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New Job Check and accreditation rules
Employers will no longer be able to use 90-day job trial periods in employment agreements within the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme from 29 October 2023. This includes Job Checks submitted before 29 October 2023 but assessed on and after this date.
A new accreditation standard for the AEWV will require employers not to include a trial period in their employment agreement.
Technical updates have also been made to immigration instructions to clarify the ability to suspend or revoke an employer’s accreditation under the AEWV.
AEWV Processing times
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has made adjustments to AEWV assessment approach. Making more requests for further information from employers to confirm job vacancies are current, vacancies are genuine and whether employers can support the migrants they plan to hire.
As a result, INZ is experiencing an increase in processing times for the employer accreditation and job check phases of the AEWV. This is due to adjustments made to AEWV assessment approach.
Most applications are taking longer than 10 days to process at present. INZ recommends employers allow at least six weeks to apply for an accreditation and six weeks to apply for a job check with current processing times. Working to improve these.
New escalations process
INZ has updated its process for considering escalation requests for urgent allocation.
Under the new process, request the urgent allocation of an unallocated visa application using the Visa Escalation process if there are compelling circumstances. These requests are now managed by a centralised team.
When we assess escalation requests, INZ checks that there are compelling or very important personal circumstances, humanitarian factors, or matters of national interest.
People can use the process to request urgent allocation for accreditation or job check applications.
The details of the criteria used to review requests and the eligibility criteria are on INZ website.
Labour hire (triangular) employment threshold change
From 27 November 2023, INZ will be requiring accredited employers who are labour hire (triangular) employment firms that place migrants in specific construction occupations to have at least 35% of their labour hire workforce made up of New Zealand citizens and residents in full time employment. This is an increase from the current threshold of 15%.
INZ will now assess the New Zealand workforce threshold at both the accreditation and Job Check stages. Job Checks will fail if the new threshold is not met.
Existing employers will not lose their current accreditation if they don’t meet the new 35% threshold, as long as they continue to meet the 15% threshold. However, INZ will not approve a further Job Check until they meet the new threshold.
For any questions regarding this update or any further immigration matters, please contact Arno Arno.Nothnagel@absoluteimmigration.com
