What are the visual requirements to join the Police in NZ?

Joining the New Zealand Police Force (NZPF) is a significant career choice. It demands physical and mental fitness, integrity, and adaptability. There is a thorough application process to ensure applicants are ready to take on the role. An important aspect of this process is ensuring that NZ Police recruits meet certain health and vision requirements.

Why does my vision affect my application?

Good vision is essential in law enforcement due to the demanding and unpredictable nature of police work, which can involve making split-second decisions in dangerous or visually challenging environments.

What does my vision need to be to meet the requirements?

The NZPF sets rigorous vision standards for applicants. According to the NZPF recruitment guidelines applicants must meet specific visual acuity requirements. Without any correction, each eye must see 6/12 (about halfway down a normal LogMar Snellen Letter Chart), the same line you need to drive a car in New Zealand.

With correction (specs or contact lenses) the applicant needs to be able to read the normal vision line – 6/6 or 20/20.

Can I have laser eye surgery if my vision doesn’t meet the requirements?

For those who don’t meet these requirements, refractive surgery is an acceptable option. However, post-refractive surgery, applicants must meet a few additional conditions before being considered eligible to apply.

• At least 3 months need to have elapsed before the eye exam post-refractive surgery
• The applicant can see without any additional correction 6/12 in each eye and 6/6 corrected
  • This is the same standard as an applicant who hasn’t had refractive surgery but please note that our expectation is that you will see 6/6 in each eye and require no further help from specs or contact lenses!
• The applicant must have normal vision in the presence of a glare source (e.g. a Marco BAT 1000). This means the vision with the glare source does not worsen by more than one line.
• The applicant has normal vision when the contrast level of a letter chart (e.g. the Melbourne Edge Test) is reduced to 10%. For reference black on white is 100%, with reducing shades of grey on white thereafter.

For all applicants who have had refractive surgery – or not – the eyes must be free of significant disease. You must have a full field of vision (i.e. can see in the periphery). You must have normal binocular vision, and you need to have normal colour vision.

Do I need to wait after having laser eye surgery to apply to the Police?

Finally – Police work can require quick and accurate visual assessments in high-stress environments, such as identification of suspects, reading license plates, driving at speed or spotting hazards in low light conditions. Refractive surgery can delivery this for you, but you need to plan for it. All surgeries have a recovery phase. But specifically, the Police requirement is that 3 months need to pass before they will accept your Level 2 Final Visual Examination Report.

If you’re interested in joining the NZ Police but your vision doesn’t meet the requirements, then get in touch to find out if laser eye surgery might be the solution for you. You can call us at 0800 733 327 or fill out the booking form for a free assessment.