Frequently Asked Questions

ACE stands for Advanced Choice of Employment; it is a collaborative graduate recruitment process that assists graduate nurses in finding their first job in a NETP or NESP programme across New Zealand. ACE allows graduates to submit their application documentation through one centralised point. This process will allow all employers (up to 3 employer preferences per application), to review their applicants and then interview those applicants that match their organisation's employment criteria.

Following the employer selection process, employers provide ACE with a list of their preferred applicants. Finally, the ACE process uses a computer algorithm to best match the applicant’s preference with the employer’s preference ensuring that graduates only receive one job offer and ensuring the maximum number of graduates will receive job offers during the graduate intake round. There is a strong expectation that these job offers will be accepted as any match job offer that is rejected will see that graduate removed from the current intake and subsequent talent pool for that intake.

Please note that although ACE is the only way you are able to apply for a Nurse Entry to Practice (NETP) or New Entry to Specialty Practice (NESP) Mental Health & Addiction Nursing position, you are able to apply directly to employers for Registered Nurse positions and any other clinical positions not associated with an entry to practice programme. You can login to Kiwi Health Jobs or any employer career websites to search for current vacancies.

See the 2024 Intake Dates section for the intake specific timeline information.

You can register and create a profile on the ACE website at any stage, this information can be updated outside of the time applications are open. Once applications for the Mid Year 2024 intake opens on the 3rd April 2024 you will then be able to access the application form and attach your required documents. To review dates for the Mid Year 2024 intake please see the 2024 Intake Dates section.

When you register, you will create a username and password which will allow you to return and work on your application. For full instructions on how to complete your application please download the Applicant Guide in the ACE Resources section.

It is a good idea to regularly log in and review your checklist to ensure your documents and references have been uploaded. Once uploaded correctly, a tick will appear next to that category in your ACE checklist. Once all documents and references have been successfully uploaded, your checklist will automatically show your status as complete.

All applicants wishing to re-apply and who still meet the eligibility criteria must login to the ACE nursing website with their existing user name and password. On the right hand panel you will see 'Applications for Nursing are open' start your new application. All re-applicants need to click and commence their application as though applying for the first time.

ACE will transfer key parts of your previous details and documents if and when you re-apply.

Your previous referee details will be retained in your new application. If you would like to change referees, please contact ACE on 0800 223 236. A new reference request with a unique ID will be sent to the referee outlining the next steps and the reference due date. Your referee must complete your reference report form by the time applications close.

Your previous identification and residency documentation will be uploaded to your new application.

Your previous academic transcript will be uploaded to your new application. If there are additions to your results since your last application, you can upload this new transcript.

To check the eligibility criteria and the full ACE Nursing process further, please see the Application Guide in the ACE Resources section. If you have further questions about re-applying, or about the talent pool, you should contact ACE to discuss this further 0800 223 236 or nursing@acenz.net.nz.

Applicants are required to provide two references as part of their ACE application, one from your Clinical Tutor and one from your Nurse Preceptor. Both references must be from your final placement (TTP) in your final semester. The exception to this is Southern IT, Otago Polytech and UCOL students as they begin final placements later. The candidates from these schools may use referees from the placement immediately prior to their transition placement. 

One referee must be a Clinical Tutor from their nursing school or tertiary provider and the other must be a Nurse Preceptor employed by the organisation where the applicant completed their clinical placement in their final year.

Both references must be requested, completed and returned via the ACE system within the four weeks that applications open in order for your application to be deemed complete and to progress to the next stage of the process.

For information on how to request references please see the ACE Applicant Guide or the Reference Section within your ACE application. If you are having difficulty getting in touch with your referees, or your referees are not completing your references, please contact the ACE centre on 0800 223 236.

To change any of your referees, you must log-in to your profile before the closing date to edit your references. A new reference request with a unique ID will be sent to the referee outlining the next steps and the reference due date. Your referee must complete your reference report form by the time applications close on 30th April 2024.

Australian Citizens who have studied their Bachelor of Nursing degree in New Zealand are eligible to apply to ACE Nursing however they do not meet the Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ) criteria for a funded NETP or NESP position.

If you are an Australian Citizen and do not hold a Permanent Resident Visa, your employer will not be automatically eligible for Health Workforce NZ funding. However, if you are successfully matched via the ACE process, your position could be funded directly by your employer, or your employer could apply to HWNZ for an exemption to the residency status policy for trainee funding. For more information about the HWNZ exception to residency policy, please click here.

Consult the Immigration NZ website to find out if you are eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

Graduates that do not meet these basic ACE criteria should apply directly to individual employers for private positions. We recommend checking the Job Search page on the Kiwi Health Jobs website as a first point to see which employers may be looking for registered nurses and also by checking the career web pages of each employer. 

For more information about the HWNZ exception to residency policy, please click here. Consult the Immigration NZ website to find out if you are eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. 

New graduates who are required to sit or retake their state finals in March 2024 and subsequently pass will be eligible for the talent pool and commence NETP in April 2024 provided they applied for the End of Year 2023 intake.

These candidates will be required to indicate on their application that they will be a “late start applicant” due to sitting state in March 2024.

Please download the Applicant Guide which is available from the ACE Nursing Resources section of the ACE website and follow the step-by-step instructions which will include the information you need to complete.

• Online ACE application form.
• Two references; one from a Clinical Tutor and one from a Nurse Preceptor who supervised your final placement.
• Completed Resume – you are welcome to follow your own format, or use our standard template which you can download from the ACE Nursing Resources section of the ACE website.
• Obtain an official certified or verified copy of your academic transcripts from your School of Nursing.
• Depending on your residency status:
  • New Zealand Citizens: The photo page of New Zealand Passport plus New Zealand Tertiary Student Identification Card or New Zealand Driver’s License.
  • For New Zealand Citizens in lieu of a New Zealand Passport, ACE will accept a New Zealand Citizenship Certificate or New Zealand Full Birth Certificate that is issued on or after 1 January 1998 and that carries a unique identification number.
  • Australian Citizens: The photo page of Australian Passport plus New Zealand Tertiary Student Identification Card or New Zealand Driver’s License.
  • Permanent Resident Visa Holders: The photo page of an Overseas Passport plus the relevant Visa Document plus New Zealand Tertiary Student Identification Card or New Zealand Driver’s License.
• Cover Letters – Uploading at least 1 cover letter is mandatory and you can address a single cover letter to all of your ranked employers (up to 3) OR you can upload a different cover letter for each employer you rank.
• Health & Criminal Declarations.

Yes. Your residency documents such as your passport, drivers licence, birth certificate, residency or citizenship certificates must be certified prior to uploading them to your application. These documents can be certified by a Justice of the Peace, Police Officer, Court Registrar or Lawyer.

Your official transcript sent to you by your Tertiary Education Provider need to either be certified (as above) or verified by the faculty at your Tertiary Education Provider.

 

Any Justice of the Peace, Court Registrar, Lawyer or Police Officer can verify your documents. Most Tertiary Providers have JP’s who visit campuses weekly. These certified copies must then be scanned and uploaded to your application in PDF format. If you have had a statutory name change by deed poll, please provide the proof by scanning this document together with your New Zealand Driver's License or Student Identification Card.

ACE will still accept an expired passport as it still provides proof of citizenship. Usually this would not have expired more than 5 years ago. If your passport has expired longer than 5 years prior, you will need to supply ACE with a Full New Zealand Birth Certificate.

To change your Employer Preferences, you must log-in to your profile before the closing date to edit your preferences. If you would like to update the ranking order of your employer preferences or remove an employer after the date that the ACE applications close, you must email ACE at nursing@acenz.net.nz before 9am Monday 24th June 2024.

Your email must read...

Full Name

ACE Application Number #ABC123XYZ

Dear ACE,

Re: Employer Preference Change

Please change the ranking order of my Employer Preferences.

Current

1. Employer X
2. Employer Y
3. Employer Z

New Ranking Order

1. Employer Z
2. Employer Y
3. Employer X

Yours Sincerely,

Full Name

From 2018 onwards, students are now able to select up to 5 Practice Settings.

As part of your application you’ll also nominate up to 3 employers as well as input the details for your 2 referees. It is mandatory that you have one Clinical Tutor from your final year and one Preceptor reference from your final placement. ACE will not accept an employment reference. A Clinical Tutor is the person from your nursing school who supervises your final placement, while the Preceptor is the person from the hospital or place of work that supervises your final placement. 

Once you have chosen your preference of employers you will need to select up to 5 practice settings or areas of specialist practice. The 19 practice settings that are available have been nationally agreed by key ACE stakeholders, however, you may find that what you can select can seem restrictive. 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. Although you can only rank 5 practice setting specialties and all your preferred employers can see your practice setting preferences, you can still cater your cover letter to be specific for each employer, so BE SPECIFIC!!!! Outline in your cover letter exactly what practice setting you are ideally hoping for within that employer! Remember, there may be some differences across the 3 employers you have selected in terms of which Practice Setting specialties they have vacancies in.

For each employer selected, you should make every effort to include in full the reasons why you have chosen the set of practice settings and why you have set these in your order of 1/2/3/4/5. Employers will be able to see your choices of specialty in the order you have selected them. If you are highly focused on gaining a position in your first chosen specialty area, you should say so. If you would be happy working in any one of your 5 choices again, you should note that in your cover letters. If you seek further clarification, please contact your NETP coordinator and ask about aligning the ACE practice settings to any sub specialties that you want to consider. After applications close you can no longer change your practice setting preferences. So remember to talk about this in depth at the interview stage, as if you have changed your mind you can talk to them at the interview stage about what positions they have available in their organisation.

To change your Practice Settings, you must log-in to your profile before the closing date to edit your preferences. ACE will not allow these to be altered in any way after the closing date.

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. 

Primary Health Care positions include the following:

• Practice Nursing
• Plunket
• Department of Corrections
• GP Clinics
• Accident & Medical Centres
• Iwi Providers
• Pacific Providers
• School Nursing
• Well Child Providers 
• NGO's
• Hospice

As part of your application you will be asked to select up to 5 preferences of practice settings or specialties. Within the list of specialties, you will see a specific option available Primary Health Care and you should select this as one of your 5 preferences in the order 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, which is arranged by the employer, you will be given an opportunity to discuss in more detail the exact practice settings available within that employer 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 ACE.

As part of your application you will be asked to select up to 5 preferences of practice settings or specialties. Within the list of specialties available you will see a specific option available Aged Residential 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 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 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 aged residential care providers advertise for new graduate registered nurse positions you can still apply for these directly to them, outside ACE.

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 Hospitals regions will show as options in the drop down box along with the other employers taking part in the intake. Southern Cross Hospitals will be separated into 5 regions to include Auckland, Midlands, New Plymouth, Central and Southern and each region will cover multiple sites. For more information about the regional hospitals participating in this intake please refer to the Vacancy and Positions Information section of the ACE Website or the Southern Cross Healthcare 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 Te Whatu Ora districts 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 Hospitals, 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 region

• Southern Cross North Harbour Hospital
• Southern Cross Brightside Hospital
• Southern Cross Auckland Surgical Centre
• Southern Cross Gillies Hospital
• Ormiston Hospital, Auckland (JV)

Midlands region

• Southern Cross Hamilton Hospital
• Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital
• Grace Hospital, Tauranga (JV)

New Plymouth region

• Southern Cross New Plymouth Hospital

Central region

• Southern Cross Wellington Hospital
• Crest Hospital, Palmerston North (JV)
• Manuka Street Hospital, Nelson (JV)

Southern region

• Southern Cross Christchurch Hospital
• Southern Endoscopy Centre, Christchurch (JV)
• Invercargill

*JV refers to Southern Cross Healthcare 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

With the exception of Southern Cross Healthcare, Ryman Healthcare (and St. George’s Hospital via Te Whatu Ora - Waitaha Canterbury 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.

Upon completing your ACE application, indicate your preferred employer(s) from the dropdown menu, which includes Ara Poutama Aotearoa regions along with other participating employers. 

Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) is divided into six regions: Northland, Auckland, Midland (Waikato & Bay of Plenty), Taranaki/Whanganui & Manawatū, Wellington, and Southern (Canterbury & Otago/Southland), each comprising multiple sites. For details on regional hospitals involved in this intake, refer to the Vacancy and Positions Information section on the ACE Website or the Ara Poutama Aotearoa careers website.

Practice Settings for Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) 

Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) will provide a NETP programme for the Mid-Year 2024 intake. Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) will present NETP positions in the Medical practice setting. Medical practice setting is available to select in the drop down section of your application in the preferences section.

If you are keen on a NESP position, you must select Te Whatu Ora district(s) as your preferred employer(s) in your ACE application. 

Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) Regions

Choose from six regions: Northland, Auckland, Midland (Waikato & Bay of Plenty), Taranaki/Whanganui, Manawatū, Wellington, and Southern (Canterbury & Otago/Southland). As these regions encompass multiple corrections facilities, flexibility regarding your specific location is advisable.

NETP placements may be available at any site within your chosen region. If you select Ara Poutama Aotearoa as your employer preference and receive an interview invitation, you can discuss your site preferences with the interview panel. If you can only work at a particular site within the region, explicitly mention this in your cover letter to Ara Poutama Aotearoa.

 

Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) Regional Breakdown

• Northland
• Auckland
• Midland (Waikato & Bay of Plenty) 
• Taranaki/Whanganui & Manawatū
• Wellington
• Southern (Canterbury & Otago/Southland)

More Information Regarding Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) NETP Programme

You can visit Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) careers website for more information here or contact the national recruitment adviser Raewyn Hunn via email: Raewyn.Hunn@corrections.govt.nz.

 

To apply for a position with St George's Hospital, please select Te Whatu Ora - Waitaha Canterbury and Surgical as your practice setting preferences. You should also detail this in your cover letter when applying via ACE.

In your Cover Letter you can give more detail about St. George's Hospital and Waitaha, Canterbury - Te Whatu Ora 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.

You are encouraged to do some research on the employers that you have chosen to apply to. Information about your employers can be found by researching their career websites and by asking key people in the organisation questions about their organisation. From this information you will come to understand that each employer has specific areas of practice that may be of interest to you. Some of these areas will be similar to other employers, some will be different and specific to that employer and the region that they cover; therefore, each cover letter should be very specific for the employer that you are interested in applying to.

A Cover Letter Template is available for download in the ACE Nursing Resources section of this website and also in the documents section of your ACE application.

When submitting your cover letters, you have two options. You can either submit one cover letter which all 3 employers you rank will be able to see, or you can write separate cover letters for each of the employers that you have ranked.

Writing separate cover letters is the best option! It allows you to customise your cover letter specifically to an employer and remember that employers don’t know where you’ve ranked them, so by writing separate cover letters you can make it sound as though each employer you selected is your most preferred option!

When addressing your Cover Letters, remember to triple check who you’ve addressed them to. Remember to be sure you’ve put the correct employer and NETP and NESP coordinators names at the top of the letter. AND…make sure you’ve attached the right cover letter into the right employer upload slot in your ACE application!

You will see in the application portal that once you’ve ranked your employers, you will have up to three separate cover letter upload slots available for those employers. Make sure you attach the right letter to the right employer, for example, Waikato - Te Whatu Ora do NOT want to know why you really want to work at Te Toka Tumai, Auckland - Te Whatu Ora!

You should include:

• Brief Introduction about yourself. You can choose to incorporate a mihi and provide your whakapapa
• Your Nursing Philosophy/Kaupapa
• Brief summary of your skills and abilities
• Your main reasons for choosing each employer
• Highlight why you’ve chosen your practice setting preferences – BE SPECIFIC!
• Finally, include any other details that you think are relevant to your application for a NETP/NESP position

A cover letter should not read longer than one A4 sized paper. Employers want to know why you are interested in a NETP or NESP position in that organisation and what you can offer them. You should first note your main reasons for choosing that employer as one of your preferred places to work.

Note that employers cannot see the order in which you ranked them. You can also use your cover letters to specify your true practice setting preferences. Although employers can’t see your employer preferences, they CAN see your practice setting preferences. You are free to include a discussion about any other areas of practice outside of your three preferred options in your ACE application.

You can clarify in your cover letters what your nursing philosophy is and your passion for your chosen practice. Each DHB will offer different practice settings from what we advertise on our ACE websites. Our advice to you is to visit the DHB websites and contact the NETP coordinators for this information.

General Cover Letter Advice

• Why do you want this position?
• Show how motivated and enthusiastic you are, and how you can fit into the organisation discussing your personal qualities
• Mention any of the organisational philosophies that are relevant to that DHB or External Provider and comment on something positive about them and letting them know why you would want to work there.

How to Structure Your Cover Letter

• It is important to make a good impression.
• Cover letters are usually no more than one page long.
• Be professional, warm and friendly.
• Make the letter interesting to read, but clear, concise and to the point. Do not repeat everything you say in your CV.
• Use simple and natural language.
• Use positive words and phrases such as "I have" or "I can".
• Do not start every sentence or paragraph with "I".

Final Proofing

• Write a rough draft first so you can get your thoughts in order.
• Remember that whoever reads your cover letter will consider it an example of your writing skills. Make sure there are no grammatical mistakes and that the spelling is perfect.
• Always get another person to read your letter before sending it to an employer.
• Keep copies of all cover letters you have written and save them to storage on your computer or in cloud.

Applicants are required to supply an up to date Resume (CV) as part of their ACE application. A Resume Template is available for download, however applicants are encouraged to develop their own format and style of document. Note that CVs need to be created and saved as PDFs in order to be uploaded to your ACE application. If you do not have a PDF converter on your personal laptop, you might find that the common computers at your tertiary institute will have them, there are also others available online, just google them. ACE will only accept PDF copies of all of your documents because it guarantees that each employer can open and view your documents.

A Resume Template is available for download in the ACE Nursing Resources section of this website and also in the documents section of your ACE application.

General Resume Advice

• Ensure that your resumes and cover letters are clear, succinct and properly structured.
• Maximum 3 pages for resumes.
• Maximum 1 page for each cover letter.
• Make sure that you communicate your nursing philosophy, short to mid-term clinical aspirations and make it clear why you have selected the areas of specialty in your application.
• Research your employers! Go to their career webpages and gain an insight into their culture, what RN positions they currently have on offer and make it absolutely clear why you want to work for each employer that you’re applying to.
• Ensure that your resumes and cover letters are free of spelling errors and grammar mistakes. Have a friend or a colleague proof read your documents!
• You only have one chance to impress nurse managers, coordinators, educators, preceptors, ACNM’s and other clinical or HR staff members.

 

All applicants should be prepared for a full police vetting if matched to a Registered Nurse position and as part of the ACE process, all applicants will be asked to declare whether they have been convicted, including discharged without conviction as a result of criminal charges in New Zealand or any other country.

Under New Zealand law, employers are able to conduct police vetting checks on all successful applicants who accept a position. Please follow the link for information about the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2014. Prior to employment the employer will ask the applicant to sign a “consent to disclosure” form allowing the police to release all information about that individual. For more information go to the NZ Legislation website.

Some applicants will also be required to complete police vetting as part of the safety checking process under the Vulnerable Children Act (2014). If you are applying for a position working with children it is suggested you review the legislation regarding the act.

If your application is not completed by the closing date, it will be assumed that you are not applying for a position through ACE. If you are not a part of the ACE matching process, you will have to wait until the process is complete and apply directly to employer(s) for any Registered Nursing vacancies. Any applicant who misses out on going through the ACE process because their application was incomplete may be able to re-apply for the next intake if they still meet the Eligibility Criteria.

Applications for the Mid Year 2024 intake close at 12pm (noon, NZT) on Tuesday 30 April 2024. However, you can make changes to your employer preferences at any time up to 9.00am on Monday 24 June 2024 by emailing the ACE Consultant at nursing@acenz.net.nz. You can update your contact details at any time by logging into your ACE Profile.

Mid Year 2024 Intake: 13 May - 21 June 2024

Employers have 6 weeks to shortlist, interview and rank their graduates during each intake.  Each employer is entirely responsible for this process in their organisation and each employer may perform this process differently. Be aware that ACE is not involved with this step of the process. As such, any queries relating to this period should be directed to the NETP and NESP coordinators at the employers applicants have applied to.

Step 1) Employer interviews: Employers interview graduates. Note that each employer runs their own process and interviews may therefore occur at any time throughout the 6 week period.

Step 2) Applicants may re-order their preferred employers if they wish: Based on information applicants receive during their interview, ACE recognises that applicants may wish to change the order in which they have preferenced their employers. Applicants have until 9am, Monday 24th June 2024 before the match is run to change their preferred employers. To do this, you must email ACE (nursing@acenz.net.nz) to request the change.

Step 3) Employers shortlist and rank: Once interviews have been completed, employers shortlist their preferred graduates and rank them in preference order.

Step 4) Employers submit rankings to ACE: At the end of the 6 week period employers must submit to ACE their final list of graduates in ranked order together with their number of NETP and NESP vacancies.

Employers will use the contact information you provide in your ACE application to contact you for these interviews. Ensure your contact details are kept up to date. Remember, you can update your profile (including your contact details) even when applications have closed by logging into your profile. When interviewing it is a good idea to discuss with the employer their available specialties and the support offered for new Graduate Nurses, that way applicants can make a more informed decision regarding how best to order their preferred employers. Employers may manage their time differently during this period. As such, some applicants may be contacted very early in the interview process while others may not be contacted until much later in this timeframe. This is not a reflection on the applicant! Employers may interview differently. Some may hold panel interviews and others may hold one-on-one interviews while larger employers may choose to run an assessment centre to consider all of their applicants.

ACE are not involved in the employers' short-listing process so we can’t tell you why you’ve not been invited to interview but your friend for example has. If you have questions during interview stage you will need to direct these to the NETP or NESP coordinators. Their details are on our ACE website.

Each employer has a different interview format. This is because employers run their interviewing process their own way and ACE are not privy to the individual processes of each employer. So be prepared that different employers may ask slightly different questions etc. So if your friend comes back and fills you in on everything they were asked at their interview, bear in mind you may be asked different questions at your interview.

Also, remember that when you fill in your ACE application form, the address and email address details you enter are the details employers use to contact you and potentially send out your offer letters to later in the process so ensure your information is accurate. If you change address after applications close you can still update your address information by emailing the ACE nursing email address and ACE will update the information on your behalf.

Remember:

• Applicants who meet the locally applied criteria are interviewed and employers can then use their own interview or assessment process to determine which graduates to employ from each of these sub sets.
• Not everyone will be interviewed
• If you are not interviewed please do not call the ACE Consultant to ask why. They do not have this information. The ACE Consultant is not privy to the shortlist of applicants. This is an employer process.
• Employers confirm their selections & rankings of applicants and submit these back to ACE along with a confirmed number of vacancies.

Before your interview, always be prepared and expect the unexpected. Ask the interviewer about their vacancies and specialties FIRST. That way you know what their vacancies are BEFORE you tell THEM what specialties you really want. Remember that an employer can NOT ask you what other employers you have ranked or where you have ranked them in your preference order. Be conscious of your attire. We have heard of many applicants showing up to interviews with bare feet, hoodies, shorts and jandals. Please remember this is a PROFESSIONAL interview. You don’t need to go and hire a suit for it, but do dress professionally. Be on time! You can pretty much guarantee that if you’re late for your interview…you won’t get the job! Make sure you’re prepared. It’s as much an opportunity for you to ask them questions as it is for them to ask you. Remember, there is a wide variety of resources online to assist you with job interview techniques but first, your tertiary provider will have access to career coaches who have access to a wide range of tools to help you to become an expert.

Mid Year 2024 Intake: 24 June - 28 June 2024

ACE will conduct the ACE Algorithm Match and audit the results. If you are successfully matched to one of your employer preferences, you will be sent an offer of employment letter by that employer the day after your state final. You will be given 7 days to respond (Rejecting your job offer from the ACE match process will see you unable to take up a new graduate position within one of the employers, aged residential care, primary health care services, or other agreed provider’s such as Southern Cross Hospitals for the current intake). The employer will subsequently communicate with you directly to organise further pre-employment documentation and arrange start times and dates.

You can only be matched to one of the employers you have selected and ranked as one of your preferred places to work. Please do not rank any employer you do not wish to work at, because if you are matched to that employer, our expectation is that you will accept their job offer and declining a job offer from the match will remove you from the entire intake.

Rejecting your job offer from the ACE match process will see you unable to take up a new graduate position within one of the employers, aged residential care, primary health care services, or other agreed provider’s such as Southern Cross Healthcare.

Notification of match result for the Mid Year 2024 intake will be sent out by ACE at 9am, Wednesday 17 July 2024, and employment offers by employers from 1pm, Wednesday 17 July 2024.

The applications of unsuccessful graduates will automatically go into the national talent pool which is accessible to all employers, not just the employers you had originally ranked. It is anticipated that during each intake a number of positions may become available and these positions will be filled using applicants from this talent pool. Employers will continue to employ new graduates from the talent pool right up to the next recruitment round.

Be Proactive

If you are prepared to accept jobs with other employers that you had not initially ranked in your application you might like to write to the NETP or NESP coordinators of those organisations and let them know that you are on the talent pool and are prepared to work for them should a vacancy arise. The contact information for ACE employers can be found on the ACE nursing website. Employers can review the talent pool at any time and consider applicants when a vacancy arises. Smaller employers in more rural areas may be particularly pleased to hear from graduates prepared to work in their region. ACE recommends that you contact employers directly to highlight your interest in working with them particularly if you are prepared to move to an employer outside of the one you initially preferred within your application. If you are prepared to consider working in clinical areas outside of the ones you indicated within your application you may like to contact employers with an updated Cover Letter outlining this to them. Be mindful when making contact with NETP coordinators as they are often flooded with enquiries and are also busy with other aspects of their roles. Be as courteous as possible when contacting them and be very clear about your message and the reason why you are calling them or emailing; do not waffle or come across vague.

Options Outside of ACE

ACE recommends that you also visit the Kiwi Health Jobs website, the careers pages of employers and alternative job boards such as Seek or TradeMe to research the nursing job market. This can be useful for a number of reasons. You will gain an insight into the culture of the hospitals you are thinking about applying to and usually job or position descriptions will be attached to each job number outlining the requirements, skill and experience required to fulfil a RN role. Furthermore, this will give you an insight into the areas of practice that each hospital specialises in. It would be helpful for you to research or review these before you make your application. You will usually find that employers advertise for RN’s with 2 or more years of experience. Do not be discouraged, if you are vigilant you will come across vacancies where employers are looking for new graduates to fill positions alongside HCA’s, EN’s and experienced RN’s. Finally, there are other graduate programmes that exist outside of the NETP programme. You need to research these for yourselves; they usually exist in private hospitals and some leading aged residential care facilities. You may, for example, be able to find positions within Primary Health, Aged Residential Care, Community Care or Private Surgical Hospitals that are not necessarily covered by the NETP programme. To do this you would need to contact and apply directly to these service providers for any positions they may have available.

Offers from the Talent Pool

If you are subsequently offered a job from the talent pool you must inform ACE immediately as your details will need to be updated and removed from the talent pool. Alternatively, if you are approached by an employer who has taken your name from the talent pool and you choose not to interview or accept a position with that employer (i.e. because you are unable to move to their region), this will not mean you are removed from the talent pool or for any other vacancies that may arise. Declining a position on the national talent pool will have no impact on an applicant’s eligibility to remain within the national talent pool. Applicants will only be removed from the intake if they decline a match offer during the initial match process. As such, should a graduate be approached via the national talent pool by an employer which they are unable to accept a position from, ACE will not remove their application from the intake. The Talent Pool for the intake you applied to is available right up until the national talent pool for the subsequent intake is made available. 

Reapply to ACE Nursing

All re-applicants who still meet the eligibility criteria must login to the ACE nursing website with their existing user name and password. On the right hand panel you will see 'Applications for Nursing are open' start your new application. All re-applicants need to click and commence their application as though applying for the first time.

Your previous referee details will be retained in your new application. If you would like to change referees, you must contact ACE on 0800 223 236. A new reference request with a unique ID will be sent to the referee outlining the next steps and the reference due date. Your referee must complete your reference report form by the time applications close. Your previous certified academic transcript will be uploaded to your new application. If there are additions to your results since your last application, you can upload this new transcript. Note only academic transcripts that meet the requirements outlined in the application requirements section of the site will be able to be attached to your application.

To check the eligibility criteria and the full ACE Nursing process further, download the Applicant Guide in the ACE Resources section. If you have further questions about re-applying, or about the talent pool, you should contact ACE to discuss this further calling 0800 223 236 or emailing nursing@acenz.net.nz.

Advice Summary

• Contact employers directly to highlight your interest in working with them particularly if you are prepared to move to an employer outside of the one you initially preferred within your application. It is recommended you contact the NETP or NESP coordinator by email to outline your interest in working with them as soon as possible.
• If you are prepared to consider working in clinical areas outside of the ones you indicated within your application you may like to contact employers with an updated Cover Letter outlining this to them.
• Search for private positions via Kiwi Health Jobs, Seek or TradeMe. Research employer career pages for further insight.
• Ensure you are aware of when applications for the next intake open and that you understand the eligibility criteria so you can re-apply. Dates for the 2024 intakes can be found here.
• Re-apply to ACE when the next intake opens.