New sector agreements from 31 October allow some exemptions from the median wage requirements for migrants hired on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) or a Fishing Crew Work Visa.
The agreements cover the care workforce, construction and infrastructure, meat processing, seafood, and seasonal snow and adventure tourism sectors.
They have been developed in consultation with sector bodies and unions, and tailored to each sector’s workforce needs and conditions.
Each sector agreement includes various expectations for improvement, and progress on these will be taken into account in future decisions about their access to migrant workers below the median wage.
To use sector agreements, employers just need to follow the normal Accredited Employer Work Visa or Fishing Crew Work Visa process.
See details of Sector Agreements for specific AEWV occupations here:
sector-agreements-factsheet (1)
Hiring migrants on the AEWV
Employers wishing to hire migrants on the AEWV can pay less than the median wage if the role they want to fill is on this list, noting that they must still meet the pay threshold in the relevant sector agreement.
Stand-down periods
Stand-down periods apply for some sectors. This means AEWV holders paid below the median wage must spend a set amount of time outside New Zealand before they can get another AEWV at below the median wage.
When their visa expires, AEWV holders paid below the median wage can move onto another visa type or onto another AEWV paid at the median wage or higher. However, any further time spent in New Zealand will not count towards the stand-down period.
Meat workers and seafood process workers will not be able to get another AEWV for work paid below the median wage until the following season.
Median wage changes
The median wage will change from February 2023. This will affect the wage threshold for construction and infrastructure, meat processing, onshore seafood processing and seasonal snow and adventure tourism sectors.
The new median wage of NZD $29.66 an hour will be adopted into the immigration system on 27 February 2023.