Just note that, if that is your intention to go directly for a Permanent Resident Visa (
RA1.5), that you will need to provide evidence of a genuine and stable partnership for the entire 5 year period prior to your partner's date of application. See
F2.20 for examples of evidence that you can provide.
Having been through a similar process myself (in my case, including my partner on my application for a Resident Visa under the Skilled Migrant Category), I can offer you one piece of advice: be as exhaustive as possible when gathering and supplying partnership evidence!
If you can't supply evidence for 5 years, it's not the end of the world: supplying evidence for the 12 months prior to your partner's application is the most crucial (see
F2.5(a)). If you can't supply evidence for 5 years but meet all other requirements (especially that 12 month requirement), your partner will be granted a Resident Visa (
RA1.1) with travel conditions allowing multiple entries for two years from your partner's first day in New Zealand as a resident (
R5.66), and your partner may make a later application for a Permanent Resident Visa once your partner meets the requirements set out in
RV2.