FAQs

There is no upper age limits to continuing your service in the NZDF. Continued service is determined by vacancies, your performance, and your health and fitness.

The NZDF offers very affordable barrack accommodation for NZDF members on most bases and camps. Regular Force members become eligible for a housing allowance after 3 years of service. Regular Force members also become eligible for service housing after three years of service or under exceptional circumstances.

What is service housing like?

The majority of NZDF service houses were built in the 1950’s and are of wood construction. They have been maintained but are not as good as most modern homes of this century.

Yes, being granted Military Leave provisions under the Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973 means that your normal employment is viewed as uninterrupted and you are entitled to accrue your normal leave entitlement.

Yes, call 0800 1 FORCE (0800 136 723) and ask to speak to a uniformed re-enlistment recruiter.

This is assessed on a case-by-case basis. If you were fairly junior in your career when you left the NZDF, it may be decided that you need to start again alongside new recruits to re-familiarise yourself with a military environment.

The annual leave entitlement is 25 days per year for all service personnel. In addition to annual leave there are over 20 other categories of leave that you can apply for. These include study leave, representational leave, household removal leave, sick leave, and bereavement leave among others. The most common form of additional leave besides statutory holidays, is stand-down leave (for respite after long operations and intensive work periods) and equivalent leave (for working weekends and statutory holidays).

We assess each re-enlistment application on a case-by-case basis. A variety of factors are considered including how long you previously served for, how long you have been out for, what you have done since you left.

The NZDF provides free dental and medical care to all full-time serving uniformed personnel.

If your new skills or qualifications are relevant to your trade then this will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

It can take up to 30 days. If you have lived overseas for longer than six months, you will need to provide a Police check from that country. Your Candidate Engagement Facilitator can give you some guidance on how to do this.

If you are re-enlisting and have lived overseas for longer than six months since leaving the NZDF, you will need to provide a police check from that country.

If you are from overseas, you will need to provide a police check for any country that you have lived in.

We accept re-enlistment applications for all ranks and trades, although the available positions vary. Please contact 0800 1 FORCE (0800 136 723) to discuss.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes. A service person in a de facto relationship is entitled to the same benefits as a service person who is married.

Yes, you will be required to meet medical standards for general health, eyesight, and hearing.

The NZDF has a high dependence on trust, reliability, and use of technical equipment and weapons. For this reason, all applicants undergo a police check, and any convictions are assessed on the severity of the offence.