Whether you’re looking for a role in IT support, engineering, management or programming, there is a wide range of job opportunities available to you. Here’s everything you need to know about moving to New Zealand as an IT professional.
New Zealand's technology sector is made up of around 20,000 small businesses that employ 114,000 professionals around the country. Immigration New Zealand estimates around 4,000 to 5,000 new IT professionals are needed each year to keep up with the country’s IT demands.
IT in New Zealand is an important industry, accounting for 8% of our GDP and employing 5% of all people. Many Kiwi companies have earned a reputation for being innovative. Some New Zealand ICT success stories include:
PowerbyProxi: The world’s most advanced wireless charging system, now funded by Samsung and Texas Instruments was originally born out of Auckland University.
Rex Bionics: Local robotic company created robotic exoskeletons that allow paralysed people to stand and walk. These robotics are used in rehabilitation clinics and hospitals in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Xero: A global powerhouse in accounting software, Xero is the go-to SaaS provider in New Zealand and Australia. They have also expanded into the UK and were made the Forbes list of the Most Innovative Growth Companies of 2014.
Employers in New Zealand are increasingly relying on overseas talent to fill the digital job roles at home. In 2019 around 80% of new digital technology jobs were filled by immigrants with work visas. Between 2014 and 2017 around 27,000 people immigrated to New Zealand to work in ICT roles.
The reliance on overseas workers means that many of these roles are high-paying. In 2024, three ICT roles — Data Engineer, Product Owner and Network Engineer — made the list of Seek’s top 10 highest-paying jobs in the country. Salaries ranged from $122k to $127k per year for those roles.
According to Immigration New Zealand, software developers, data analytics, and cybersecurity specialists are all roles that are predicted to be in high demand over the next few years. They also expect skills related to cloud-native environments (like Azure and AWS) to increase in demand.
As well as being a good place to find a job, being an ICT professional in New Zealand has many benefits. Most employees receive bonuses, and many have the option to work from home or work flexibly.
In general, New Zealand employers value work-life balance. In any full-time role you can expect to receive four weeks of paid annual leave, ten paid public holidays per year and ten paid sick days per year.
Many ICT professionals are able to get a job through a temporary visa and work towards gaining their New Zealand residency.
Where you can work is up to you and will depend on what jobs are available. The majority (more than 50%) of New Zealand’s tech jobs are available in Auckland. With a population of 1.5 million, New Zealand is the biggest city and the largest employer.
Around 14% of all ICT jobs are located in Christchurch or Wellington. The remaining 20% of jobs are spread out across regional New Zealand.
With 80% of ICT jobs found in urban centres, it’s more than likely you will end up living and working in a medium-sized city (Christchurch has a population of 381,000 while Wellington has a population of 212,000).
One of the easiest ways to move to New Zealand as an ICT professional is to get a job on the Green List. These roles are in high demand, and if you have the right qualifications, you may be able to get residency immediately or after two years of working in New Zealand.
Tier 1: Straight to Residence Visa
To be eligible, you must be working for or have a job offer from an accredited employer and meet all the visa requirements. You can apply from within or outside of New Zealand.
To be eligible for a Tier 1 Green List role, you must:
Have a job offer from an accredited employer.
Have an offer of $65.74 an hour or above for full-time employment.
Have an offer of $98.62 an hour or above for contract work.
Have a minimum of 10 years’ work in a relevant role.
Tier 2: Work to Residence Visa
With a Tier 2 job, you can apply for residence after 2 years of working in New Zealand.
You must have been in an ICT role that paid you $36.35 an hour or above or have a New Zealand Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 3) at the time of applying for residence.
There are around 13 roles in the ICT sector on New Zealand’s Green list, including:
Tier 1
Analyst Programmer
Chief Information Officer
Database Administrator
Developer Programmer
ICT Managers
ICT Project Manager
ICT Security Specialist
Multimedia Specialist
Software and Applications Programmers
Software Tester
Systems Administrator
Tier 2
Telecommunications Technician
New Zealand offers a change of pace for overseas workers looking for more work/life balance. It can be helpful to understand the different ways that Kiwi businesses operate before moving to New Zealand.
SMEs (small medium enterprises) account for 40% of all economic output in New Zealand. Thats a lot of small businesses! Working for a small enterprise can be quite different. The average New Zealand business employs 14 people, half the size of the average business in the United States.
Small businesses have their pros and cons, but one advantage is a flatter hierarchy. This means that as an employee, you’ll be closer to the senior staff members who make the decisions. This also means that as a junior employer, you have more of an ability to be noticed and make influential decisions. You’ll also have a better overview of the whole organisation.
Small businesses can be a great place to start your career and gain an understanding of how the entire business works.
Small businesses often rely on their staff to wear many hats. You may be challenged to take on more tasks or use a wider range of skills in a smaller company. New Zealanders value flexibility and ‘Kiwi ingenuity’ to solve new challenges. If you are solution-orientated you may find you enjoy being involved in a wider range of projects than what you are used to.
A result of many small businesses and a flat hierarchy is that many New Zealand businesses are looking for staff who work with others but are also adept at working independently.
While you can expect to be trained on the day-to-day expectations of your role, most managers will expect you to complete tasks independently and are often more focused on the end result than how you got there. If you are used to a more structured way of working, you may find this different from the work environment you are used to.
New Zealanders are an informal bunch and the workplace is no different. Superiors, colleagues and clients are always addressed by their first names. Most workplaces have a casual tidy dress code and there is an expectation that you socialise, at least some of the time, with colleagues and other staff.
New Zealanders value hard work, but there is also an expectation that you have a life outside of work. Spending time with friends, in nature, or working on a hobby is important, and Kiwis value their time off for holidays and paid leave.
With four weeks of paid holiday time each year, it is expected that workers will take off this time for themselves. There is no expectation to be contactable (unless explicitly agreed upon) while you are on holiday. This is one of the reasons why New Zealand has one of the best work/life balances in the world.
New Zealand is increasingly becoming a flexible working nation. According to the New Zealand Families Commission, around three-quarters of people surveyed said their workplace had ‘a lot’ or ‘a fair amount’ of flexibility.
From working from home to doing longer hours and gaining an extra day off each fortnight, New Zealand businesses are increasingly open to creating flexible working hours that work for employees and their family.
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