FAQs

No. It is at your discretion to tell a new employer if you are a member of the Army Reserve or Naval Reserve. However, we encourage you to be open with your employer or a potential employer. The Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973 makes it an offence for an employer to discriminate against, disadvantage, or dismiss an employee or prospective employee for rendering service in the Reserve Force. No one from the NZDF will contact your employer without your prior consent.

No. We have a specialist team who handle all re-enlistment applications. The team is made up of Army, Navy and Air Force recruiting personnel, as well as our civilian Candidate Engagement Facilitators. We work closely with Career Managers to process your application.

Most of the time people re-enlist with the same rank and seniority, however this is assessed on a case by case basis, and includes factors such as how long you have been out for and what you have done since you left.

Each application is different and there are a number of tasks that need to be completed before you re-enlist (military file check, police check, medical test, etc). The timeframe can also depend on availabilty of a position for your rank and trade. Some people are back within a month, and others can take up to six months or longer. You will have responsibility for completing parts of the process, the faster you complete these the faster your application will progress.

Yes, both the Recruiter and the Career Manager will review your file to assess your suitability for re-enlistment. If it is decided that you are not suitable for re-enlistment, you will be given the reason for this.

No. There is no upper age limit for re-enlisting. However, you will need to meet fitness and health criteria.

If your application is successful, and once you have accepted your Offer of Service, you may be entitled to some benefits to aid with your entry:

• Duty Travel for you and your family, from your bona fide home to your new posting location.
• Household removals funding/partial funding.
• Accommodation during relocation to your new posting location.

No, you will be issued with the uniform and equipment you require free of charge.

As of December 2018:

• Navy = 22.4%
• Air Force = 18.3%
• Army = 13.2%

Recent and upcoming intakes have a higher percentage of women than above, which is steadily increasing the overall percentage of women in the NZDF each year.

Once your application has been received it will be allocated to one of the re-enlistment Candidate Engagement Facilitators who will send you an email within 24 working hours with the next steps.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.