The New Zealand Police workforce is allocated across 12 Police districts. This allocation is based on the operational demand and the needs of each district. This ensures New Zealand Police have the right staff numbers in the right locations. Each District Commander decides how these roles are allocated within their district.
Our recruitment team works closely with districts to understand their current and future staffing needs. Because of staff movements vacancy numbers can (and often do) change quickly. As a result, the information shown on our vacancy map is reviewed and updated regularly.
Applicants who apply for districts with vacancies, or who are open to relocating to a district with vacancies, are usually able to progress quicker through the recruitment process.
If you apply for a district with no vacancies, or are unable to relocate, you will experience longer wait times—especially in areas with low turnover and high application numbers, such as Canterbury. In these situations, applications may pause and not move to the next stages until there are vacancies. Relocation may be an option applicants wish to consider and the team can discuss this with you.
Recruitment timeframes can vary, and everyone’s journey will look a little different. To help set realistic expectations and keep things moving, we encourage applicants who can remain flexible and consider applying for districts with vacancies.