Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC)

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 450 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.