Brain drain hits thin blue line as Aussie police offer cops $148k in first year

Wednesday, 26 April 2023

Northern Territory Police will pay officers in their first year $148,000 – more than twice the $67,000 they’d get here. (File photo)

Australian police are offering cops the opportunity to earn “more than” AUD$136,000 (NZ$148,127) in their first year – at least double what they could expect to earn in Aotearoa in the same time frame.

In an advert that’s been circulated in Kiwi newspapers, the Northern Territory Police Force promises officers “top pay” and free housing in exchange for serving a minimum of 12 months in a frontline position.

But, according to the New Zealand Police Association, the worst is yet to come for Aotearoa as the brain drain closes in on the thin blue line.

With a new pathway to citizenship opening up for Kiwis in Australia, association president Chris Cahill expects the lure of the sweet pay package may be too much for cops to resist in the coming months.

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Cahill said the Northern Territory offer had been the subject of a “lot of chatter around the country”.

“So far we haven’t seen many officers taking the bait, but I expect this will be a changing story in the coming months,” he said.

“The reality is that the Northern Territory isn’t the most attractive state to move to, but if other states start to follow suit that’s when we’ll really feel the impact.”

According to Cahill, the possibility of similar packages on the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast were “very much on the horizon”.

On average, police officers in New Zealand can expect $67,126 in their first year out of college.

“We’re going to need to brace for police officers joining teachers and nurses as the target of recruitment campaigns in the coming months.

“Things are hard for police officers in New Zealand, so we know there’ll be a real temptation for them to go.”

For an Auckland police officer who went through the application process for the Northern Territory role, it was the “free housing and salary that grabbed my attention”.

Stuff has chosen not to name the officer to protect his career prospects.

Despite his wife also working full-time, the officer, in his 30s, said with a young child and a mortgage he was “barely able to make ends meet”.

“As a double income family, we’re not supposed to be struggling like this, we’re supposed to have enough money.

“But when interest rates shot through the roof, it was a big wake-up call for us – we can barely pay our mortgage, let alone think about having another child,” he said.

Having gone through the interview process and psychometric testing for the job in Australia, the officer learnt the job actually required a four-year commitment – two years in a populated town and two years in an Aboriginal community.

“In the end, I decided that for me and my family the job wasn’t going to work – but the idea of being a frontline police officer with at least double the pay was certainly tempting.”

When approached for comment, the New Zealand police said their “terms and conditions of employment are quite different to those offered by Australian police organisations, making the comparison of limited value”.

They said they were “not aware of any current trends or changes/increases to staff moving” but they would continue to monitor the situation.