How to become an environmental compliance officer
Official title: Environmental compliance officer
Also called: Conservation officer, Environmental regulatory advisor, Environmental protection officer, Resource management officer, Farm sustainability services specialist, Asbestos auditor
Environmental compliance officers check job sites and pollution sources to make sure organisations and projects follow environmental regulations and laws.
Main tasks
- Enforce environmental laws
- Respond to noise and animal control complaints
- Issue trespass notices
- Advise people about sustainability and environmental issues
- Respond to environmental crises
- Develop environmental policies and plans
- Investigate and report on environmental legal matters
- Find and record evidence for court cases
How to become one
You usually need a qualification to become an environmental compliance officer and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in environmental studies, earth sciences, law studies or similar area; experience in similar work; a driver licence.
Ways in
- University: Agriculture & Environment degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand
- University: Science degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- University: Law & Justice degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $60,000 to $100,000 a year (median $81,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $122,000 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.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 30 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Māori cultural adviser
- Compliance manager
- Compliance officer
- Regulatory affairs specialist
- Court, local government and licence officer
- Foreign policy officer
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Questions people ask
How do I become an environmental compliance officer?
You usually need a qualification to become an environmental compliance officer and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in environmental studies, earth sciences, law studies or similar area; experience in similar work; a driver licence.
How much does an environmental compliance officer earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $81,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $60,000 to $100,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as an environmental compliance officer grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
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
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