Toolkits and resources

Toolkit for community (former refugees, migrants, NGOs, settlement service providers etc.)

Language assistance services wallet card [PDF, 154 KB]

Which language do you use? - Poster [PDF, 693KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

Which language do you use? - Brochure [PDF, 664KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

How to ask for an interpreter

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has created resources to guide people through requesting an interpreter in 24 languages

• አማርኛ | Amharic: ለመንግስት አገልግሎት ሲደውሉ የቋንቋ ድጋፍ — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [PDF, 451KB](external link)
• Arabic | عربي: دعم اللغة عند الاتصال بالخدمات الحكومية | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• မြန်မာစာ | Burmese: အစိုးး ရဝန််ဆော င််မှုုများ သို့ ဖုုန်းး ခေါ် ရာာတွွင်် ဘာာသာာစကားး အထော က််အကူ [PDF, 66KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 简体中文 | Chinese (Simplified): 政府服务机构提供来电语言支持 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 繁體中文 | Chinese (Traditional): 政府服務機構提供來電語言支持 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• English: Government interpreting services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Farsi | فارسی:اطلاعات و منابع را از وزارت جوامع قومی به فارسی بیابید — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Français | French: Aide linguistique lors de la communication avec les services gouvernementaux | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ગુજરાતી | Gujarati: સરકારી સેવાઓને કૉલ કરતી વખતે ભાષાકીય સહાય Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• हिन्दी | Hindi: सरकारी सेवाओं को फोन करते समय भाषा सहायता Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Bahasa Indonesia | Indonesian: Bantuan bahasa saat menghubungi layanan pemerintah | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 日本語 | Japanese: 行政通訳のお知らせ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Ikinyarwanda | Kinyarwanda: Ubufasha bw’indimi igihe uri guhamagara serivisi za Leta [PDF, 409KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 한국어 | Korean: 정부기관에 전화할 때 언어 지원 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Português | Portuguese: Serviços de interpretação ao ligar para órgãos do governo | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | Punjabi: ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਲ ਕਰਨ ਵੇਲੇ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Rohingya: Córkari sewá ólot kool goribiccot zubani hemayot [PDF, 34KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Af-Soomaali | Somali: Taageerada luuqada markii aad soo waceysid adeegyada dowladda | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Español | Spanish: Apoyo lingüístico al llamar a los servicios del Estado | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Tagalog: Suporta sa wika kapag tumatawag sa mga serbisyo ng pamahalaan | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• தமிழ் | Tamil: அரசாங்க சேவைகளை அழைக்கும் போது மொழி ஆதரவு | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ภาษาไทย | Thai: ความช่วยเหลือด้านภาษาเมื่อโทรติดต่อรับบริการของรัฐ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ትግርኛ | Tigrinya: ድጋፍ ቋንቋ ኣብ እዋን ምድዋል ናብ ግልጋሎታት መንግስቲ[PDF, 437KB]  — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Urdu | اُردُ: منسٹری فار ایتھنک کمیونٹیز کی جانب سے معلومات اور وسائل اردو میں حاصل کریں۔ — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

Toolkit for government agencies

Language assistance services operational policy [PDF, 1.7 MB]

Language assistance services handbook [PDF, 1.4 MB]

Online learning modules for public service staff

The Ministry of Ethnic Communities (MEC), with support from the MBIE Language Assistance Services team and other organisations have developed online learning modules about accessing interpreters. These online learning modules are designed for public servants in customer facing roles, or for public servants who are likely to work with people with whom they do not share a language. This is a general course which focuses on the key aspects of understanding the role of interpreters and accessing and working through interpreters to ensure effective communication.

Please contact the Ministry for Ethnic Communities to organise getting the modules uploaded on your agency’s internal learning platform.

Contact Us | Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

These modules are also available through the Leadership Development Centre.

• Leadership Development Centre — ldc.govt.nz(external link)
• Module 1: Understanding interpreting — articulate.com(external link)
• Module 2: How public servants can access interpreting services — articulate.com(external link)
• Module 3: How to communicate effectively using an interpreter — articulate.com(external link)

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has also developed other online learning modules to support government agencies, and public servants who provide services or engage with people from Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. These modules may be of interest to your staff:

Inter-cultural capability eLearning. Four modules focussed on understanding what culture is, how it impacts on communication and behaviour and provides tools and methods for improving people’s ability to communicate effectively across cultures.

Inter-Cultural Capability eLearning — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

Unlocking Language Barriers | Te Whakamahea Tauārai Reo. This guide provides practical advice and information to support government agencies and other organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand to better communicate with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities.

Unlocking Language Barriers | Te Whakamahea Tauārai Reo — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)

Social media tiles

These social media tiles feature the following message in a range of languages, "Do you need language support when calling government services? Ask for an interpreter"

• Arabic: اطلب مترجم فوري | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 377KB](external link)
• Brazilian Portuguese: Peça um intérprete | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 370KB](external link)
• Chinese (Simplified): 要求提供口 译员 | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 355KB](external link)
• Chinese (Traditional): 要求口譯員 | Ask for an intepreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 339KB](external link)
• English: Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 365KB](external link)
• Farsi: Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 347KB](external link)
• French: Demandez un interprète | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 398KB](external link)
• Gujarati: ઇન્ટરપ્રીટરની માંગણી કરો | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 370KB](external link)
• Hindi: एक दुभाषिए के लिए अनुरोध करें | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 394KB](external link)
• Indonesian: Mintalah seorang penerjemah | Ask for an interpreter— Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 409KB](external link)
• Japanese: 通訳希望とお申し出ください | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 351KB](external link)
• Korean: 통역사를 요청하십시오 | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 350KB](external link)
• Punjabi: ਕਿਸੇ ਦੁਭਾਸ਼ੀਏ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕਰੋ | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 347KB](external link)
• Somali: Weydiiso turjumaan | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 380KB](external link)
• Spanish: Solicite un intérprete | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 369KB](external link)
• Tagalog: Humiling ng interpreter | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 385KB](external link)
• Tamil: ஒருஇன்டெர்ப்ரெட்டரைகேளுங்கள் | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 424KB](external link)
• Thai:ขอให้จัดหาล่ามแปลให้ | Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG, 373KB](external link)
• Urdu: Ask for an interpreter — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [JPG 345KB](external link)

How to ask for an interpreter

The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has created resources to guide people through requesting an interpreter in 24 languages

• አማርኛ | Amharic: ለመንግስት አገልግሎት ሲደውሉ የቋንቋ ድጋፍ — Ministry for Ethnic Communities [PDF, 451KB](external link)
• Arabic | عربي: دعم اللغة عند الاتصال بالخدمات الحكومية | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• မြန်မာစာ | Burmese: အစိုးး ရဝန််ဆော င််မှုုများ သို့ ဖုုန်းး ခေါ် ရာာတွွင်် ဘာာသာာစကားး အထော က််အကူ [PDF, 66KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 简体中文 | Chinese (Simplified): 政府服务机构提供来电语言支持 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 繁體中文 | Chinese (Traditional): 政府服務機構提供來電語言支持 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• English: Government interpreting services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Farsi | فارسی:اطلاعات و منابع را از وزارت جوامع قومی به فارسی بیابید — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Français | French: Aide linguistique lors de la communication avec les services gouvernementaux | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ગુજરાતી | Gujarati: સરકારી સેવાઓને કૉલ કરતી વખતે ભાષાકીય સહાય Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• हिन्दी | Hindi: सरकारी सेवाओं को फोन करते समय भाषा सहायता Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Bahasa Indonesia | Indonesian: Bantuan bahasa saat menghubungi layanan pemerintah | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 日本語 | Japanese: 行政通訳のお知らせ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Ikinyarwanda | Kinyarwanda: Ubufasha bw’indimi igihe uri guhamagara serivisi za Leta [PDF, 409KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• 한국어 | Korean: 정부기관에 전화할 때 언어 지원 | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Português | Portuguese: Serviços de interpretação ao ligar para órgãos do governo | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | Punjabi: ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਲ ਕਰਨ ਵੇਲੇ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Rohingya: Córkari sewá ólot kool goribiccot zubani hemayot [PDF, 34KB] — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Af-Soomaali | Somali: Taageerada luuqada markii aad soo waceysid adeegyada dowladda | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Español | Spanish: Apoyo lingüístico al llamar a los servicios del Estado | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Tagalog: Suporta sa wika kapag tumatawag sa mga serbisyo ng pamahalaan | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• தமிழ் | Tamil: அரசாங்க சேவைகளை அழைக்கும் போது மொழி ஆதரவு | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ภาษาไทย | Thai: ความช่วยเหลือด้านภาษาเมื่อโทรติดต่อรับบริการของรัฐ | Language support when calling government services — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• ትግርኛ | Tigrinya: ድጋፍ ቋንቋ ኣብ እዋን ምድዋል ናብ ግልጋሎታት መንግስቲ[PDF, 437KB]  — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)
• Urdu | اُردُ: منسٹری فار ایتھنک کمیونٹیز کی جانب سے معلومات اور وسائل اردو میں حاصل کریں۔ — Ministry for Ethnic Communities(external link)