Response Teams are registered in accordance with national best practice guidelines to provide local first response and national support to emergency operations. Registration with the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management ensures teams meet a range of training, equipment and procedural requirements.

As Wellington is a shaky place the Response Teams in this region primarily focus on Urban Search and Rescue, the specialised technical rescue capability for the location and rescue of people trapped from collapsed structures. Other disciplines that local teams train in include Flood and Storm Response, Swift Water Rescue, High Angle Rope / Cliff Rescue and Emergency Operations Support.

Team members learn the principles around providing operational response to many different types of disasters both natural and man made. In training scenarios members learn the concepts of safety in dangerous environments, specialised searching, casualty handling, first aid, rope work, knots and lashings, use of stretchers, sandbagging, securing roofs during storms, securing buildings post disaster, generator and lighting for emergency use, emergency welfare, disaster planning and disaster response. Team members can progress to become experts in these disciplines and develop a high level of leadership skills.

New Zealand Response Teams are generally made up of enthusiastic volunteers from the community. While most response teams are run by their local territorial authority some are run by large organisations such as universities or industrial companies and a few are privately owned by their membership.

There are currently four Registered Response Teams in the Wellington Region and a total of 18 nation wide.