 2013
The government today announced the successful tenderers for new contracts to deliver the NRS. This follows a competitive tender process that began last August. These contracts, which start on 1 July and ...
Update on Messenger merger with Skype
5 February 2013
Microsoft, which owns Skype as well as Windows Messenger, has announced that it plans to merge Messenger into Skype. Microsoft has said that all Messenger users will be able to move their ...
NRS sponsors accessible film festival
2 December 2012
The National Relay Service is sponsoring the Access All Areas Film Festival – a series of events providing accessible screenings of Australian features and short films to venues around Australia. Movie watching ...
NSW smoke alarm subsidies
16 November 2012
If you live in NSW and you are deaf or have a hearing impairment, you can make sure you are safer at home by installing a special smoke alarm that sends out ...
Internet relay working fine again
19 October 2012
The issue that was causing problems for some internet relay callers over the past 30 hours has been resolved. Internet relay is now working as normal, but we will continue to monitor ...
Make sure you are not caught by a scam call
12 October 2012
Sometimes the NRS is used by people making calls trying to rob trusting NRS users on the other end of the phone line. Generally these types of calls, or scams, are rare. ...
Making call centres ‘relay service ready’
8 July 2012
People working in call centres do an important job in managing the contact between businesses and their customers. But sometimes the needs of the one in six Australians with a hearing impairment ...
NRS best in show!
28 June 2012
Yesterday, the NRS received a special award - Best Exhibitor - at the national conference of Speech Pathology Australia in Hobart. The NRS attends many conferences and expos each year. Our goal ...
Lawyer makes headlines for the NRS
1 June 2012
Kathryn O'Brien, a Brisbane lawyer who relies on the NRS to make phone calls to do her work, has been featured as one of Women’s Weekly magazine’s ‘Women We Admire’ in their ...
More mobile devices compatible with internet relay
31 May 2012
Internet relay calls can now be made on more mobile phones and tablets following the release of a new version of internet relay in May. Internet relay calls can be made on ...
Quiet Signs of Love wins over Rome!
21 May 2012
The NRS film Quiet Signs of Love has won the award for Best Hearing Short at the First Rome Deaf Film Festival, Cinedeaf. Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the ...
No more IT firewall problems with internet relay
18 May 2012
The NRS has released a new version of internet relay with some important improvements for users. Making calls from behind IT firewalls Some users, often employees of large organisations, have difficulty making ...
Survey of health professionals and the NRS
10 May 2012
The NRS works closely with health professionals such as audiologists, audiometrists, speech pathologists, nurses, social workers and occupational therapists. It’s important that professionals such as yourselves, who are respected by people with ...
Internet relay improvements
3 April 2012
The NRS has released a new version of internet relay with a number of important improvements for users. Fix for calls from Windows Live Messenger (MSN) Internet relay calls are working as ...
Get your survey in to have a chance to win
5 March 2012
The NRS is surveying our customers to find out what you think about the service. We want to know about your experiences when you use the NRS and your ideas on how ...
Victorian CFA now Relay Service friendly
8 February 2012
The NRS has been working with the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) to ensure the CFA’s bushfire information phone line is relay service friendly. Existing relay service users in Victoria can now ...
Windows Messenger link not working – all other NRS calls okay
8 February 2012
Update We are still investigating the connection issues regarding the ‘gateway’ connecting the NRS and Windows Live Messenger (MSN) following the decision by Microsoft to stop supporting the previous gateway software. We ...
Important rights of NRS users clarified
2 November 2011
Two important public watchdogs have recently clarified a number of grey areas concerning the rights of NRS users. The Disability Discrimination Act, administered by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), has been ...
Winner for Quiet Signs of Love competition
30 September 2011
Congratulations to the winner of the NRS iPad 2 Competition – Melissa Kagie from Dubbo! Melissa was randomly chosen from all those who commented about our short film Quiet Signs of Love ...
Internet relay back online
21 September 2011
Update 11 am (Sydney time) Internet relay is now working reliably. You will be able to make calls as usual through your preferred option – the Web, Windows Messenger or AIM. We ...
MSN internet relay interruption now fixed
6 September 2011
7.30 pm (Sydney time) Internet relay is now fully functioning. We apologise to customers who were unable to make calls through MSN or AIM for a period this afternoon due to intermitent ...
Internet relay interruption now fixed
5 September 2011
Apologies to any users who were affected by an outage in our internet relay via MSN service last night. Calls could not be made through MSN from approximately 9pm Sunday (Sydney time). ...
A better deal for NRS call centre customers
10 August 2011
The NRS will be working with staff in a wide range of call centres during Hearing Awareness Week this year to improve their practical knowledge about handling calls from NRS users. People ...
Census 2011 – Relay Service friendly
29 July 2011
The Australian Census happens only once every five years but it’s coming very soon. Census staff are now out in the field delivering census forms to households and on Tuesday 9 August, ...
Have your say in review of NRS
27 July 2011
The terms of reference to the government review of access to telecommunication services by people with disability, older Australians and people experiencing illness, were recently announced by the Minister for Broadband, Communications ...
YouTube love story promotes NRS
14 July 2011
The 15-minute love-story, designed for online viewing only, aims to promote a relay service that makes it easier for Australians with hearing and speech impairments to make phone calls. Quiet Signs of ...
Relay call centre back to normal
7 July 2011
UPDATE 5.30 pm (Sydney time) The NRS call centre is now back to normal operation following an afternoon of delays and difficulties in connection for some callers. Optus has advised that its ...
NRS contracts extended
24 June 2011
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has annouced extensions to the current contracts for the management of the NRS for the next two years. The Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) - which ...
Update on NRS response to the Brisbane floods
20 June 2011
NRS call centre evacuation The NRS national call centre in Brisbane was evacuated at 1pm on Wednesday 12 January due to concerns about staff safety and access during the floods. The premises ...
NRS examines disaster operations following Brisbane floods
28 March 2011
The National Relay Service is working closely with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to examine what has been learnt from the January floods in Brisbane for the planning and future ...
Fill in your survey in to have a chance to win
10 March 2011
The NRS is carrying out a survey to find out what users think about the service. During February we recruited some 700 NRS users to participate in the survey and we thank ...
NRS gears up to help with response to Yasi
2 February 2011
The NRS is rostering on more relay officers from midday today to deal with an expected increase in calls as Cylone Yasi nears the coast. We expect to maintain increased rostering until ...
NRS back to normal after floods
15 January 2011
The intense, extraordinary flooding in the Brisbane area affected many essential services including power, phone and transport. These problems had a severe impact on NRS services. Although the NRS relay centre building ...
New-look website for NRS!
13 December 2010
The National Relay Service today launched a new, easier-to-use version of its website. "The website is an important resource for NRS users and would be-users" said NRS Outreach manager Deborah Fullwood. "It ...
Minister Conroy honours country bloke who became a beacon of hope
7 June 2010
A hearing impaired Australian has been honoured at Parliament House in Canberra for his contribution to raising awareness about the NRS. Murph Emond, an ex-truck driver from the town of Meredith in ...
Minister to investigate emergency SMS
20 April 2010
Senator Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, has announced his 'intention to establish an SMS emergency service for people with disabilities'. He has asked his department to ...
Community consultation for NRS
20 April 2010
Senator Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, announced the consultation at a CommsDay Summit in Sydney 'Making services accessible is essential for consumers to be able to ...
