Kiwis prioritised in AEWV review

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has outlined potential changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) to prioritise higher skilled migrants and ensure New Zealanders are employed before anyone from overseas

Speaking to TVNZ’s politics show Q+A, the Minister indicated she wants to reduce net migration from its current number of 126,000 per annum. To achieve that, immediate, long-term and longer-term changes will be made to put Kiwis first and reduce reliance on migrants for lower-skilled jobs.

Labour market tests may become more stringent, and any new policies will consider “absorptive capacity” – how many migrants existing infrastructure can accommodate.

Low skills to go Kiwi first

“We [have been] flooded with a bunch of low-skilled migrants rather than people who will drive productivity,” said Stanford. “I’m faced with [changing] our settings to have a stringent labour market test, so jobs are genuine and we’re putting Kiwis first.” 

At the time of print, there had been no confirmed changes to AEWV. However, it is expected that changes will be announced as soon as March 2024.

One change that has gone through is the median wage increase from $29.66 to $31.61 an hour for the assessment of Skilled Migrants (points system) residence visa, Greenlist Tier 1 Straight to Residence visa, Greenlist Tier 2 Work to Residence via, Transport Sector Work to Residence (excluding bus drivers) visa and Parent Residence category (sponsors’ income).

It’s important to note that the increased median wage does not apply to AEWV applicants.

It also does not apply to Variation of Conditions to an AEWV, Partners of AEWV holders, Skilled Migrant Interim Visas and Migrant Exploitation visas. 

Visa investigation

A review into the AEWV has also been released, covering all aspects of employer accreditation and job check processes undertaken by Immigration New Zealand as part of the AEWV scheme.

The review was led by Jenn Bestwick, described by Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes as having “extensive experience working in large complex organisations across the public and private sectors [and] a strong track record in governance roles.”

The report makes a number of recommendations to reduce the risk of exploitation, among other things.

“While it was unscrupulous employers who exploited migrants coming into the country, Immigration New Zealand could have, and should have, done more to minimise the risk of that happening,” said Bestwick.

“The chief executive has since made, or is undertaking, the necessary changes to ensure the scheme continues to meet the needs of employers, while better protecting migrant workers coming into
New Zealand.”

In light of the review and expected toughening up of regulation, employers who have multiple sites around New Zealand must also be mindful of several conditions listed on the AEWV.

For example, if a migrant is required to work across different regions, an employer needs to have carried out a job check in each region.