New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says he immediately expressed his “displeasure” after learning the Northern Territory planned another recruitment drive targeting Kiwi officers.
The comments come as Australian police forces continue aggressively recruiting New Zealand officers, with Queensland Police revealing 72 Kiwi cops joined its ranks in the past year alone.
The Northern Territory force said it would be back on New Zealand soil but this time it had written to Chambers.
“Yes, the Commissioner for Northern Territory Police did write to me to let me know he was sending staff over to do more recruiting,” Chambers told 1News. “I replied immediately expressing my displeasure.”
It follows fresh figures revealing at least 144 New Zealand police officers left for Australia in the past year alone, with the Northern Territory emerging as one of the most aggressive recruiters.
That force has now confirmed 20 of the 22 recruits in its April graduating class were former New Zealand police officers.
The Northern Territory police force said it would be back on New Zealand soil, looking to hire more officers. (Source: 1News)
Queensland Police are also continuing to attract large numbers of Kiwi recruits through its accelerated PACE programme, designed for experienced international officers.
Acting Senior Sergeant Lisa Duncan, the programme’s intake coordinator, said New Zealanders now make up a significant portion of recruits entering the Queensland Police Service.
“So in the last 12 months, 72 New Zealand police officers have joined us and into our programme,” Duncan said.
“At least a quarter of our recruits are New Zealanders.”
Higher salaries
Duncan said many officers were attracted by lifestyle, family connections, career progression and significantly higher salaries.
“They get paid at a very attractive rate compared with how they got paid in New Zealand,” she said.
“After they finish their first year, they’ll get their rank up. If they come over with some rank, they’ll retain that. They’ll get that back. And then they’re usually quite quick to get up the promotional ranks as well.”
Former New Zealand police officer Dion Nelson-Screen is one of those who made the move.
Once the face of a New Zealand Police recruitment campaign, he now works as a Senior Constable with Queensland Police on the Gold Coast.
He said the financial and lifestyle differences were significant.
“The QPS pay package is a lot stronger than what New Zealand was,” Nelson-Screen said.
“The cost of living here in Australia is a bit different as well, and it’s definitely made life a lot better.”
Nelson-Screen said career progression in Queensland was also much faster than he experienced in New Zealand.
“New Zealand, I think Senior Constable is 15 years, where over here it’s five years,” he said.
He now works on the Gold Coast after previously serving in Brisbane, saying the flexibility to move locations and work major events had been a major benefit.
“Another pro over here is [you] can work a lot more music festivals, concerts and sporting events, something I didn’t have the opportunity to do back home,” he said.
Despite missing aspects of New Zealand policing culture, Nelson-Screen said he had no regrets about moving.
“I’d make the move all over again if I had to,” he said.
“The things I’ve experienced over here, the places I’ve visited, and just the living conditions that I’ve been living in over here. There’s no regrets for me at all.”
He said many former colleagues had since contacted him asking about the process of moving to Australia.
“Quite a few of my friends have moved over and are still in the QPS,” he said.
Moved home
However, not every officer who moved across the Tasman felt the same way.
Former New Zealand constable Teagan Turner relocated to Queensland with her family in 2024 before ultimately deciding to return home weeks later.
Turner and her husband are now both back working for New Zealand Police in Tūrangi.
Despite taking a pay cut to return, she said the move home had been worth it.
“We love the community, the smaller station, and actually getting members of the public to know who we are,” Turner said.
“There’s so many opportunities within the New Zealand Police and if you’re not happy with where you are, take another opportunity.”
Despite New Zealand Police launching campaigns encouraging officers to return home, Australian forces show no sign of slowing their recruitment efforts, with both Queensland and the Northern Territory confirming more Kiwi officers remain in the pipeline.
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