Application to Join LandSAR WellingtonThank you for expressing an interest in volunteering. Your availability, skill set and desire to complete base line SAR courses will determine your level of operational deployment. Our group works in a partnership with the local Police SAR to provide a response to all manner of emergency situations. The group is comprised of 2 main areas of operation.
1. Field
This is our Bush group whose responsibilities cover everything from the snowline to the water, including urban and suburban environments. Often involves multiple day deployments and the use of search techniques such as tracking and navigation.
2. Search Management
This group is responsible for all the planning, logistics and management of all Search & Rescue Operations. It includes a number of specialists in IT, comms and GIS who assist the management team. Generally you must have prior experience to be considered for one of these roles.
Our expectations
As a group our aim is to maintain an engaged and current volunteer membership. To that end, we require all members to achieve and maintain a minimum basic standard.
This standard is current qualifications in:
- Outdoor 1st Aid
- Search Methods
- Track and Clue Awareness
Courses are held annually across the country. There is some expectation for (subsidised) travel within the North Island to complete your initial training.
Now What:
Please complete the form below. Once submitted, your application will be considered at a committee meeting and if selected you will be invited to attend an assessment exercise. Several assessments are held each year depending on vacancies in the field teams. You will be contacted when space becomes available on an assessment.
Nationally, LandSAR is experiencing a high volume of membership enquiries. LandSAR Wellington currently has a waiting list for prospective members. Because we have limited training resources available, we prioritise prospective members according to skill level. Those with SAR skills or advanced bushcraft skills may be scheduled for an induction assessment sooner, but the current waiting time for most applicants is 3-6 months.
Dependent on your skills, we may also consider you for roles in search management and support, in addition to field operations.
From there you will be contacted by the groups training co-ordinator to arrange an assessment. At that time you will get a full introduction as to the group, its functions, equipment, training, call outs and anything else you can think of.
Before applying to join, please make sure you have discussed it with your employer. Operational members are often required during working hours, and it is important this is discussed with your employer prior to applying.
