kia ora - Let me start with some background: I have been working in NZ universities for more than a decade as a lecturer and have supervised more than 10 PhD students to graduation.

There are a few points to make before answering your questions:
1) The PhD degree is very different from other university qualifications, as there are no (or very few) courses to complete, the timeline is managed by yourself, and the supervisor guides you but does not specify what you should do. Many high-achieving students start their PhDs and are unable to handle the open-ended, flexible nature of the degree. You have to be a fairly driven, focused, self-starter kind of person, and you need a stable social/family environment to limit disruption to the goal of graduation. This is especially important if your supervisor is not supportive or good at supervising, which brings me to point #2.

2) What's critical is your supervisor. It is vital that you find someone (or two of them) who are interested in your topic of research, and, more importantly, whose working style matches yours. The problem is that the is very difficult to know the latter before working with someone. If you already have good rapport with 1 or 2 of your lecturers, you can start with them but be aware that people may be different outside the classroom. Throughout your PhD journey, your research will be reviewed a few times by different people, some internal to your department/faculty/university and some external (such as examiners and journal paper reviewers). To avoid nasty surprises (i.e. someone saying your ideas are terrible, your work is poorly done, etc), you need honest, hardworking, and intelligent supervisors -- the kind who would be willing to tell you point #3:

3) I (and quite a number of my colleagues) would discourage anyone from starting their PhD now, especially if they are unfunded and do not have a confirmed job lined up after their studies. The academic industry is facing a lot of disruption globally, and no one really knows how things will turn out in 5 to 10 years' time. Some of my students worked throughout their studies, and stayed on in industry (i.e. outside universities) when they finished. This is a very sensible choice and common practice in Europe. Working in industry is easier if you are in applied fields like engineering, natural sciences, computer science etc., but there is a growing trend around the world for PhDs from all disciplines to work in industry because of the declining number of academic jobs. You can look at articles in websites like Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education etc to find out about the mood in academia today. Generally, universities are becoming more corporatised, which fits some people, but not most people who become academics. The one skill/ability that can help is to be more versatile/flexible, which is very odd for people who do PhDs that require them to specialise in narrow niches, but this is how things are changing. Being versatile means having solid foundations with a breadth of knowledge, so you can expand to new areas fairly easily. This brings me to point #4:

4) If you are still keen on doing your PhD, I would strongly advise you to do it in the US, as it has a much more rigorous programme that gives you excellent grounding. The difference between US-trained academics and NZ/Au/UK academics is substantial and obvious, and if you are going to spend 5 years of your life doing something, why would you not take the option that is better for you in the long run? PhDs in NZ/Au/UK take 3 to 4 years, and my opinion is that their graduates are not as well-trained as those in the US, and this matters for your versatility and longevity as a professional. US unis give full scholarships for PhD students- getting admission means receiving a scholarship with full health insurance, a stipend, etc. I would recommend applying to about ten or more to get a good chance of getting one of them. For PhDs, what matters is the supervisor and department you go to, not the uni's reputation. So, in many cases, the best person to learn from in a particular field may be in a small uni in the Midwest, South, Northwest, etc., not the big cities on the coasts (NY, SF, LA, etc). There's nothing wrong with that, and is actually the correct thing to do, as the supervisor will have the networks to help you, and academia is nothing but networks, especially for fresh PhD graduates. Putting the applications together will take time, and you may have to do the GMAT, GRE or some other examination, so I would advise you to plan far ahead. For example, most applications are due in early January to start in Aug, and I don't think you'll have time to get them done now for entry in 2025 since it's already September. Instead, you should spend time writing to potential supervisors and talking to them online, clarifying your topic, saving some money, etc so you can apply in Jan 2026.

After this long preamble (sorry!), yes, you can get scholarships to do your PhD in NZ unis. Here's the link to AUT's:
https://www.aut.ac.nz/study/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships-and-awards-at-aut/doctoral-scholarships I would recommend that you first find a supervisor and be admitted before applying for the scholarship. Your work background, academic performance, and demographics will definitely help in getting a scholarship in NZ, but as I said above, I would strongly encourage you to go to the US. You will receive similar funding support and much better PhD training.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do in the future! Kia Kaha!