Emergency, police and defence

How to become an emergency medical technician

Official title: Emergency medical technician (EMT)

Also called: Paramedical aide, Patient transport officer, Event medic, Ambulance officer, Emergency medical assistant

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) respond to medical emergencies and provide care and transport for sick or injured people.

Main tasks

Respond to medical emergencies
Give immediate care to patients
Transport patients to and from hospital
Administer first aid
Perform CPR and other life support techniques
Work with other medical and emergency professionals
Support patients during emergencies
Maintain medical equipment and supplies

How to become one

You need a qualification to become an emergency medical technician. You need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: a New Zealand Diploma in Ambulance Practice (Level 5) OR a Diploma in Paramedic Science (Level 6) OR a Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedicine) OR to complete the first three semesters of a Bachelor of Health Science in Paramedicine at Auckland University of Technology or Whitireia; a driver licence; a First Aid Certificate; to pass a medical assessment and drug test; a physical assessment; to pass a police check; an Authority to Practice; an Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Paramedic Council.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in human movement and sports science. TEC links this job to study in other health studies. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Exercise, Heke Kawa Oranga, NZ Dip in Sport, Recreation and Exercise. Usually 6 months to 1 year. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $41,000 a year one year after study and $59,000 five years after; 58% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Registration or licence: An Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Paramedic Council (https://www.paramediccouncil.org.nz/).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Median pay: $77,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $63,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
People employed in the group Ambulance Officers and Paramedics: 1,887 at the 2018 Census and 2,511 at the 2023 Census (+33.1%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

In the group Ambulance Officers and Paramedics, 52% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Ambulance Officers and Paramedics work (2023 Census): Auckland 21.5%, Waikato 13.3%, and Canterbury 12.8%.

Questions people ask

How do I become an emergency medical technician?

How much does an emergency medical technician earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $77,000 a year, before tax.

Will AI change the work of an emergency medical technician?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026