Committee chairs from across the country said staff shortages sat behind many of the problems over the past year. In Auckland City, chair Nell Hendrix said the district remained well below RAT, with the shortfall driving “increased workload, fatigue, abstraction pressure, and reduced opportunities for rest, recovery, and development”. In Counties Manukau, Mal Hassall said 54 sworn vacancies meant about 5% of the workforce was missing, while Eastern Bay of Plenty’s James Renwick said attrition and retention remained a major concern and could not be separated from pay and conditions.

That same pressure was echoed in rural and provincial areas. Andre Barrett from Canterbury Rural said officers were working “to the highest degree” despite low numbers, often putting their own safety aside to get the job done. In Horowhenua, Cody Shaw said new recruits were barely covering gaps left by departures and promotions, while experienced officers leaving the job was hitting morale hard. His message from the region was blunt: “We cannot continue to do more with less.”

In Kāpiti Mana, Rob Sherborne staffing shortages were being felt across public-facing and investigative work. Stephen McCormick said there had been no updates on staffing increases or revised station opening hours, and that frontline staff were being pulled back from jobs to deal with minor front counter matters.

Elsewhere, concerns were raised about specialist shortages, with Mid Far North’s Kirk Glentworth warning that Kaitaia CIB was operating at “extremely low numbers”. Northland’s Brain Swann said the continued deployment of Whangārei staff into the Mid North was causing added fatigue issues, underlining the need for a long-term fix.

Eastern Bay of Plenty chair James Renwick said attrition remained a stubborn issue in Whakatāne, even though departures had eased over the past year. He said the problem could not be separated from broader conditions. Some areas reported modest gains, with Southland and
Taupō-Tokoroa welcoming new recruits and rejoining staff. Philip Vink from Otago Lakes said cost-of-living pressures made it hard to attract staff, while Palmerston North also reported vacant roles becoming harder to fill as financial stress intensified. RNZPC’s Sarah Tickelpenny said an impending restructure was creating fresh anxiety at the college.

Restructure fallout

In Canterbury, chairs said the fallout from the defunct district review and restructuring discussions were felt long after the formal proposal process stalled. Aoraki/South Canterbury said vacancies had not been advertised and Timaru staff were still covering nearby stations through expressions of interest (EOI), leaving frontline numbers thin. Chair Craig Hedges said morale and confidence were “at an all-time low”, and staff felt unvalued and frustrated by what they saw as a lack of direction.

Canterbury Rural chair Andre Barrett said the review “really took its toll on us out here”, even where positions were not directly on the line, because staff felt strongly for affected colleagues. He praised the wave of submissions that helped halt the proposal, but said members remained wary that vacant positions, extra EOIs and the absence of permanent appointments could amount to “restructure by stealth”. Christchurch members also described the period as deeply stressful for staff, families and communities.

Shared frustrations

Overtime and related pay processes were another recurring sore point. In Auckland City, members raised ongoing concerns about call-backs, overtime approvals and a reluctance among some staff to claim legitimate time worked. Christchurch reported significant delays in overtime payments, while in the Hutt, Mike Eckersley said staff were being sent back through a “ridiculous process” to recover unpaid overtime after timesheets were returned over missing HR case numbers.

ASH rostering also remained contentious. Counties Manukau and Kane Moses (Taranaki) both said members pushed back against the use of additional scheduled hours to avoid paying overtime, and credited pressure from committees and national office staff for eventually forcing a change. Northland said paid overtime was generally working better, but believed some eligible staff were still not claiming what they were owed, while Ruapehu’s Bruce McLeod reported one call-out issue had been addressed after constructive discussions with management. Auckland City reported errors with higher duty allowances that left some members underpaid or, worse, unpaid, while in the Hutt, advance travel expenses remained an unresolved issue, although members were told a new process was being worked through.

Flexible employment options and remote-work applications also generated steady frustration. Christchurch reported FEO applications being put on hold, while Counties Manukau said the long-running FEO policy continued to spark high expectations and frequent enquiries. The new work-from-home policy added another layer of uncertainty, particularly for staff on existing arrangements. At Police National Headquarters, Rose-Anna Carroll said there was strong interest in the new policy but pushback from some managers continued despite the final version not being released.

Risks front of mind

Safety remained a constant theme, with chairs describing both the risks of frontline work and the compounding effect of under-resourcing. Auckland City said faulty radios were logged as near misses so they would be formally recorded, while Counties Manukau

said “the struggle in our district is real” given the volume and seriousness of the work members face. In Horowhenua, the warning was just as direct: “The job continues to be dangerous”. Greg Beer from Nelson warned that ageing vehicles and deteriorating buildings added to long-term risk and could not be deferred indefinitely.

There were, however, examples of progress. Lorraine McMurtrie from Waitematā/North Shore welcomed the long-awaited rollout of needle-stick-resistant gloves, calling it a reminder that “persistence matters”, and Rotorua’s Graeme Hill said welfare follow-up for staff involved in assaults, accidents and critical incidents had improved.

Disciplinary delays

Committees also reported a steady stream of employment and disciplinary cases, often marked by long delays and high stress. Auckland City said these processes could be isolating and “incredibly stressful”, while Tairāwhiti’s Caroline Fox warned that excessive delays caused ongoing harm and eroded trust across the organisation. Derek Lamont from Waikato agreed that dual investigations still took an extraordinary length of time. Wellington’s Mon Dalley outlined support across critical incidents, illness, injury and pay disputes, and Waitākere said advocacy over contracts and pay scaling had even led some staff to join the association.

Stalled projects

Infrastructure problems persisted in many areas. Canterbury Rural welcomed upgrades at Rolleston station as “a step in the right direction”, but elsewhere members said they were working in buildings that were no longer fit for purpose. West Coast said staff were in their second year of working in “not-so-temporary” premises, and Whanganui said frustration was growing as court and custody work continued despite the risks in the current building (Budget 2026 has since announced funds have been allocated for rebuilds in Greymouth and Whanganui).

Blenheim’s Hannah McCabe said their station constantly created issues and it “doesn’t appear that it would be resolved any time soon, but it’s great that we now have the extension on the east yard for car parking!”