AREC at community events
Amateur Radio Emergency Communication “AREC” the public service arm of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) formed by members who are individually licensed amateur radio operators.
Welcome to AREC New Zealand
Welcome to Amateur Radio Emergency Communication “AREC”. AREC is the public service arm of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) formed by members who are primarily individually licensed amateur radio operators. AREC provides skilled Volunteers enabling essential communications to support search and rescue, disaster response, and our community.
AREC.site
AREC’s legacy website and the technical information it contained is still available for a period of time at www.arec.site
Our Services

Communications
AREC provides a range of communications services covering the provision of highly trained, experience Volunteer radio operators delivering vital messaging services for search and rescue, civil emergencies and community events.

Training & Advice
AREC delivers high quality education, training and assessment of AREC volunteers and other partner organizations. Our volunteers deliver advice and guidance utilizing their extensive technical and operational knowledge.

Infrastructure & Equipment
AREC endeavours to provide and maintain suitable radio and communications technology equipment and infrastructure to enable our volunteers to provide a highly capable and responsive emergency communication service.

Volunteers
AREC’s 375 fully equipped Volunteers provide communications services for civil emergencies, search and rescue and community events.
264
Events attended by AREC + 126 SAR events
47
AREC groups
nationwide
375
AREC volunteers
8
AREC partners
(NZSAR, RCC, Police, LandSAR,)
Latest News
Southland AREC
Wet day at Dip Flat
long standing AREC members being recognised
Keeping in touch when it counts
Join the adventure!
Join AREC as a volunteer
You will join a group and receive training to provide essential communications to support Search & Rescue, Disaster Response, and our community.




Sponsors, Associates & Partners












Palmerston North @landsarnz held their SAREX over the weekend of 4th – 6th July, with members of Manawatū AREC participating in the exercise.
Planning started on the Friday Night with IMT called in to gather information on the whereabouts of the two ‘Missing Parties’. Manawatū AREC members Ryan ZL1RKW & Darren ZL2DAZ also joined to work on repeater coverage for the search and organise operators for the next two days.
Saturday saw five Land Search and Rescue teams from Manawatū & Horowhenua head out into the field, with AREC deploying one of the Land Search and Rescue standard repeaters and a linking repeater, as there had been an extra repeater placed the day before the event. Linking the two repeaters gave the IMT better coverage over the search area and great reception back to base.
A SAREX is always a great opportunity to show off our comms problem-solving skills, and of course take away learnings so we can support well during a real Search and Rescue operation 👍
#radiocommunication #emergencypreparedness #emergencyresponse #landsarnz #searchandrescue
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15 July is #WorldYouthSkillsDay which is all about equipping young people with skills for employment and their future 🌎
AREC work alongside many important organisations providing radio communications support, and we believe that what we do matters 💛
Whether it’s volunteering, working in the field, or being ready when it counts — radio skills are practical, empowering, and future-focused.
✅Become an amateur radio operator (at any age!)
✅Join AREC and soak up our knowledge through training
✅Support the community with your new skill set!
Join us today
#emergencypreparedness #emergencyresponse #radiocommunication
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Leaders from across AREC recently got together for a Leadership forum at @silverstream_retreat
It was great to see so many passionate leaders come together, be open, take ideas away, and feel energised about the future direction we’re taking together 🤝
#TeamworkWins #EmergencyCommunications #leadershipdevelopment
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So grateful to work alongside this amazing bunch at HB Civil Defence 💛🥳 While National Volunteer Week is now at an end, we do want to celebrate the 21 new volunteers who have joined our Response and Support teams, and the 8 new members who have joined the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC) team.
✅ These new volunteers are a result of the successful volunteer recruitment drive we held earlier this year.
🙌🏽 It’s great to be able to welcome our new volunteers and acknowledge their commitment to their community.
🤝 Our new volunteers will gain new skills and develop relationships that will help them support the wider Hawke’s Bay community during an emergency.
💪🏽Their dedication helps us continue to build a more resilient Hawke’s Bay.
🎪 The new members of the Response, Support, and AREC teams were brought together for the first time a couple of weeks ago during a combined training exercise at Hastings Boys’ High, where volunteers practised setting up our multipurpose habitation unit (MHU) tent.
👥 It’s also important to celebrate and acknowledge ALL the volunteers, and their whānau, who contribute to civil defence emergency management in Hawke’s Bay.
💛 Whether you are in a team of trained CDEM volunteers, involved with a Community Emergency Hub, or a member of the public who has offered your service on the spur of the moment, the work you do is so incredibly important and hugely appreciated. Ngā mihi nui!
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