Aussie police set to return to NZ after ‘strong interest’ from Kiwi cops

Wednesday, 19 February 2025

Kiwi cops jumping the ditch has become a hot political issue over the past two years.

Recruiters for the Australian police force are set to return to New Zealand, just months after they embarked on a recruitment roadshow around the motu.

In November last year, the Northern Territory police force came to Aotearoa in an attempt to poach Kiwis to bolster their thin blue line.

Among those they were hoping to recruit were “seasoned officers looking for a new challenge” ‒ and clearly they were successful, returning to New Zealand’s shores to progress 45 applications.

Meanwhile, New Zealand police attrition rates are growing, leaving the Government well behind its goal of 500 more officers by the end of 2025.

A return to New Zealand’s shores

The Northern Territory (NT) police force is due to arrive in Auckland on March 19, before heading south to Wellington on March 26.

Acting Superintendent Serge Bouma said the second trip would consist of interviewing applicants who applied between the November visit and now.

“After we were last there, the information sessions and marketing have generated strong interest in what we have to offer in the NT.

“We are getting competitive applicants from New Zealand both from experienced officers and from those looking to start their policing career,” Bouma told The Post.

To date, the NT police force had received 45 applications, 20 of which were from serving New Zealand police officers.

In December last year, police top brass revealed they were unlikely to reach the Government’s target of recruiting an additional 500 officers by the end of 2025.

Another 16 former Kiwi cops were about to begin training on the accelerated recruitment programme, he said.

“Police recruitment is competitive around the country and our jurisdiction is consistently managing to keep up with attrition and growth commitments.

“To achieve this, we target all available source markets to ensure that we get the best people for our police force,” he said.

Bouma credited the fact NT had more sworn officers than ever before to “unique incentives such as access to free housing for your entire career and significant financial assistance to relocate”.

The current offer from the Northern Territory for officers who have previously served in New Zealand is reflective of how many years they have served in the police force already.

For example, a Kiwi officer with five years’ police service could expect to earn a base salary of A$86,241 with a $20,000 relocation boost and a housing allowance of $31,214 - that is, a total of approximately NZ$152,316.

In comparison, an officer working in New Zealand in their fifth year of service would have a yearly income of about $91,284.

Queensland police launched a similar campaign earlier last year with the tagline “warmer days and higher pays”, promising officers a NZ$22,000 relocation bonus.

The New South Wales police force is also part of the recruitment blitz, offering up to NZ$21,180 in relocation costs and the opportunity to have their existing rank recognised.

Attrition rates in NZ paint stark picture

Police Association President, Chris Cahill said Australian police forces have recognised the importance of a competitive starting salary.

Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand police attrition rates are growing with the pipeline of police recruits seemingly unable to keep up with retirements and resignations.

According to data gathered by the Police Association, as of January 27 there were 10,139 constabulary staff.

In May 2024, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello said frontline police officers would be bolstered by 500 officers by the end of 2025.

Instead, the number of constabulary staff had barely broken even with the number before the recruitment drive.

In May 2024, the Police Association recorded 10,112 frontline staff. That did not include vacancies, which were already over 200 strong when the association started documenting staffing levels.

Police Association President Chris Cahill told The Post that attrition rates have “snuck up” to 5.7%, in comparison to historical averages of between 4.5-5%.

“This puts pressure on recruitment and the bottom line is recruitment isn’t keeping up with attrition.

“One of the big problems is an ageing workplace demographic catching up with itself. That’s not an easy fix at all and will continue to be a problem over the next 10 years or so,” Cahill said.

Policing was often seen as a safe job during times of economic downturn, but a lack of competitive salary meant the police force wasn’t seeing the influx of applications it could be, he added.

“Young people are increasingly leaving for Australia, so the pool of available young people is drying up, which means the pipeline isn’t feeding through.”

According to Assistant Commissioner for leadership, talent and direction at the New Zealand Police, Jill Rogers, the organisation continues to work hard to deliver 500 additional officers before the end of the year.

“While we know this is ambitious, we are committed to achieving this target,” Rogers said.

She said that last year there was a “significant increase” in the number of applications after the eligibility criteria was changed to allow those on restricted driver’s licences and those on resident visas to apply.

The maximum capacity of recruit wings going through the police college was also increased from 80 to 100, she said.

In early 2024 the number of graduates from the police college had been impacted by an increase in the length of the training to a 20-week curriculum, meaning no wings began training between October 2023 and January 2024.

“We’re doing everything we can to accelerate our growth and get applicants through the pipeline and onto the streets faster,” Rogers said.