Frequently Asked Questions

Check the eligibility criteria.  Photos of the different visa types are shown below.   

Permanent resident and returning resident visa are eligible. Photos are shown below.

Permanent Resident Visa - Eligible

Returning Resident Visa - Eligible

Resident Visa - NOT Eligible

 

Australian citizens who studied their pre-registration nursing degree in New Zealand at NCNZ approved tertiary providers are eligible to apply for ACE.

No, unless you already hold a permanent resident or returning resident visa. If you can legally work in New Zealand, you can apply directly to employers.

• Be alert for scams or misleading advertising. Employers will never request money from you as part of a job application process.

No. If you have NCNZ registration and an APC, you can apply directly to employers.

• Be alert for scams or misleading advertising. Employers will never request money from you as part of a job application process.

You can apply up to four times if you meet the eligibility criteria each time.

However, employers generally prefer to employ nurses in their first round of ACE, so if you are not matched the first time, we strongly recommend you take up any job offer you receive while you are in the talent pool. 

If you still meet the eligibility criteria log in when applications open for the next round to check and/or edit your application details. 

Yes, you can. However you won’t be matched with any other employers in that intake and you won’t be placed in the talent pool. So you should only list employers you want to work for.

If still eligible, you can reapply to the next ACE round.

Yes, you can.
We strongly recommend that if you are offered a job when you are in the talent pool, you seriously consider it. However, if you do decline, you can remain in the talent pool.  

Stepping into your first role as a qualified RN is only the start of a potentially long and diverse career. If you don’t get the position that you initially wanted, it’s ok, every practice setting will help build your practise knowledge and that all-important critical thinking. Consider every role an opportunity and you will build an impressive CV over time.

Click on the “forgot your password” link on the login page and enter your email address.

You may not be able to login in again. It depends. Call /email us and we’ll see what can be done.

A certified copy is one signed by a Justice of the Peace, Lawyer, Court Registrar or a Police Officer. You may find a Justice of the Peace online , through using the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, your local library, Community Law centre, or at your place of study or work, or at your local community centre. Some church ministers are also Justices of the Peace.

Most versions of Microsoft word or google docs will allow you to save a document as a PDF.

We will accept a certified copy of an expired New Zealand passport, (up to 5 years since it expired).  If you are offered a job, your employer might ask for additional identity documents later on according to their employment process.

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.

When addressing your cover letters, remember to triple check who you’ve addressed them to 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. 

You need two referees. One each of:

• ·         A clinical tutor from your nursing school or tertiary provider who supervised your final placement.
• ·         A nurse preceptor employed by the organisation where you completed your final placement (TTP) in your final year.

A clinical tutor is the person from your nursing school who supervises your placement, while a preceptor is the person from the hospital or place of work that supervises your placement.

The exceptions to this rule are the schools of University of Otago (Master’s programme), Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), Otago Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning (UCOL) who start transition placement late in the ACE timelines. Students of these three schools have permission to collect their nurse preceptor reference form their second to last placement.

ACE will not accept an employment reference.

For information on how to request references please see the ACE Applicant Guide.  Please check the contact information you provide for your referee in the application is accurate.

You will need to check with the person that they are happy to be your referee.  

A referee cannot be a person in your immediate family.

To change any of your referees, you need to log-in to your profile before the closing date and edit your references. A new reference request with unique ID will be sent to the referee outlining the next steps and the reference due date. Once your referee has submitted a reference, this cannot be deleted or changed.

Unfortunately, you can’t change your referees after the closing date of each round.

If you are re-applying and you wish to delete and add a new reference, you need to email ACE to delete your previous referees. You can only request the deletion of a reference if it was not completed by a referee who supervised your final placement.  The new referee must have supervised you during your transition to practice (final) placement.

To change your Employer Preferences, you must log-in to your profile before the closing date to edit your preferences. You cannot add a new employer to your application after applications close.

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 the specified date for each round. Check the dates here. 

Nurse entry to practice (NEtP) is a 12-month supported programme run through Health NZ Districts. The NEtP programmes are open to some employment setting outside of Health NZ including some primary care providers.  

New entry to specialist practice (NESP) is a 12-month supported programme for those who wish to specialise in mental health and addiction services. If you want to join NESP, select mental health and addictions as your first preference practice setting. NESP matches are always done first.

The supported first year of practice (SFYP) provides a planned first year of practice coupled with preceptorship that enables new registered nurses to transition from a novice RN to a competent RN in primary health care, aged care or community health.

ACE principles

1. Ranking order (as explained below)

2. Not consider practice setting preferences

3. Match NESP candidates to NESP positions first, and then do another sweep to match NETP candidates

4. A candidate can only be matched to one employer throughout the match process

 

The ACE algorithm first looks at all the highest ranked applicants who were ranked above that employer’s quota line (The quota line refers to the employer’s number of vacancies.

So if Te Toka Tumai Auckland has 30 vacancies, all applicants ranked from 1 – 30 are therefore above the quota line for Te Toka Tumai Auckland).

First Sweep: The algorithm first aims to match all applicants ranked above the quota line for each employer to their first preferred employer where possible, i.e. if Te Toka Tumai Auckland has ranked you as their first preferred applicant and you have also ranked Te Toka Tumai Auckland as your first preferred employer, you will automatically be matched.

Second Sweep: The algorithm then sweeps through any remaining applicants still above the quota line of each employer and will match them to their second preferred employer where possible.

Third Sweep: If any applicants ranked above the line remain unmatched, the algorithm will match them to their third preferred employer. At this point, if there are still vacancies remaining, the algorithm then looks at applicants ranked below the quota line. (To explain, if Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley has 30 positions but has ranked 60 applicants, all applicants ranked from 31 – 60 therefore fall below the quota line).

By this stage, the algorithm will look at each applicant below the line in employer preference order, i.e. it will try to match applicant number 31 first, then 32, and so on, always aiming to match the applicant to their highest preferred employer where possible.

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. 

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.