Our Recruitment Process

All of our application processes are online, so if you're interested in becoming a Customs Officer, you can get started here. 

This stage of the process will ask for some information about you, how we can contact you, and is also where we ask questions to check against our minimum requirements.  This includes proof of New Zealand citizenship or New Zealand permanent residency.  

Please note that we will not be able to progress your application unless this is provided, and although there are some exceptions, you must have been living in New Zealand at the time of your application, and consecutively for a minimum of five years. 

We also require a CV and cover letter and will remind you about what you will need to commit to if you are successful - including our functional fitness requirements and 13-week Auckland-based training programme. You will need to agree that you've read and understood these requirements.

If you meet our requirements at the application stage, we'll ask you to complete a selection of online assessments, that have been designed around what it takes and what it means to be a Customs Officer with the New Zealand Customs Service.

This invitation will come from our assessment partner, Talegent. 
These include psychometric assessments that measure underlying traits and abilities and aren't something you can study or practice for.

The best way to prepare is to ensure you have plenty of time to complete the assessments, and you are not feeling too rushed, tired, or distracted.

Tip: you may find it easier to complete these assessments on a laptop or desktop computer rather than a mobile phone.

If you are successful in the first stage of the assessment, you will be invited to complete an English language assessment.

We use video interviews as a fast and flexible way for you to understand more about what we're looking for, and for us to meet you. 

If you progress to this stage, you’ll receive an invitation from our assessment partner, Talegent.  You can complete and submit your video response when it suits you, and you can be assured our team view each and every video received.

Treat the video interview as you would an in-person interview. Choose a quiet place, check your technology beforehand and present yourself professionally.

If you are shortlisted following the video interview, we’ll invite you to attend an Assessment Centre.

If you are shortlisted, you’ll be invited to attend one of our Assessment Centres.

This half-day session is an opportunity to meet our team, learn more about Customs, and gain a better understanding of what it’s like to be a Customs Officer. You will need to arrange your own travel to attend one of our Assessment Centres.

Before attending, you'll be asked to complete several security forms and declare any actual, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest. We'll also need to know about any secondary employment - including volunteer - obligations you may have.

During the Assessment Centre, you’ll participate in a range of assessments designed to evaluate the key skills, competencies, and behaviours required for the role of a Customs Officer.

The Assessment Centre is also an opportunity for you to determine whether a career with Customs is the right fit for you. We encourage you to ask questions, get to know us, and learn more about the role and the organisation.

If you are selected as a preferred candidate, the next stage of the recruitment process is a security vetting process. We will complete a range of background checks, including with New Zealand Police, to ensure you meet the security standards required to work at Customs.

Security checks are an important part of our recruitment process and can take approximately three to six weeks to complete. The length of time may vary depending on individual circumstances, and we’ll keep you informed of your progress throughout this stage.

At this stage of our process, we will schedule an in-person appointment with one of our partner healthcare providers where you'll be asked to complete a questionnaire and answer any relevant questions about any current medical conditions or injuries that may impact your ability to safely complete the functional fitness test.

This will also include a drug screening test.

Our centres for testing are Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. If you are not in one of these centres, you will need to make yourself available to attend.

As part of your pre-employment process, you are required to complete a physical fitness assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate whether you can safely meet the physical demands of the role. The testing focuses on key physical capacities that are important for workplace performance and injury prevention. 

These include: 

• Aerobic (cardiorespiratory) fitness 
• Muscular strength 
• Balance 
• Flexibility 

The full assessment typically takes 60 minutes and is supervised by trained professionals, and you will be given demonstrations before each test, and rest periods will be provided as required.   You will also be able to stop any test if you feel unwell or uncomfortable, however you must pass this assessment on the day for your application to be progressed.

Once you have successfully passed the functional fitness test and the security checks, the final stage of the recruitment process are reference checks. 

Our team will contact two referees to gain a better understanding of your skills, experience, and suitability for the role. One of your referees must be your current or most recent manager or supervisor. We’ll let you know before we contact your referees, so you know that this stage is underway. 

Congratulations! At this stage you will receive your formal letter of employment to review and sign. 

We look forward to welcoming you to New Zealand Customs Service and supporting you as you begin your career with us.

This stage of the process will ask for some information about you, how we can contact you, and is also where we ask questions to check against our minimum requirements.  This includes proof of New Zealand citizenship or New Zealand permanent residency.  
 
Please note that we will not be able to progress your application unless this is provided, and although there are some exceptions, you must have been living in New Zealand at the time of your application, and consecutively for a minimum of five years. 

We will also ask you to provide a CV and cover letter.

If you meet our minimum requirements, we will ask you to complete a selection of assessments.  

Dependent on the role, this may include a panel interview, a role play or psychometric assessment.

Psychometric assessments measure underlying traits and abilities and aren't something you can study or practice for. The best way to prepare is to make sure you have plenty of time to complete the assessments, you are not feeling too rushed, tired, or distracted.

You’ll be given plenty of information about the different assessment types we’ll ask you to complete.

You will be invited to attend a formal in-person interview with the interview panel. If you are unable to attend in person, arrangements can be made to conduct a virtual interview.

We will complete a range of background checks, including with New Zealand Police, to ensure you meet the security standards required to work at Customs.

Ensure you read our eligibility requirements for security checks and operational clearance. 

Security checks can take approximately three to six weeks to complete. The length of time may vary depending on individual circumstances, and we’ll keep you informed of your progress throughout this stage.

Some Operational roles will require you to complete a fitness test to determine if you are the right fit for the team/unit.

If you are required to complete a fitness test, more information will be provided to you at the time of your online application. 

Once you have successfully passed the functional fitness test (if applicable) and the security clearance process is underway, the final stage of the recruitment process is conducting reference checks. 

Our team will contact two referees to gain a better understanding of your skills, experience, and suitability for the role. One of your referees must be your current or most recent manager or supervisor. We’ll let you know before we contact your referees, so you know that this stage is underway. 

At this stage you will receive your formal letter of employment to review and sign.

This is conditional on the completion of:

• Drug screening test, and
• Security vetting.

To join Customs, you must be able to meet the following requirements:

• You are 18 years of age or older.
• You are a New Zealand Citizen or New Zealand Permanent Resident.
• You are residing in New Zealand at the time of your application
• You have resided continuously in New Zealand for the last five years*.
• You hold a current full New Zealand drivers’ licence or can acquire one when applying (not applicable to corporate roles).
• Fitness tests are applicable for some roles.
• Successful applicants are also required to pass a medical assessment, drug test, and have a clear Police record.

*Any exceptions to this will need to be discussed with Recruitment to assess whether you will still be eligible to meet the Organisation's Security Clearance application criteria.

The minimum age to apply to Customs is 18 years old.

There is no upper age limit.

All applicants must meet our requirements, which includes medical screening and functional fitness for Customs Officers. Please see above.

If you are applying to a Customs Officer cohort and need assistance, you can email our Recruitment team on recruitment@customs.govt.nz. This inbox is monitored Monday to Friday, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

If you have a question regarding an application for a specialist role, please contact the recruitment advisor listed on the job posting.

No, our recruitment process is completely free. We will never contact you to ask you to pay a fee at any stage.

If you suspect you may have been targeted by a scam, or have any questions about our recruitment process, please reach out to recruitment@customs.govt.nz.

We need the best people for the role. We often receive several hundred, sometimes thousands, of applications for cohort recruitment. For applicants that meet our minimum requirements, and pass our assessments, we then review those applications on a merit basis.

Outside of this, some applications are not progressed at an early stage for several reasons. The most common reasons are because an applicant:

• Did not meet our eligibility requirements,
• Did not pass the online assessments, or did not attend an Assessment Centre,
• Did not pass a medical and drug screening assessment,
• Did not pass a functional fitness test,  
• Did not pass our security vetting process, or
• Because the referee listed did not provide a response.

This is a common question to which there is no one true and correct answer. All recruits who are accepted into Customs enter our mandatory 13-week training programme, Te Ara Ako and Mahia Te Mahi, which provides you with the necessary skills and knowledge to work as a Customs Officer.

While this is not a requirement, experience in one of the following may be useful:

• Criminology
• Psychology
• New Zealand Defence Force
• New Zealand Police
• Other New Zealand border or enforcement agencies
• Postal and freight companies 
• Importing and exporting to and from New Zealand
• Working in airport or seaport environments 

Yes, our Customs Officer training programme is paid.

If you do not reside in Auckland where our training is delivered, your accommodation and travel to and from Auckland will be paid for by Customs. Food and related expenses are also covered. 

The latest information on our next Customs Officer cohort intake can be found on the vacancies page.

We typically recruit for Customs Officer cohorts two to three times annually, across the country.

While the recruitment process is similar across all roles, there are some key differences between Customs Officer cohort recruitment and recruitment for Operational, Corporate and Specialist roles.

More information about the recruitment process

Having secondary employment does not affect your ability to work for Customs. 

Everyone applying to Customs must declare any secondary employment - including volunteer obligations – they may have. 

Your role at Customs must be your primary form of employment.

Due to the sensitive nature of our work, we do not offer work experience, volunteer or student placements.

While we appreciate all opportunities to consider future recruits, please do not email us your CV outside of active recruitment.

Please wait for the next cohort intake or advertised vacancy where you will be required to provide us with your CV as part of your online application.

We do not sponsor working visas for people outside of New Zealand.

You must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident to apply, and you must be living in New Zealand at the time of your application.

The requirement is that you must be living in New Zealand at the time of your application and have lived in New Zealand continuously for the last five years. Any exception to this will need to be discussed with Recruitment to assess whether you will still be eligible to meet the Organisation's Security Clearance application criteria.

If you are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and have lived continuously in New Zealand for the last five years, you may be eligible to apply for a role at Customs.

You must still undergo our 13-week training programme, even if you had already trained as an Officer in another country.

While there is no single pathway for when you can apply for a specialist role in Customs, we do recommend that newly qualified Customs Officers focus on learning more about the role and organisation before seeking their next development opportunity.
 
As you gain experience and broaden your knowledge and skills, this will open pathways for you to expand into a specialist team.

If you are interested in applying for a specialist role and you are not a Customs Officer, you should already have the relevant experience specific to the role from a New Zealand law enforcement or other border agency.

It is preferable that you are of similar rank to the position advertised.

You must also meet our eligibility requirements.

A Customs Detector Dog Handler is a specialist Operational role for which you must already be a Customs Officer and had at least six months of operational experience before you can apply to the unit.

More information is available at Being a part of Customs.

Vacancies typically occur on an annual basis in either Auckland or Christchurch.