Hi Colart,
Main question would be 'What nationality are you?' If you are SA then, unfortunately, you will need a police certificate from there no matter how long you've been there as NZIS is requesting details from
your country of citizenship unless you can prove you've
never lived there.
We need certificates from:
your country of citizenship (unless you can prove you never lived there)
and
if you are applying for residence:
any country you have been in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, whether in one or more visits. If you are already in New Zealand, for example, under our Work to Residence category, this includes obtaining a police certificate from the New Zealand police,
or
if you are applying for a temporary entry visa and/or permit:
any country you’ve lived in for 5 or more years since turning 17.
Similarly, we haven't lived in the UK for over 10 years, but will still have to get our UK police certificates along with those from all the other countries we've lived in.
