Summer internships in New Zealand

What a summer internship is

A summer internship is a paid, fixed-term job over the long university break. The University of Auckland Business School describes New Zealand internships as structured, paid work experience of 6 to 12 weeks over summer, aimed at second, third and penultimate year students. The large programmes mostly run for about 12 weeks, starting once exams finish in mid-November.

• Penultimate year means the second-to-last year of your degree. Deloitte and WSP both recruit summer interns from that year, so a good summer can turn into a graduate role when you finish. Tupu Tai, the public sector internship for Pacific students, takes students in their second-to-last or final year.
• You need the right to work. Deloitte asks that you are currently eligible to work in New Zealand, and WSP asks for full-time work rights over the summer. On a student visa, full-time work in the holidays depends on your visa conditions: Part-time work while you study in NZ shows how to check yours.
• Some programmes exist to open doors. Tupu Tai places Pacific students in public sector agencies in Wellington. TupuToa arranges 12-week paid internships for Māori and Pacific tertiary students with corporate, government and community organisations.
• A summer research scholarship is a different thing. Universities offer summer studentships on research projects. Employment New Zealand says a studentship is a type of scholarship, not employment, so the minimum wage does not apply to it.

The internship calendar

The most common mistake is starting to look in October, when the big programmes are already full. The season runs most of a year ahead of the summer it is for. This is how the 2026 season ran:

For the summer of 2027 to 2028, expect the same shape: a main round opening around March 2027 and a second wave from July. Put a reminder in the last week of February 2027 to check the careers page of every employer on your list.

Where internships are listed

• Your university's careers service and its job board. Most run CV checks and practice interviews, and some employers advertise only there.
• Seek Grad (formerly GradConnection) and Prosple both list internships and graduate programmes and let you set alerts.
• Seek and LinkedIn: search "summer intern" and "internship" together with your field.
• Employers' own careers pages, which carry the real dates. Many let you register interest before applications open.
• The public service: Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission keeps a list of public service internships. At its 27 August 2026 update several were marked as paused, including the Department of Conservation's and the Ministry for the Environment's summer programmes, so check each agency's own page before you count on one.

From application to offer

The large programmes use the same few steps, in roughly this order. Each one has its own deadline, and some are short.

1. The application: a form, your CV, and often a cover letter and academic transcript. PwC asks about your hobbies and achievements as well as your grades.
2. Online tests, sent by email with a window to finish them. Check your junk folder every day while you have applications open.
3. A one-way video interview: you record answers to questions on screen, with nobody on the other end. Deloitte and PwC both use one, and PwC recommends answering with the STAR method.
4. An interview or an assessment centre: a conversation with a manager, or a session of group exercises, a case study and interviews. PwC sends consulting applicants to an assessment centre and everyone else to a conversation with a business leader.
5. The offer, usually by phone, then a written employment agreement.

The interview guide has the STAR stories to prepare, and Graduate programmes in New Zealand covers assessment centres in more detail. The CV guide shows how to fill two pages when you have little work experience.

Your pay and rights as an intern

Employment New Zealand is clear: if you agree to a paid internship, you are an employee, and you should be paid at least the relevant minimum wage, with all the usual employment rights. From 1 April 2026 the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour. The lower starting-out rate of $19.16 only applies to some 16 to 19 year olds, so almost every university intern is owed the adult rate at least.

• A written fixed-term agreement. An internship with an end date is fixed-term employment, and the agreement has to say why it is fixed-term rather than permanent. The job offer guide covers what else must be in it.
• Holiday pay as you go. On a genuine fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months, you can agree to have 8% of your gross earnings added to your pay instead of annual holidays. It has to be in your agreement and shown separately on your payslip.
• Public holidays still count. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, the day after New Year's Day and Waitangi Day all fall inside a typical internship, and often your regional anniversary day as well. If one falls on a day you would otherwise work, you get it off on pay. If you work it, you are paid at least time and a half, plus an alternative day off if it would otherwise have been a working day for you.
• No paid sick leave yet. The legal entitlement starts after six months with an employer, so a 12-week intern has none unless the agreement gives it. Ask before you start.

Unpaid internships are a different arrangement. Employment New Zealand says an unpaid intern is a volunteer, and employment law does not apply. That only holds if the employer confirms in writing that it is a volunteer position, gets no economic benefit from your work, does not give you tasks that are integral to the business, and limits how long it lasts and how many hours you do. An "unpaid internship" that is really a job may be employment, and employment has to be paid. The employment rights guide explains where to get help.

Tax, KiwiSaver and your student loan

• Your tax code. Give your employer a tax code declaration (IR330) on your first day. If the internship is your main job the code is usually M, or M SL with a student loan. Without a declaration, tax comes off at 45%.
• Student loan deductions. Inland Revenue's repayment threshold is $24,128 a year, which is $464 a week. A full-time intern usually earns more than $464 a week, so 12% of every dollar over it goes to the loan, even if your income for the whole year ends up under $24,128. If you are studying full-time and expect to stay under the annual threshold, you can apply in myIR for a repayment deduction exemption. It runs from the day you apply to 31 March.
• KiwiSaver. Only a temporary job of 28 continuous days or less is exempt from automatic enrolment, so a 12-week internship is not. If you are 18 to 65 and not already a member, your employer enrols you, at 3.5% of your pay from you and 3.5% from your employer. You can opt out from day 14 to day 56.
• Check your first payslip against the agreement: the hourly rate or salary, the hours paid, the tax code, the 8% if you agreed to it, and the KiwiSaver and student loan deductions.

If you do not land one

Missing out is common, and it is not a verdict on you. Student Job Search took 434,000 applications for 53,000 roles in the year to June 2026, about eight applicants for every job.

• Ask for feedback wherever you reached the video interview or later. PwC offers people who are unsuccessful at its final stage the chance to ask for it.
• Take any summer work you can get. Hospitality, retail, seasonal and temping work all give you examples for next year's applications.
• Build one piece of evidence in your field: a project, a portfolio, a club role or volunteering.
• Put next March in your calendar now, so you apply in the first week of the round rather than the last.

Jobseeker Support Student Hardship is a weekly payment for students who cannot find work over a study break of more than 3 weeks. StudyLink's criteria include being 18 or over in most cases, studying full-time before the break and after it, looking for full-time work of at least 30 hours a week, and having cash assets under $4,300 if you are single, or $7,464 if you have a partner or child. Apply 4 weeks before the break starts; there is usually a one week stand-down. From 2 November 2026 most 18 and 19 year olds also have to meet a new Parental Assistance Test, which passed its final reading in Parliament on 25 August 2026.