A new supplier will soon be offering telephone interpreting services across the public sector, replacing Language Line,
which closes when funding finishes on 30 September 2019.
Australian company Ezispeak, will be offering on-demand telephone interpreting services for government agencies,
accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in over 180 languages from 1 October 2019.
“We are very excited about these service improvements. The large number of languages available and the fact that
agencies will be able to access an interpreter for their clients 24/7, all of this will be a major benefit for
non-English speakers in New Zealand and their ability to access public services and information,” says Andrew Lockhart,
National Manager.
“Interpreters have been a very important part of this process. We have committed to growing the pool of local
interpreters during the contract term. To assist this we have established an interpreter development fund to support
local interpreters to gain the required skills and experience.”
The services will be provided to eligible public sector agencies through an open syndicated contract.
Agencies outside government can access the services through a participating agency they work with; they may also choose
to contract with other providers of telephone interpreting services, including the new provider.
MBIE will move across to Ezispeak mid-September 2019, followed by other agencies on 1 October 2019. Details on how to
sign up to the new telephone interpreting service are on the MBIE website.