Serving our community since 1932
What started as a response to the disastrous Napier earthquake of 1931 has grown over the years into a nationwide organisation. Over the decades, AREC has provided essential communications for thousands of emergency events, from search and rescue missions to natural disasters, civil defence emergencies to community events
AREC is a national volunteer, not-for-profit, registered charity. It is the public service arm of the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART), with 47 groups and 375 volunteers spread across New Zealand. In addition, our parent association has 67 branches and 1500 members who can be called upon in any major civil emergency.
Our members are individually licensed amateur radio operators required to meet standards set by Radio Spectrum Management, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This provides a minimum level of technical expertise to apply to our services
What We Do
We support the New Zealand Police, the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ, Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR), Coast Guard and Surf Life Saving.
How We Support
The tireless support of our volunteers makes our work possible. There are several ways you can get involved and a range of different volunteer roles you can take on.
Our History
As a registered charity we are reliant on the generosity of local groups and people to support our work. Some funding is provided by the NZ government for search and rescue support.
Sponsors & Partners
As a registered charity we are reliant on the generosity of local groups and people to support our work. Some funding is provided by the NZ government for search and rescue support.