New Zealand

Opportunities for planners

There has been a shortage of qualified and experienced planners in New Zealand - indeed the profession is on the official 'shortage' list for immigration.  That said, the recession has hit New Zealand as it has most other places, so it may take longer to find a job, and even then, it may be a temporary contract. 

Advice from RTPI Members

Planning magazine has carried articles by Institute members who have worked in New Zealand planning, including one who went on a planning exchange. If you have access to back copies, please contact the RTPI International Affairs Office for dates and issue numbers. (For more information about planning exchanges, please read our separate briefing.)

For reports by members who have emigrated to New Zealand to work in planning, please contact the RTPI International Affairs Office. Their advice is relevant to someone hoping to spend a year or so in the country rather than move their permanently.  It covers preparation for a research visit, sources of information on vacancies, and some background information about NZ planning.

Useful services and websites

Jobs in Planning lists current vacancies: - click on the "Browse Jobs" tab. On request, JiP sends out a weekly e-mail bulletin dedicated to communicating employment opportunities in professional planning disciplines, (Town/Urban, Statutory, Regional, Transport, Social, Environmental, Economic). The service began in Australia, but now extends to New Zealand.  There is no subscription cost for job-seekers - employers pay a moderate charge to advertise. The weekly bulletin is in the form of a plain text message without attachments listing employment opportunities according to location.

A New Zealand planner has set up a service to help match UK planners with NZ vacancies, with a website for Professionals Down Under. Read more

Local authority jobs are advertised on the dedicated website for Local Government Careers. 

RTPI Members recommend these web-sites for further information about NZ planning: the City of Auckland, the Ministry for Environment, Quality Planning which promotes best practice in the development of plans under New Zealand's Resource Management Act (RMA), and the EDS Guide to the RMA.  

Implementing Sustainability: The New Zealand Experience by Caroline Miller, a book about the RMA in the RTPI Library series, is highly recommended. Read more.

Contact the New Zealand Planning Institute:
E-mail   Web-site