Graduate programmes in New Zealand

What a graduate programme is

A graduate programme is an entry-level job with structured training for a set period, often with rotations between teams. The public service programmes listed by Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission run from 12 months to 3 years. Westpac's graduates are permanent employees from their first day, on a 12-month development programme.

• When you finished counts. Westpac takes people in their final year or who finished a degree in the past 12 months. Deloitte takes people completing their studies or who finished in the past 24 months, and PwC anyone who completed a relevant undergraduate degree in the three years before its programme starts. A programme can still be open to you a year or two after you graduate.
• So does your right to work. Westpac's programme is for New Zealand or Australian citizens and permanent residents. PwC also accepts a valid work visa for full-time work at the start of the programme. It is often the first screening question, so check it before you spend an evening on an application.
• Your degree often matters less than you expect. PwC, for one, says it is open to various disciplines. Read what each team does rather than filtering by your major.

The two waves of applications

Graduate hiring comes in two waves. The first opens in March, mostly in professional services and banking. The second runs from July to August and includes several public service programmes. Almost every programme starts the following February. This is how the 2026 season ran:

Some of those windows were under four weeks long. If you finish your degree at the end of 2027, your round opens around March 2027, while you are still in your final year. Register your interest with employers before then, so the opening email reaches you on the first day.

Where graduate programmes are listed

• Seek Grad (formerly GradConnection) and Prosple, which list programmes with their closing dates and let you set alerts.
• Your university's careers service, its job board and its careers expos.
• The public service: Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission's list, last updated on 27 August 2026, has 13 graduate programmes, from the Treasury and Inland Revenue to the GCSB and Sport New Zealand. Most public service agencies also advertise on jobs.govt.nz, which has a graduate section. The public-sector guide explains how those applications are marked.
• Employers' own careers pages, which have the real dates and often a pre-registration form.

Missed the rounds? Graduate and junior roles are advertised all year on Seek, LinkedIn and ZEIL, just not as a programme. Getting your first job in NZ after study covers that route.

Every stage from application to offer

Westpac sets out its process in detail, and it is typical of the large programmes:

1. The application: your CV, a cover letter and your academic transcript (an unofficial one is fine), with pre-screening questions to answer carefully and truthfully.
2. Online assessments. Westpac warns that you may have only 72 hours to finish them once the email arrives, and to check your junk folder.
3. A one-way video interview. You cannot pause, stop or restart it. Check your microphone and camera first, dress as you would for a formal interview, and practise by recording yourself and watching it back.
4. Interviews: online or in person. At PwC, consulting applicants go to an assessment centre and everyone else has a final conversation with a business leader.
5. The offer, subject to pre-employment checks. Westpac asks for your answer within seven days.

Apply for one role per firm. Deloitte only reviews your first application, and PwC asks you not to apply for more than one role and to give a first and second choice instead.

Doing well at an assessment centre

An assessment centre is several exercises in one session, in person or online, usually alongside other applicants. The usual parts are a group exercise, a case study, sometimes a short presentation, and an interview.

• The group exercise is about how you work with others, not who talks most. Bring quieter people in, keep the group to time, and sum up where it has got to.
• The case study: say what you are assuming, lay out the options, and finish with a recommendation. The reasoning is marked as much as the answer.
• A presentation: answer the question you were given, inside the time.
• The interview: have five STAR stories ready, drawn from study, work, clubs and volunteering. The interview guide shows how to build them.
• Treat the whole day as the assessment, including the coffee break and the walk to the lift.

Before you accept an offer

A graduate offer is an employment agreement, and it is worth reading as closely as any other. The job offer guide covers what must be in it.

• Check the whole package: the salary, whether KiwiSaver is on top or inside it, where you will be based, the rotations, and any study support. If there is a sign-on bonus, ask whether any of it must be paid back if you leave early. Professional development and CPD explains what a training bond can and cannot do.
• Holding out for another programme? Ask the second employer where you stand, and the first for a few more days. Both are ordinary requests. The free Offer Comparer puts two offers side by side after tax.
• Conditional offers depend on checks such as references or a criminal record check, and can be withdrawn if a condition is not met.
• Once you accept, you are covered. The Employment Relations Act 2000 includes "a person intending to work", someone who has been offered and accepted work as an employee, in its definition of an employee. If an unconditional offer you have accepted is withdrawn, talk to Employment New Zealand on 0800 20 90 20.
• Do not accept two. If you change your mind after accepting, tell the employer straight away, in writing, and check the notice your agreement asks for.

Your first pay as a graduate

• Your tax code: M, or M SL with a student loan. If your income for the year will be between $24,000 and $70,000 and neither you nor your partner gets Working for Families, ME (or ME SL) gives you the independent earner tax credit through your pay.
• Your student loan: 12% of every dollar you earn over Inland Revenue's repayment threshold of $24,128 a year, or $464 a week, comes out of each pay.
• KiwiSaver: your employer must enrol you automatically if you are not already a member, at 3.5% from you and 3.5% from your employer, rising to 4% each from 1 April 2028.
• Final-year Fees Free, if you finish in 2026. If your final year started on or after 1 January 2025 and you complete your qualification by 31 December 2026, you can apply in myIR for up to $12,000 of your final-year fees, within 12 months of completing and by 31 December 2027. It goes to your student loan if you have one, or to your bank account if you do not. Fees Free ends with the 2026 year: finish after 31 December 2026 and you are not eligible.