Guide · Community & networking
Finding your people.
New Zealand hires and settles people through who they know. Here is where to start looking for newcomer groups, professional networks and community organisations, and what each kind is actually for.
Why this matters here
New Zealand is small, and in most fields the people who hire know each other. Personal referrals matter more here than in bigger countries, and many roles get filled through someone the hiring manager already knows.
That is not favouritism or a closed circle, it is just how a small country works, and it applies just as much to making friends and finding your feet outside work. The groups below are real organisations you can join or attend. Custailo does not run any of them and does not vouch for what happens inside them. This is a selection of well-established starting points, not a full directory.
National newcomer networks
General-purpose groups aimed specifically at people who have just arrived, not any one profession.
- New Zealand Newcomers Network (newcomers.co.nz). A national umbrella linking dozens of regional Newcomers Networks that run informal social meetups. Free to join, find your local group on the site.
- Multicultural New Zealand (multiculturalnz.org.nz). The national federation of regional multicultural councils, with a dedicated newcomers section.
Professional & industry groups
Aimed at a specific field. These are worth more per hour than general networking if you already know what you want to do.
- Migrants in Tech (migrantsintech.nz). Auckland-based meetup for migrants working toward or already in the tech sector, hosted by Auckland Council. Regular events, check the site for the next date.
- Meetup.com (meetup.com). Not migrant-specific, but the standard place NZ professional and hobby groups list events by city and topic. Search your field plus your city.
- Industry bodies in your own field often run local chapters and events open to non-members. Search "[your profession] New Zealand association" and check whether membership or events are open to newcomers.
Cultural & community organisations
Regional councils and forums connected to specific communities, often with practical settlement support alongside the social side.
- Multicultural Council of Wellington (via Ethnic Communities directory). Affiliate uniting ethnic communities across the Wellington region.
- Ethnic Communities directory (ethniccommunities.govt.nz/community-directory). The Ministry for Ethnic Communities' searchable list of community organisations by region and community.
- Refugee-background communities have their own regional forums (for example ChangeMakers Refugee Forum in Wellington, Christchurch Refugee Services in Canterbury). The directory above is the fastest way to find the equivalent in your region.
Council welcome programmes
Welcoming Communities (immigration.govt.nz) is a programme led by Immigration New Zealand with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities. Councils and community boards join as accredited members, and each runs its own local settlement and connection activities. Check whether your local council is one, and what it currently runs, its programme changes by region.
Online places to start
- LinkedIn groups and local hashtags for your city and field
- Facebook groups for your nationality or region in New Zealand, and for your specific city (search "[your city] newcomers" or "[your city] expats")
- Reddit's r/newzealand and city-specific NZ subreddits, for informal, current, crowd-sourced answers. Treat as informal opinion, not fact, same as any forum
How to actually use these
Turning up once rarely does anything. What works is picking two or three groups relevant to you, going more than once, and following up with the individual people you meet, not the group. A coffee with one person in your field is worth more than a room full of strangers you never speak to again.