Associated organisations

We are here to support you

Our Deaf Children NZ Executive committee is the national organisation made up of members from the eight Regional Parent Groups throughout New Zealand. Our Membership model also includes 1,000 plus families that have registered with us and received a Family or Member Information Kit.

Photograph of 10 members of the Executive Committee of DCNZ
2021-2023 Executive Committee, from left; Kate Whale, Vice President, Wellington; Inset: Dana Cook, Hawke’s Bay, Brent Burcher, Secetary, Christchurch; Amee Hudson, Bay of Plenty; Justin Farquhar, Treasurer, Otago; Katie McMenamin, President, Wanganui; Karen Dobson, Canterbury; Gill Fair, Auckland; Toby Calvert, Nelson; and Angela Transom, Manawatu.

We are a registered incorporated society and our Executive committee and Parent Groups are run by volunteers who are themselves all parents of Deaf or Hard of Hearing children. Deaf Children NZ was set up in 1976 by parents of Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Until 2018 our organisation was named the New Zealand Federation for Deaf Children Incorporated or NZFDC, and some organisations and associations may still use this former name, which is not a surprise as we had used that name for the last 40 years!

The objective of Deaf Children NZ (DCNZ) is to promote, carry out and coordinate measures conducive to the welfare of deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Much of DCNZ’s recent work has focused on ensuring that Deaf or Hard of Hearing children have appropriate access to the education curriculum and social experiences within the schooling environment.

We offer our Members information kits for parents of newly diagnosed Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, financial assistance to subsidise Tutor Fees, NZSL classes for your family, Speech-language therapy.

Become a DCNZ Member

We advocate for our parents and are deeply involved with specific services for deaf and hard of hearing children at a ministerial and Government level.

We maintain very close links with the National Foundation for the Deaf, Deaf Aotearoa NZ, the Deaf Resource Centres and Deaf Sports and also with such groups as Sign Language Teachers and Sign Language Interpreters.

Contact Us

Deaf Children New Zealand | Tamariki Turi O Aotearoa
PO Box 13266
Johnsonville
Wellington, 6440

Email: info@deafchildren.org.nz

We also have a Facebook page so please Like and Follow us for updates and useful tips.