What National Relay Service does

The National Relay Service (NRS) is an Australian Government-funded public service operated under the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. It provides telecommunications relay services that enable Australians who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment to communicate by phone with hearing parties. The service is provided at no cost to end users and operates exclusively within Australia.

The NRS platform comprises multiple relay modalities designed to address different communication preferences and disabilities. These include Video Relay for Auslan (Australian Sign Language) users via live video interpreters; NRS Chat and SMS Relay for text-based communication; NRS Captions and Captioning Apps for real-time speech-to-text captioning of phone calls; three TTY modes (Speak and Read, Type and Listen, Type and Read); Voice Relay for speech-impaired users; and Video Remote Interpreter Services. The Access Hub website (accesshub.gov.au) serves as the consolidated entry point and distribution channel, supported by dedicated direct-access applications for NRS Captions and NRS Chat and a Helpdesk for organizations.

The business model is non-commercial: the NRS is fully funded through Australian Government appropriations and provided as a universal public service. The customer base spans four primary end-user segments (d/Deaf English users, Auslan users, hard of hearing, and people with speech communication difficulty) plus a secondary segment of Australian organizations and businesses that need to receive accessible calls for compliance and service reasons. A partnership with the Department of Health and Aged Care extends interpreting coverage into health-related accessibility use cases. The most significant recent strategic action is the 2026 expansion of Video Relay Service hours toward 24/7 operation.

Name

National Relay Service

Legal name

National Relay Service

Website

https://relayservice.gov.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Relay Service is an Australian Government-funded public service that provides phone and telecommunications relay across video, text, SMS, captioning, TTY, and voice modalities for Australians who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Relay Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), All Other Telecommunications (517810)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Assistive Hearing & Communication Access (Captioning, Hearing Support, Transcription) (EDAFAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Note-Taking, Interpreting & Communication Access Services (EDALAGAD)

Keywords

• Telecommunications relay services
• Accessibility communication services
• Video relay interpreting
• TTY telephone services
• Captioning relay services

Headquarters

HQ city

Australia Plains

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The National Relay Service provides phone-based accessibility solutions for Australians who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech impairments. It offers multiple relay communication modalities including Video Relay (for Auslan users), NRS Chat (text-based), NRS Captions, SMS Relay, Voice Relay, and several TTY modes, enabling bidirectional communication between users with hearing or speech impairments and hearing individuals through trained relay officers and interpreters.

Product overview

The National Relay Service is a government-provided accessibility service platform that provides multiple relay communication options for Australians who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech impairments. The service portfolio includes Video Relay (for Auslan users), various TTY modes (Speak and Read, Type and Listen, Type and Read), SMS Relay, NRS Chat (text-based relay), NRS Captions, Voice Relay, Video call apps, and Video remote interpreter services. These products work together as an integrated suite of accessibility tools enabling bidirectional communication between deaf/hearing and speech-impaired users through different modalities including video, text, SMS, and voice relay technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NRS Captions: Captioning service for relay calls
• NRS Chat
• Video Relay
• SMS Relay
• TTY (Speak and Read)
• TTY (Type and Listen)
• TTY (Type and Read)
• Voice Relay

Products and services

• Video Relay A relay service enabling deaf and hard of hearing Auslan users to communicate with hearing people via video connection, using sign language and lip reading through trained interpreters.
• Video call apps Applications enabling video calls for deaf and hard of hearing users to communicate with others through real-time video.
• Video remote interpreter services Remote interpreting services delivered via video, connecting users with interpreters to facilitate face-to-face communication using Auslan.
• Captioning apps Applications providing real-time captioning, allowing users to speak and read transcribed text during phone calls.
• NRS Captions Government-provided captioning service for converting speech to text in real-time during phone calls, allowing users to speak and read the conversation.
• NRS Chat Text-based chat relay service allowing users to type and read conversations in real-time during phone calls via a relay officer.
• SMS Relay SMS-based relay service enabling text messaging relay for deaf and speech-impaired users to communicate with hearing parties.
• SMS Relay (Text and Listen) SMS relay service combining text input with audio listening capabilities for deaf and speech-impaired users.
• TTY (Speak and Read) Telephone typewriter service where a relay officer reads the user's typed message aloud to the hearing person and types the spoken response back.
• TTY (Type and Listen) TTY relay mode where users type messages and listen to the relay officer read the response from the hearing party.
• TTY (Type and Read) TTY relay mode where users type messages and read the typed responses from the hearing party.
• Voice Relay Relay service enabling people with speech impairments to make phone calls by having a relay officer speak on their behalf.
• Additional interpreting services (Department of Health and Aged Care) Additional interpreting services offered through partnership with the Department of Health and Aged Care, extending beyond core NRS offerings to include health-related interpreting needs for deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired Australians.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Department of Health and Aged CaresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Department of Health and Aged Care provides additional interpreting services that complement the NRS offerings. This partnership extends accessible communication options beyond standard relay services to include health-related interpreting needs for deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired Australians.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CaptionCall: US provider of captioned telephone service for people with hearing loss, overlapping directly with NRS's NRS Captions and captioning app offerings.
• ZVRS (Z Video Relay Service): US Video Relay Service provider focused on ASL interpretation via video, with mobile and desktop applications — directly comparable to NRS's video relay offerings for sign language users.
• Hamilton Relay: Operates state-level TRS programs across the US, including relay, captioned telephone, and speech-to-speech services — closely aligned with NRS's multi-modality relay mandate.
• Purple Communications: Provides VRS and ASL interpreting services in the US market — directly comparable in target population (deaf/ASL users) and product (video relay).
• Relay UK (BT): UK government-funded relay service providing text relay and video relay via BSL interpreters — a national, state-funded relay service comparable to NRS in mandate and structure.
• Convo Relay: US VRS provider offering on-demand American Sign Language interpreter relay via video — a direct Video Relay Service counterpart to NRS's Auslan VRS.
• Sprint Relay (T-Mobile IP Relay): Operates one of the largest US Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), providing IP Relay, voice carry-over, and captioned telephone services to deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired users — the closest functional analog to NRS outside Australia.
• Canadian Relay Service (MTS): Canada's national relay service offering TTY, voice, and video relay (including LSQ interpretation) — a publicly funded, multi-modality relay service analogous to NRS.
• Sorenson Communications: US-based provider of Video Relay Service (VRS) and communications solutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, including CaptionCall — directly comparable to NRS's Auslan Video Relay and captioning product lines.

Broad incumbents

• Apple Accessibility: Embeds Live Captions, FaceTime video calling, and hearing-aid compatibility directly into iOS — represents the broadest incumbent threat to NRS's captioning, chat, and relay modalities via consumer-platform substitution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/relayservice
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalrelayservice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1032195

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Relay Service