Info for Counselling & Social Work (Professional) applicants

The following information applies to applicants for the:

• Master of Counselling
• Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Theory
• Master of Social Work (Professional)

(Please see the 'Entrance requirements' section of the programme pages for information on the academic entry requirements for your chosen programme.)

The safety check requirements include the following:

• Complete satisfactory interview
• Complete satisfactory police check(s)
• Complete safety check forms and application questions relating to the Children’s Act (2014)
• Provide two satisfactory references, direct from your referees, using our Referee report form.

Please note: the above safety check requirements apply to all applicants across the Master of Social Work (Professional), Master of Counselling (120 and 240-point options) and Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Theory, with the exception of returning students from the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Theory applying to the 120-point Master of Counselling – these applicants do not need to repeat this process.

These are limited entry programmes and selection criteria apply. The application process can be broken down into three stages:

1. Submitting your application 

Start your application via the Apply to Study portal.

You will need to provide:

• Academic transcripts of all previous study, and completion certificates (if available). This is not applicable for returning students
• Provide a CV outlining your work experience
• Provide any English language test results (if you have completed one)
• Carefully answer all additional questions in the application portal
• Complete and upload your Application Declaration and Child Safety Form and promptly provide additional information if required.
  
  IMPORTANT: Please do not skip any questions on the application portal. These questions are required as part of our assessment. If you are invited to interview, your answers will be provided to the faculty staff conducting your interview.
  Answers not engaging with the application process, such as “N/A”, “See attached document”, and “I will answer later” are not acceptable, and are likely to affect your application.

2. While you wait for the outcome of your application assessment

You should begin the following as soon as possible after submitting your application – you don’t need to wait for your conditional offer.

• Ask your referees to complete and email their reference forms directly to Admissions. References submitted to us by you (the applicant) will not be accepted.
• Submit your NZ police vetting form. If you are currently overseas, this can wait until you arrive in NZ – this will not delay assessment.
• Request your Overseas Police Clearance (if required based on your residency history). If you are applying more than 6 months in advance, please check the validity period information before completing this step!

3. After receiving your Conditional Offer

Once you have made your initial application and received a conditional offer (which you will need to accept) you will need to fulfil all the conditions listed in your admissions portal in order to be offered a place in the applied programme. The conditions will include:

• Interview
• New Zealand police check (if not already completed/marked as waived)
• Overseas Police report (if required and not already completed)
• VCA – referring to the background check required as part of the Children’s Act (2014) (this condition will be checked last)
• Any remaining programme entry requirements will additionally be listed as applicable (such as completion of current study, grades, or English requirements).

All conditions must be met in order to confirm your place on the programme.

An applicant interview is one the conditions. For programmes listed above, interviews typically begin from June.

At the time a conditional offer is made, your contact details will be shared with the relevant faculty staff. They will contact you directly to arrange your interview, which is via Zoom. If you need to cancel or rearrange this interview, please communicate this directly with the faculty staff member arranging your interview, as admissions will not have access to this communication thread.

During the interview, you will meet with one or two staff members. They will discuss the programme with you and ask questions to assess your suitability for entry. You are welcome to ask any questions you may have about the programme.

Possible interview outcomes are:·

• Accepted
• Declined
• Pending further consideration (this means additional consideration is required before a final decision is made).

The interview outcome is communicated by Admissions as soon as possible, usually within two weeks of the interview. Please note that the interview is one of several conditions, and a successful interview does not guarantee a place in the programme, if other conditions are not met.

If you successfully meet all conditions, you will receive a firm offer, which you will need to accept to secure your place.

Once your place is confirmed, the next step is to enrol in your courses. Course enrolment for the University of Auckland usually opens in early November.

Applicants currently living in New Zealand must complete a NZ Police Vetting Consent Form and provide two forms of ID.

Submitting your NZ Police Vet

If you have a New Zealand address, you must complete the Police Vetting Consent Form as soon as possible.

Please note, we will not process police reports if there is no corresponding application. Please ensure you have submitted your application before starting this step.

Email the completed form and two forms of approved ID to admission@auckland.ac.nz

The list of approved forms of ID can be found on the NZ Police Vetting Service website.

We are looking for one primary and one secondary form of ID, and at least one of these must be photographic.

Processing timeframe

NZ police vetting typically takes 3–6 weeks but can take longer in peak periods.

Once your form is submitted to the police, Admissions cannot expedite the process.

Your police vetting condition will remain pending until the report has been processed and returned to admissions by the police.

If you currently live overseas

The NZ police vetting requirement is temporarily waived until you enter NZ.
You will be requested to do this as soon as possible once in NZ, ahead of your practicum placement.

This will not delay your application.

If you are currently outside of New Zealand OR have lived outside of New Zealand for 12 months or more in the past 10 years, you will need to provide an Overseas Police report. Validity rules and exceptions apply.

You will be asked in your application to provide a list of all countries lived in during the past 10 years, with dates. There is an example in the question on how to write this.

This is to help admissions determine whether an overseas police check is required, from which country, and whether reports provided are still valid. If this question is not answered clearly, admissions may need to contact you to clarify, and this will delay the processing of your application.

You must obtain an overseas police check if:

• You currently live outside New Zealand, or
• You have lived outside of New Zealand for more than 12 months in total within the past 10 years (excluding time under age 16).

Important:

• The 12-month period does not need to be consecutive. Two 6-month stays count as 12 months total
• If you have lived in multiple countries, you will need to provide a report from all countries that apply to the above guidance.

Validity period:

• If you are still living in the country your report is from, the report will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue.
• Your report must be valid at the time you receive a firm offer (meaning your conditions have been met)
• If it expires before your conditions are completed, you must obtain a new one
• We recommend checking the average processing time for your country to see if this needs to be requested in advance, or if you can wait until all other conditions are completed. Some countries will process these very quickly, while others may need to be requested sooner.

For applicants who have emigrated:

Your overseas police check remains valid indefinitely if:

• You no longer live in the issuing country, and
• The report was issued no more than 3 months before you left that country, or was issued after you left, and
• You have not returned to that country for 12 months or more since it was issued.

Applicants from Hong Kong

We are aware that applicants from Hong Kong require a letter from the University to provide to the Police to request this type of report. If you know you will need a report from Hong Kong, please contact admissions to request a letter for this purpose.

What if I cannot obtain a report?

If you have issues obtaining an overseas police report due to exceptional circumstances, please get in touch with admissions for advice.

Please note, if you have already provided this report to another organisation, such as INZ, the University of Auckland cannot request a copy of this on your behalf. It is your responsibility to obtain and provide a copy of your report.

All applicants must provide two character references, from people who can comment on your suitability for the counselling or social work profession. Their completed forms must be sent directly to Admissions.

Referees must be people who know you well, but they cannot be a family member or a friend. Suitable examples include:

• Teachers
• Careers advisers
• Sports coaches
• Members of organisations you belong to (e.g., clubs, community groups)
• Youth group leaders
• Church members
• Employers or work colleagues

How the process works

When you complete your application, you will be instructed to download the referee form.

You must then send this form to your two referees and ask them to complete this on your behalf.

Referees must send the completed form directly to Admissions via email at: admission@auckland.ac.nz 

Referees submitting directly ensures the integrity of the process.

You can also access the referee forms on our website.