The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has confirmed that four former serving personnel are working for the South Africa Test Flying Academy (TFASA).
According to overseas reports, TFASA is recruiting people to train People's Liberation Army's pilots.
A spokesperson for NZDF told Newshub it is aware of the four former personnel who are employed at TFASA.
They are not Reserve Force, are not on leave without pay, and have no employment links with the NZDF.
There are no current NZDF personnel who are employed by this organisation, they said.
"NZDF personnel are free to be able to gain employment once they leave service, however depending on their decisions, there may be repercussions to any future employment with the NZDF."
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The spokesperson added an example of this would be if someone left the NZDF and later tried to return for employment, it needs to be established that a person "possesses and demonstrates an appropriate level of integrity, and holds character traits such as honesty, trustworthiness and loyalty". This must be done so that it is in line with the Protective Security Requirements (PSR) to be suitable to hold a national security clearance at any level.
NZDF said the activities that could affect a person's eligibility to hold a national security clearance can include:
"Performing or attempting to perform duties, or otherwise acting, so as to serve the interests of a foreign person, group, organisation, or government in conflict with New Zealand's national interest.
"Or any employment or service, whether compensated or voluntary, with any foreign citizen, organisation or other entity, including a defence entity."
A person's eligibility for a security clearance can also be affected by the amount of time they have spent overseas, they added.
Sky News reported the TFASA is a head hunting company China is using to find personnel form Western countries.
It reported that Bejing is trying to hire more serving and former military personnel across the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and the British Army as well as personnel from other western nations.
The spike in recruitment has been identified since around the end of 2019 at the start of the COVID lockdown.
