Skip to main Skip to search
Whaikaha Ministry of Disabled People View our
NZSL name

2027 internship opportunities

The 2027 All-of-Government Whaikaha Internship Programme offers 10 internships across 7 government agencies.

You can choose the opportunities that best match your interests, strengths and areas of study when you apply.

Inland Revenue

1 internship position available.

Team: Organisational Learning

Help design and improve learning for people across Inland Revenue. You could:

  • develop and review learning resources
  • support learning projects
  • gather feedback
  • help make learning clearer, more accessible and more engaging
  • explore how digital tools, automation and AI could support simpler and more effective ways of working.

This role would suit someone who is curious, creative and collaborative. You may be interested in learning, accessibility, communication or technology. You may want to bring your own perspective and ideas.

Ministry for Pacific Peoples

1 internship position (Auckland-based) available.

Team: Pacific Identities and Advisory

Support relationships between the Ministry, Pacific communities, disability organisations, government agencies and other partners. You could:

  • help organise accessible meetings and community engagements
  • research stakeholders and community issues
  • summarise feedback
  • prepare communications
  • keep project records and action trackers up to date.

The Auckland-based team will provide day-to-day support, supervision and mentoring.

This role would particularly suit a Pacific person who brings their own lived experience of disability. You may be interested in building a career in policy, government or the wider public service.

Ministry of Health

1 internship position available.

Team: Disability and Social Sector Policy

Contribute to policy work aimed at improving health outcomes for disabled people. You could:

  • research options for identifying disabled people in health data
  • support analysis and advice
  • prepare meeting notes and talking points
  • help with Ministerial correspondence and Official Information Act requests.

This role would suit someone who is curious, eager to learn and interested in health, disability and policy. You may enjoy working collaboratively and thinking through complex issues.

Ministry of Justice

1 internship position available.

Team: Design and Implementation

Help improve the accessibility and inclusion of justice services. Depending on current priorities and your strengths, you could:

  • review policies and processes
  • improve disability awareness training and online information
  • test new systems
  • support New Zealand Sign Language initiatives
  • contribute to other accessibility projects.

This role would suit someone who can draw on their own lived experience of disability. You may have strong attention to detail and be curious and motivated to improve services.

Ministry of Social Development (MSD)

3 internship positions available.

Team: Corporate Portfolio – Commercial Operations

Support the systems, projects and processes that help MSD staff deliver services to clients and whānau. You could:

  • update project information and trackers
  • follow up on progress
  • record actions
  • help with planning and reporting
  • prepare visual presentations for senior leaders.

This role would suit someone interested in technology, process improvement and project work. You may enjoy organising information, solving problems and working with others.

Team: Workforce Development Programme, Quality Assurance and Improvement

Contribute to work that aims to strengthen the disability support workforce and safeguard disabled people from abuse and neglect. You could:

  • research workforce pathways for disabled people
  • explore how lived experience can be safely included in workforce planning and decision-making
  • engage with internal experts
  • prepare written findings.

This role would suit someone with strong research, writing, analysis and relationship-building skills.

Team: Commissioning and Funding

Help inform how disability support services are planned, commissioned and funded. You could:

  • compare disability support services in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom
  • analyse data and identify trends
  • prepare short reports
  • review documents
  • help keep public information up to date.

This role would suit someone interested in disability issues, research, data analysis, Excel and written communication.

New Zealand Qualifications Authority

1 internship position available.

Team: Office of the Deputy Chief Executive Pasifika and People

Help the New Zealand Qualifications Authority improve its information, resources and workplace practices. You could:

  • review customer feedback and communication channels
  • check whether existing resources are still useful
  • research workplace policy guidance
  • share clear findings and recommendations.

The work programme can be tailored to your study, experience and interests.

This role would suit someone who is curious, enjoys research and reviewing information. You may enjoy communicating your findings clearly and be open to giving and receiving feedback.

Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People

2 internship positions available.

Team: Data and Insights

Help turn disability data and research into clear information that supports better decisions. You could:

  • prepare short summaries of data releases
  • update online resources
  • support publication of the New Zealand Disability Strategy monitoring dashboard
  • respond to requests about published data and research.

This role would suit someone with strong analytical and communication skills. You may be interested in disability data, interpreting evidence and explaining complex information clearly to different audiences.

Team: Ministerial and Executive Services

Learn how information and requests move between a government agency, its Minister and the wider public sector. You could:

  • help process and draft responses to Official Information Act requests
  • support Ministerial and departmental correspondence
  • help with parliamentary questions and requests from the Minister's Office
  • support New Zealand Sign Language interpreter bookings, purchasing and other business coordination tasks.

This role would suit someone interested in how government works, who can follow processes and is willing to try a variety of tasks.

About the internship programme

Find out who can apply, how to apply and what support is available on the All-of-Government  paid internship programme page.