Because of the nature of our work, and the high standards of integrity and conduct we expect from employees, the Department of Corrections carries out pre-employment checks on all applicants. The type of check/s depends upon the nature of the job you have applied for.
These checks are:
All information gathered during the job application and pre-employment checking process will be used, stored and disposed of in accordance with the principles of the Privacy Act 1993.
The Department will conduct reference checks prior to any job offer being made. In most cases at least one of your referees should be your current manager or someone you have worked for recently.
All employees of the Department of Corrections must have undergone either a NZ Police Vetting or a Ministry of Justice Criminal Record check.
You will be asked on your application form to declare any criminal convictions you may have had. However, the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 means that individuals who have had no convictions within the last 7 years, and who meet other criteria in the Act, do not have to disclose any convictions.
The exception to this is when the job applied for is exempt from the Clean Slate Act, like prison and probation officer roles. When a role is an exception, it means you do have to list on your application form any criminal convictions you have had.
NZ Police Vetting will be carried out on applicants for all frontline roles. Frontline roles are those where you will have direct and regular contact with prisoners or offenders. Many (but not all) of our frontline roles are exceptions under the Clean Slate Act.
Below is a table of the roles where NZ Police Vetting is required. The table also shows which of these roles are exceptions under the Clean Slate Act.
| Frontline roles that are exceptions under the Clean Slate Act.You must disclose any criminal convictions when applying for these roles. | Other Frontline roles. Police Vetting will not provide any information that should not be disclosed under the Clean Slate Act. |
| Corrections Officers/Senior Corrections Officers/Principal Corrections Officers | Case Managers/Senior Case Managers/Principal Case Managers |
| CIE Instructors and Principal Instructors | Programme Facilitators/Principal Facilitators |
| Unit and Residential Managers | Psychologists/Senior Psychologists/Principal Psychologists |
| Prison Managers | Nurses |
| Probation Officers/Senior Probation Officers/Principal Probation Officers | Health Centre Managers |
| Service Managers | Intelligence Officer |
| Assistant Area Managers | Intelligence Analysts |
| Community Work Supervisors/Senior Community Work Supervisors | Regional Intelligence Manager |
You can find more information about criminal records and the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 on the Ministry of Justice website www.justice.govt.nz, and more information about NZ Police Vetting at www.police.govt.nz in the Police Services section.
More information about the Clean Slate Act and how having a criminal conviction might affect your job application is also available here.
Ministry of Justice Criminal Records checks will be carried out for all other positions in the Department before any job offer is confirmed.
Preferred applicants for all positions with the Department of Corrections must pass a drug test before they can take up any position they are offered.
We are not concerned about your legitimate use of prescription or over-the-counter medication. Our concern is with illicit drug use or the misuse of prescription drugs.
The drug test will involve urine screening at an approved centre. You will be told where you should go and what information you need to take with you during your recruitment process.
We will pay for the test itself. You will need to cover the cost of travelling to the testing centre. However, there are many approved testing centres around the country, and we will make every effort to find a testing centre as close as possible to your potential place of employment or your place of residence.
Test results (other than pass/fail advice to the manager of the position applied for) are confidential to the testing centre, our Senior Adviser Health and Safety, and our authorised National Office vetting staff.
You can see the consent form (PDF 8KB) you will be asked to sign at the testing centre. Your signature on the form will be witnessed at the testing centre - you do not have to arrange for getting your signature witnessed.
You will be required to provide proof of your identity in the form of a passport, New Zealand driver licence, or birth certificate.
You must be legally able to work in New Zealand. If you are not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, you must have a valid work visa.
Prospective employees for any positions that involve significant financial risk to the Department will be subject to a credit check. These positions are in the areas of finance, procurement, and payroll.
Your consent for a credit check will be sought after a job offer has been made to you.
Veda Advantage will undertake credit checking on behalf of the Department. You can find more information about credit checking on the Privacy Commissioner's website www.privacy.org.nz.
Copyright © Department of Corrections | Feedback and queries email: webmaster@corrections.govt.nz