# The Media Access Charitable Trust

**Charities Register number:** CC49311
**Status:** Registered
**Registered since:** 2013-06-10
**Sector:** Social Services
**ICNPO group:** Social Services
**Region:** Auckland
**NZBN:** 9429043251438
**IRD donee status:** yes — donations may qualify for a tax credit

## Purpose

The nature of the Media Access Charitable Trust (trading as Able) is to work towards an Aotearoa New Zealand where everyone has equal access to audiovisual media. Our core purpose is to serve the 880,000+ members of the Deaf or hard of hearing community; the 180,000+ people who are blind or have low vision, and those who rely on captions to help improve literacy or navigate English as a second language. Our mission is how we’re achieving our vision; through our work as Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading provider of captions, subtitles and audio description. Able provides these services for free-to-air television (TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, TVNZ Duke, Three, Sky Open), digital platforms such as TVNZ+, ThreeNow, and RNZ, as well as for film, film festivals, government and television commercials.

## CharityData rating

- **Grade:** D+ (51.5 / 100)
- **Financial health:** 55.7/100
- **Governance:** 75/100
- **Transparency:** 85/100
- **Computed:** 2026-10-01 (methodology 3.11)
- **Flags raised by the methodology:** 1
  - trustees holding many concurrent board roles

Ratings are an analytical view computed from this charity's own filings to the Charities Register, using a published methodology: https://charitydata.co.nz/charity-insights/methodology. They are not advice and not a statement about any individual.

## Latest annual return (year ended 2025-06-30)

- **Total revenue:** NZ$5.71M
- **Total expenses:** NZ$5.71M
- **Surplus / deficit:** NZ$0
- **Total assets:** NZ$1.13M
- **Total liabilities:** NZ$1.13M
- **Net assets:** NZ$10
- **Cash reserves:** NZ$537k
- **Government grants:** NZ$0 (0.0% of revenue)
- **Staff costs:** NZ$2.85M
- **Paid staff:** 41
- **Volunteers:** 0
- **Source filing (PDF):** https://register.charities.govt.nz/Document/DownloadPdf?pdfType=AnnualReturnSummary&relatedId=6e079dab-4956-f011-bb44-0022480ffcd1&isPublic=true

All figures are as filed by the charity with Charities Services, in New Zealand dollars.

## Filing history

| Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Surplus/deficit | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-30 | NZ$5.71M | NZ$5.71M | NZ$0 | NZ$10 |
| 2024-06-30 | NZ$5.61M | NZ$5.61M | NZ$0 | NZ$10 |
| 2023-06-30 | NZ$5.75M | NZ$5.75M | not disclosed | NZ$10 |
| 2022-06-30 | NZ$4.93M | NZ$4.93M | not disclosed | NZ$8 |
| 2021-06-30 | NZ$3.98M | NZ$3.98M | not disclosed | NZ$11 |
| 2020-06-30 | NZ$3.03M | NZ$3.03M | not disclosed | NZ$10 |
| 2019-06-30 | NZ$3.03M | NZ$3.03M | not disclosed | NZ$10 |
| 2018-06-30 | NZ$2.97M | NZ$2.97M | not disclosed | NZ$10 |
| 2017-06-30 | NZ$2.91M | NZ$2.91M | not disclosed | NZ$9 |
| 2016-06-30 | NZ$2.89M | NZ$2.89M | not disclosed | NZ$10 |

## Governance

- **Officers on the register:** 6 current (11 including former)
- **Chair recorded:** yes
- **Paid executives disclosed:** 2
- **Executive remuneration bands:** NZ$500k+
- **Auditor:** RSM Hayes
- **Most recent audit opinion:** unqualified

Individual officers and trustees are not listed here. Their names are on the public Charities Register (https://register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=CC49311) and on the charity's profile page.

## Service providers

- RSM — auditor

## Data freshness

- Register details: as of 2026-10-01
- Financials: last updated 2026-05-29
- Rating: computed 2026-10-01
- This document generated: 2026-10-01

Figures are as filed. A charity that has filed since the dates above may have newer numbers on the Charities Register.

## More data

- Charity profile: https://charitydata.co.nz/charities/the-media-access-charitable-trust
- Structured facts (JSON): https://charitydata.co.nz/api/v1/charities/the-media-access-charitable-trust/facts.json
- Short summary: https://charitydata.co.nz/api/v1/charities/the-media-access-charitable-trust/summary.md
- Rating methodology: https://charitydata.co.nz/charity-insights/methodology
- Official register entry: https://register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=CC49311

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Published by [CharityData NZ](https://charitydata.co.nz). Canonical: https://charitydata.co.nz/charities/the-media-access-charitable-trust. Primary source: Charities Services (Ngā Rātonga Kaupapa Atawhai), Department of Internal Affairs. Analytical scores are CharityData's own, computed under a published methodology, and are not advice. Generated 2026-10-01T23:10:29.844Z.