Employer Preferences
You are able to change the order in which you rank your employers and you can even delete one of your preferred employers if you wish. To do this, you’ll need to email the nursing@acenz.net.nz asking us to update your preferences for you. You cannot add new employers to your preference list after applications close.
As part of the End of Year process, positions are available from all employers across New Zealand. Successful candidates for this intake will commence their employment late January to mid-February however, start dates will vary between employers. ACE recommends applicants speak with employers directly to identify when positions will likely commence for these employers.
As part of the Mid-Year process, positions are available from some employers across New Zealand, typically just the large and medium sized DHB's. Successful candidates for this intake will commence their employment from August - September, however, start dates will vary between employers. ACE recommends applicants speak with employers directly to identify when positions will likely commence for these employers.
Employers Confirmed Mid Year 2023 Intake
You can find a link to their career pages in the Employer Contact Information section. The number of vacancies for each employer will only be advertsied on each employer's webpage and is not the responsibility of ACE.
- Te Whatu Ora - Te Toka Tumai Auckland
- Te Whatu Ora - Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty
- Te Whatu Ora - Waitaha Canterbury
- Te Whatu Ora - Capital and Coast
- Te Whatu Ora - Counties Manukau
- Te Whatu Ora - Te Matau a Māui Hawke's Bay
- Te Whatu Ora - Hutt Valley
- Te Whatu Ora - Lakes
- Te Whatu Ora - Te Pae Hauora o Ruahine o Tararua MidCentral
- Te Whatu Ora - Nelson Marlborough
- Te Whatu Ora - Te Tai Tokerau, Northland
- Ryman Healthcare - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Southern
- Te Whatu Ora - South Canterbury
- Southern Cross Hospitals - Auckland Region, Midland Region (Southern Cross Hamilton Hospital; Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital), Central Region (Manuka St Hospital, Nelson)
- Te Whatu Ora - Southern
- Te Whatu Ora - Tairāwhiti
- Te Whatu Ora - Taranaki
- Te Whatu Ora - Waikato
- Te Whatu Ora - Wairarapa
- Te Whatu Ora - Waitemata
- Te Whatu Ora - Te Tai o Poutini West Coast
- Te Whatu Ora - Whanganui
Practice Settings
Once you have chosen your preference of employer you will need to select up to five practice settings or areas of specialist practice. The 19 practice settings that are available have been nationally agreed by key ACE stakeholders. If there are sub-specialties you know you would like to practice in, for example, please highlight this in your cover letter as employers pay close attention to your cover letter for information regarding your practice setting preferences.
For each employer selected, you should make every effort to explain the reasons why you have chosen your Practice settings and why you have set these in your order of 1/2/3/4/5. After applications close you can no longer change your practice setting preferences.
List of Practice Settings
- Aged Residential Care
- Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation
- Cardiac Care (Includes Coronary Care Units and Cardiothoracic)
- Disability Health
- District Nursing
- Emergency & Trauma
- Health of Older People Within the DHB
- Intensive Care (Includes High Dependency)
- Medical
- Mental Health & Addictions (NESP)
- Neonatal
- Oncology
- Paediatrics, Child Health and Youth Health
- Perioperative Care (Theatre)
- Primary Health Care (Including Practice Nursing, Department of Corrections, GP Clinics, Accident & Medical Centres, Iwi Providers, Pacific Providers, School Nursing, Well Child Providers, Plunket, NGO's and Hospice)
- Public Health Nursing
- Rural Health
- Surgical
- Woman's Health
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Expected Vacancies
Employers are encouraged to advertise their expected vacancies available to applicants on their individual career websites and also indicate the practice settings which these positions are likely to be in. This information should be made available on their NETP websites the day prior to applications for the intake open.
ACE makes every effort to ensure that employers have this information available for applicants on their websites however, ACE cannot take responsibility for ensuring that this information is current and updated by each DHB.
You should also check this page from time to time as ACE updates Employer Information Sheets in PDF format for you to download.
If you are not clear about the practice settings offered by your preferred employers, please contact the relevant NETP coordinators. Employer contact information and career websites can be found in the Employer Information section on the ACE Website.
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Voluntary Bonding Scheme
The Voluntary Bonding Scheme is an incentive based payment scheme that has been introduced by the Government to reward nursing graduates who agree to work in hard-to-staff communities and/or specialties. For more information on the practice settings that are eligible for the Voluntary Bonding Scheme please click here.
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Applying to Southern Cross Healthcare
Applying to Southern Cross Instructions
When completing your ACE application you will be asked to preference the employer(s) you wish to apply to. Southern Cross Healthcare regions will show as options in the drop down box along with the DHBs taking part in the intake. Southern Cross Healthcare will be separated into 5 regions to include Auckland, Midland (BoP, Rotorua & Waikato), New Plymouth, Central and Southern and each region will cover multiple sites. For more information about which sites in each region will be participating in the intake please see the Southern Cross Healthcare website or the Vacancy and Positions Information section of the ACE Website.
Practice Settings for Southern Cross Healthcare
Southern Cross Healthcare will only be offering a NETP programme. If you are interested in a NESP position you will need to do your research on which DHBs have NESP vacancies for the intake. Southern Cross Healthcare will offer positions in Perioperative (Theatre) and Surgical practice settings. These practice settings are available to select in the drop down section of your application in the preferences section. If you are interested in working for the Southern Cross Healthcare, you should choose Perioperative and/or Surgical options depending on your interests.
Southern Cross Healthcare Regions
There are 5 regions you can choose from - Auckland, Midlands, New Plymouth, Central and Southern but as these regions cover more than one hospital, you need to be flexible with your location. You may be offered a job in any hospital within that region. If you choose Southern Cross Healthcare as an employer preference and are invited for an interview, this is something you could discuss with the interview panel. If you are only able to work at one site within the region you should specifically mention this in your cover letter to Southern Cross Healthcare.
Southern Cross Healthcare Regional Breakdown
Auckland
- North Harbour
- Brightside
- Auckland Surgical Centre
- Gillies Hospital
- Ormiston Hospital (JV)
Midlands
- Hamilton
- Rotorua
- Grace Hospital, Tauranga (JV)
New Plymouth
Central
- Crest Hospital, Palmerston North (JV)
- Wellington
- Manuka Street Hospital, Nelson (JV)
Southern
- Christchurch
- Central Lakes Hospital, Queenstown (JV)
- Invercargill
*JV refers to joint venture hospitals
More Information Regarding Southern Cross Healthcare NETP Programme
You can visit Southern Cross Healthcare website for more information or contact the NETP co-ordinator: Julie Hedley - New Graduate RN Programme Co-ordinator Email: Julie.Hedley@southerncrosshospitals.co.nz
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Applying to New Entry to Specialist Practice (NESP)
To apply for NESP, simply rank Mental Health and Addictions as a practice setting preference. The programme supports nurses new to Mental Health and Addiction services to develop their professional practice while developing the specific skills required for the specialty field of Mental Health and Addictions nursing. Full information on the programme can be found here at the Te Pou website.
How to apply for a NESP position
- Register with ACE and complete your application in the normal way on the ACE application website once it opens.
- Navigate to the Preferences section, follow instructions and choose your employers in order of preference.
- You will then need to choose your preference of practice setting. For NESP you should choose “Mental Health and Addiction” as your first choice to have the best chance of securing a graduate position. If you have other specialties you are interested in, you should also make a second and third choice.
As part of your application you will be asked to select up to 5 practice preferences. Within the list of specialties available you will see a specific option available Mental Health & Addictions and you should select this as one of your 5 preferences, in the order in which you would like to have your application considered.
In your cover letter you can give more detail about the exact area you would like to work in and employers will work to identify potential employment opportunities for new graduates.
During your interview with potential employers you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that organisation and which of these you feel you are best suited to.
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Applying to Primary Health Care Positions
You can apply to both NETP and NESP programmes through ACE and you can apply for Primary Health Care positions through ACE.
Primary Health Care positions include the following
- Practice Nursing
- Department of Corrections
- Medical Centres
- Iwi Providers
- Pacific Providers
- School Nursing
- Well Child Tamariki Ora providers (e.g. Plunket)
- Prisons
- Hospice
As part of your application you will be asked to select up to 5 practice preferences. Within the list of specialties available you will see a specific option available Primary Health Care and you should select this as one of your 5 preferences, in the order in which you would like to have your application considered.
In your cover letter you can give more detail about the exact primary care setting you would like to work in and employers will work with local Primary Health Care providers to identify potential employment opportunities for new graduates.
During your interview with potential employers you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that organisation and which of these you feel you are best suited to. If Primary Health Care providers advertise for new graduate registered nurse positions you can still apply for these directly to them, outside of the ACE process.
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Applying to Aged Residential Care Positions
Within the list of specialties available you will see a specific option for Aged Residential Care and if you are interested in working within this area, you should select this as one of your 5 preferences, in the order in which you would like to have your application considered.
In your cover letter you can give more detail about the exact aged residential care setting you would like to work in and employers will work with local Aged Residential Care providers to identify potential employment opportunities for new graduates.
During your interviews with potential employers you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that organisation and which of these you feel you are best suited to. If Aged Residential Care providers advertise for new graduate registered nurse positions you can still apply for these directly to them, outside of the ACE process.
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Applying to Department of Corrections
To apply for a position within the Department of Corrections, please select Primary Care as your practice setting preference, you should select this as one of your 5 preferences, in the order in which you would like to have your application considered.
In your Cover Letter you can give more detail about the Department of Corrections facility you would like to work in and employers will work with the Corrections facilities to identify potential employment opportunities for new graduates.
During your interview you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that employer’s area and which of these you feel you are best suited to. If Corrections facilities advertise for new graduate registered nurse positions you can still apply for these directly to them, outside ACE.
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Applying to St. George's Hospital (Waitaha, Canterbury - Te Whatu Ora only)
To apply for a position with St George's Hospital, please select Waitaha, Canterbury - Te Whatu Ora and Surgical as your practice setting preferences, you should select this as one of your 5 preferences, in the order in which you would like to have your application considered.
In your Cover Letter you can give more detail about St. George's Hospital and employers will work with them to identify potential employment opportunities for new graduates.
During your interview you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that employer’s area and which of these you feel you are best suited to.
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Applying to Private Hospitals
With the exception of Southern Cross Hospitals, Ryman Healthcare (and St. George’s Hospital via Waitaha, Canterbury - Te Whatu Ora only), you cannot apply for positions with private employers through the ACE programme. You will need to apply directly to the private surgical hospital you wish to work for to be considered for positions with them.