FAQ

The starting salary is $44,936. Staff progress through competency based steps to the top level salary of $55,347.

Additional benefits include:

• a focus and emphasis on professional support and training and development for frontline staff.
• opportunities for secondment, special projects, and head office work.
• the chance to work for an organisation that is recognised as forward-thinking and innovative on the international Corrections stage (New Zealand is respected internationally and provides guidance and advice to other countries in terms of correctional issues and initiatives)
• Corrections staff also have access to some special banking and insurance discounts and can participate in KiwiSaver.
• KiwiSaver is a voluntary savings scheme open to all New Zealanders that aims to increase saving through encouraging a long-term saving habit and asset accumulation. More information about KiwiSaver is provided to successful applicants on appointment or go to www.kiwisaver.govt.nz for more information.

Staff receive four weeks annual leave, increasing to five weeks after six years current continuous service. There are also provisions for sick leave, bereavement leave and leave without pay. Staff working shifts are also entitled to five days shift leave each year.

Generally Corrections Officers undertaking full custodial duties work a shift roster including public holidays, weekends and nights; 8 hours per day, 80 hours per fortnight.

Yes, all Corrections Officers are required to wear a uniform supplied by the Department.

Yes, there are unions you can choose to join. There are two main unions, the PSA (Public Service Association) and CANZ (Corrections Association of New Zealand).

We are looking for people who:

• Can act as positive role models to prisoners
• Have life experience
• Have good communication skills
• Have the ability to encourage, motivate and support prisoners to make personal changes while operating within our policies and procedures to provide a safe, secure and humane environment
• Have the ability to work positively in a challenging environment
• Are responsive to cultural needs
• Have reasonable level of competence in written and spoken English as well as basic computer skills

When you first start a custodial career as a Corrections Officer you will undergo a comprehensive eight week training course. Six of those weeks are residential and undertaken at the Corrections Staff College in Trentham, Wellington. The course is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge you will need to work safely in a prison environment.

Staff who join the Department of Corrections in non-custodial roles are also given comprehensive induction and on-the-job training.

In addition, when we open a new facility, all staff are trained to carry out their role within the facility and to operate the facility safely and securely.

National Certificate in Offender Management.

Prison Services offers a nationally recognised qualification, the National Certificate in Offender Management. This qualification is registered with NZQA and recognises skills and experience related specifically to working with prisoners as well as generic workplace skills like communication, problem solving and people management. The qualification is offered at three levels to meet the requirements of staff at Corrections Officer, Senior Corrections Officer and Principal Corrections Officer ranks.

Having a criminal conviction will not necessarily preclude you from being offered employment. It depends on the position applied for and the offences that might be on your criminal record. Your criminal conviction record will be reviewed against our policy to assess your suitability for employment with the Department.

Applicants with the following kinds of criminal record will not usually be considered for appointment:

• Any person who has received a custodial sentence (includes periodic detention and corrective training) regardless of when the offence occurred.
• Any conviction for violence, dishonesty, drugs, a sexual offence, or any offence which incurred a sentence of supervision within the last 20 years.
• Any criminal conviction within the last 10 years, with the exception of minor convictions (minor convictions are those incurring small fines)
• A continued history of minor offences

For more information go to Pre-Employment Checking page.

Yes, you will have to declare any possible instances of conflict of interest on the application form. As part of an offer of employment, a Code of Conduct policy is signed off which covers this sort of thing.

You may be dismissed from your role if it is found that you have not revealed associates or relationships that put you or the Prison Service at risk, or if you convene any such relationships or associations during your employment.

A Corrections Officers role is to ensure prisoners are safely, humanely and securely contained for the period of their sentence. Corrections Officers actively work with prisoners to make positive changes to their behaviour and help turn their lives around.

Each Corrections officer is allocated a number of prisoners who they work with, with the aim of rehabilitating them so they do not re-offend. Corrections officers help identify factors which cause a prisoner to commit crime and work out the best way to change their thinking and behaviour.

We have a rich and diverse staff and have staff networks such as Maori, Pacific, Asian (and other ethnic) networks.

There are many opportunities for promotion for custodial staff. On the custodial side there are Senior Corrections Officer, Principal Corrections Officer and Unit Manager roles if you are looking to apply for that next step up. There are also lots of specialist roles - in Training, Sentence Planning, Crime Prevention, Quality Assurance or Drug Dog Handling, if you are looking for a change.

The New Zealand Immigration Service has a detailed website that provides information about New Zealand's history, culture and lifestyle. The website also provides information about the costs of living and links to other useful websites.

The best way of understanding what it would be like to live and work in New Zealand is to visit the region and facility that you have applied to join. Relocating to a new country is a big decision and a personal visit is highly recommended as it will enable you to explore New Zealand and if you have formally applied for a job you may also be able to visit a facility so that you can talk to current employees about the job role to see if this is something you would enjoy doing.

If your application is complete, then we will be in touch with you shortly to discuss the next stage of the assessment process.