Proposed changes to the Police Vetting Service

Overview

Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa / New Zealand Police seeks your views on proposed changes to the charging of fees for the Police Vetting Service (PVS). The objective of these changes is to ensure Police can sustainably meet the rising demand for Police vets, while keeping up with new technology and maintaining high service quality and equitable access.  Police intends making changes in 2027.

We would like to hear from you

Police welcomes feedback from anyone who uses, or is interested in, Police vetting. We are inviting submissions on the options outlined in this online questionnaire, including how much organisations pay for vetting, who should be charged, and whether optional faster processing should be made available for a higher fee. Your feedback will help Police understand the impacts of these options and make informed decisions about how the vetting service could be sustainably funded in the future. 

Because the online questionnaire involves reading a moderate amount of text, we recommend you set aside 30 minutes to consider the options it presents and to provide your thoughts.

Scope of consultation

This consultation is focused specifically on the basis and approach to charging vetting fees and how these fees are set to recover the costs of running PVS. It does not cover the purpose of Police vetting or the service level agreements that apply.

Similarly, this consultation does not include other services provided by PVS that are not subject to cost recovery (for example, vetting for roles in the Government’s national security system).

What happens to my submission?

Police will carefully consider all feedback before seeking Ministerial and Cabinet decisions on proposed options. If a decision is made to change the fees, service user agencies will be informed, and a public notice published in the New Zealand Gazette. This is not likely to occur until sometime during the 2027 calendar year.