FAQs

A Candidate Engagement Facilitator (CEF) is a civilian member of the NZDF who works alongside military recruiting personnel. They will keep you updated on the status of your application and they will ask you to complete certain tasks at different points in the process. If you have any questions about your application, your CEF is the best person to contact.

Yes. Access to courses and promotion are based on performance and course availability and do not prejudice any gender. There are multiple women in senior staff/leadership roles.

No you do not need to re-apply. We will re-activate your existing application to continue from where it was left. Please contact your Candidate Engagement Facilitator to re-open your application.  if you can't remember who this was, please phone 0800 1 FORCE.

No, there are different fitness standards for men and woman.  Fitness standards are based on what is scientifically considered to be an equal level of effort for each gender.

Navy fitness requirements can be found here.

Army fitness requirements can be found here.

Air Force fitness requirements can be found here.

Most NZ students attend state funded schools. If a state funded school is at risk of overcrowding, it can set a ‘home zone’ that is geographically defined. Students living in this zone have the right to go to that school. Full information on the NZ school system can be found at minedu.govt.nz.

You will be taught during initial training how to tactically, safely, and appropriately take care of all personal hygiene matters – and you will always be able to maintain your privacy and discretion. During the initial weeks of training prior to leave being granted, you will have the opportunity to resupply and purchase personal hygiene products from a store on base.

Enlistment dates will be agreed once an OOS is made and we have a clearer idea of the time frame (e.g NZ Residence class visa, release etc).

Please be aware you are expected to enlist within 18 months from the time you submit your application to NZDF and that that you are required to give us as much information as possible about when you will be able to join.

Once you have submitted your application, NZ Immigration will assign you a Case Officer and the process may take up to six months. This will be highly dependent on your ability to produce all of the documentation required by NZ Immigration in a timely and organised manner. Please ensure you fully read the information on NZ Immigration’s website, www.immigration.govt.nz, before commencing the process.

This is dependent on a number of factors including the NZDF's need of your trade, and your performance during your time served. Most service personnel receive extensions of service after completing their initial engagement.

If you were an overseas applicant, your extension will also be dependent on gaining NZ citizenship. You should find out if your service will be extended 12 months before completing your initial engagement.

This is a personal choice. We strongly recommend that you do your own research including a comparison of the cost of purchasing furniture in NZ against the cost of transporting your furniture from overseas.

No. You will be assessed for promotion upon your performance and reporting in the NZDF.

Yes. The career managers will assess these qualifications and decide which ones will be recognised by the NZDF. If you are successfully enlisted into the NZDF, these courses will be added to your NZDF profile. Please note that some NZ courses differ to ones you have taken at home and you must be prepared to complete these. This will be stated to you in your Offer of Service.

Yes. The Offer of Service will state what NZDF courses you will be required to do upon arrival in New Zealand, and what rank and seniority you will hold in the NZDF. It is not possible to renegotiate these conditions after you arrive in New Zealand.

An Offer of Service (OOS) from the NZDF is an indication that we wish to employ you and that we would like to employ you as soon as possible. The OOS will contain information such as your new branch, trade, rank, seniority, unit, appointment, salary, engagement timeframe, annual leave scale and any courses required. The OOS is subject to you gaining the required medical and security clearances and on gaining a NZ Residence class visa. In rare circumstances the OOS may change. Please be aware that the NZDF reserves the right to alter your actual posting due to operational or administrative purposes. We may have to alter the OOS if you are unable to commence employment within the required timeframe agreed in your OOS.

There is no ability to transfer your military pension into an NZDF scheme. The NZDF no longer has its own pension scheme, rather NZDF personnel pay into the national Kiwisaver scheme. NZDF employees pay a minimum of 3% of their salary and the NZDF matches that with 4%. The pay listed on NZDF’s offer of service includes employer Kiwisaver contributions. More details can be found at the link www.kiwisaver.govt.nz

You may transfer your pension to your Kiwisaver scheme, however we strongly encourage you to seek professional advice regarding this.

Proctoring is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “to watch people taking an exam in order to check they do not cheat”.

To ensure the NZDF aptitude test integrity and the identity of the test taker all tests are proctored. We have two different methods of proctoring, you can choose which method suits you best:

1. In-person – Where you sit the tests at a recruiting office on an NZDF laptop

2. Online – Where you sit the tests at home or other location of your choice (e.g., library, marae, office) on your laptop/computer. Online proctoring uses your web-camera and screen monitoring software to view you and your test environment.