You're quite right to be cautious about how INZ would see you're particular circumstances in relation to the type of visa you need. The only option is to throw yourself on their mercy and explain your exact situation and leave it up to them to suggest the best way to go about this. It means showing your hand but, you never know, there might be some way you can do this where everyone is happy.
It's a bit unreasonable to expect your partner to leave his job in Oz to go to Germany and start another job, then go back to NZ and start a third job. What if he likes it so much in Germany that he wants to stay there? NZ will have lost one of its sons.
When you were in Oz, how long were you actually in a relationship with your partner? What I mean is were you in the relationship before you went to live with him? That extra time might help to pad out the time you were together if you have proof of it.
Have a read through
this if you haven't already read it. It mentions about time spent apart, which is what's happening to you now.
I suppose you could say you're in their hands now and it depends on who you deal with as to how helpful they're prepared to be. If you can think of a good reason for what happened in Oz so that they can be convinced you're not going to repeat it, you might stand a chance.