Upcoming changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme could prolong application processing timeframes and place a heavier burden on employers to prove compliance. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is also likely to take a tougher stance on verification.
The changes follow the release of a review in February 2024 that found INZ should have done more to minimise the risk of abuse of the visa system. The review was initiated last year after an anonymous whistleblower claimed some verification checks during the accreditation or job check process were not carried out under established policies.
With more changes expected later in the year, a raft of “immediate changes” to the scheme was announced last week by Immigration Minister Erica Stanford in a bid to attract the high-quality skills New Zealand needs and reduce the vulnerability of migrant exploitation. The suite of changes includes:
- introducing an English language requirement for migrants applying for low-skilled level 4 and 5 roles;
- a minimum skills and work experience threshold for most AEWV roles;
- for roles that fall into level 4 and 5, employers will need to engage with Work and Income before approval to bring in migrants will be granted;
- reducing the maximum continuous stay for most level 4 and 5 roles from five years to three years; and
- the franchisee accreditation category will be disestablished and these businesses will be able to apply to bring in workers from overseas through the standard, high-volume or triangular employment accreditation.
With migration at near records (173,000 non-New Zealand citizens in 2023), the AEWV settings had to facilitate the “right mix” of skilled temporary migrants to address the country’s skills shortage and help manage pressures on schools, housing, the health system and other core infrastructure, Stanford said.
“These steps improve the scheme’s integrity and will help to prevent migrant exploitation, following recommendations from the recent Bestwick review, which found serious issues with the AEWV processes.”
Background
In 2022, the work visa application process was streamlined, with the introduction of the AEWV and new accreditation standards. Six different work visa applications were replaced with a single process, with the objective of prioritising New Zealanders for jobs and making it easier for employers to hire skilled migrants in cases where there was a genuine skill or labour shortage.
Additionally, to prevent migrant exploitation, only accredited employers can hire migrants, shifting the visa process from a migrant-led to an employer-led system. Under the AEWV scheme, the responsibility lies with employers to demonstrate the credibility of their businesses and the genuine necessity for migrant workers.
Nonetheless, in early 2023, the media reported on various issues with the AEWV scheme, including concerns about migrant exploitation. Following the anonymous whistleblower’s claims and the establishment of the review, the Public Service Commission released its report in February 2024.
Deputy Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott said INZ should have done more to minimise the risk of abuse of the visa system. In fact, the review found that some changes made to operational settings within the AEWV scheme did not achieve their intended objectives because INZ failed to properly assess the risk and impact of expediting processing times, which increased the risk of misuse of the visa system.
The review made 10 recommendations to reduce the risk of migrant exploitation, develop an integrated compliance and system monitoring model, improve the gathering of intelligence and reset the relationship between INZ’s senior leaders and frontline staff.
Given the recommendations, the AEWV underwent several changes as announced by the immigration minister, including the essential skills work visa policies, which require applicants to provide evidence to demonstrate they are suitably qualified for the role. Employers must also advertise the role for a longer period (21 days) and engage with Work and Income if the roles are at Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations levels 4 and 5. More changes to the AEWV are anticipated later this year.
Impacts
In light of the findings, more checks are expected to be implemented. Consequently, the forthcoming reaccreditation process may have an impact on processing times. When INZ implemented the AEWV scheme, the visa processing standards were set at:
- 10 working days for the employer accreditation application;
- 10 working days for the job check application; and
- 20 working days for the AEWV application. However, based on information as of February 2024, applications are taking longer to process:
- 90% of the employer accreditation applications are taking about 47 weekdays;
- 90% of the job check applications are taking 49 weekdays; and
- 90% of the AEWV applications are taking 62 weekdays.
Reaccreditation requires employers to demonstrate compliance with declared commitments, such as fulfilling employment standards, completing learning modules and engaging in settlement support activities. If verification steps are undertaken according to established policies, the processing time may take even longer than current timeframes. For highrisk employers (such as franchisees and those using triangular employment arrangements), more verification activities may be carried out to minimise migrant exploitation.
Risks to the efficacy of the ICT system were identified, so INZ’s new visa processing technology platform, ADEPT, was designed to detect potential non-compliance, identify risk factors and highlight possible areas of concern.
However, it did not perform as expected and as a result, a structural change to the AEWV scheme is likely. This might involve shifting from the high-trust model, which heavily relies on employers declaring they comply with the specific immigration, employment and business standards, to more manual Immigration officer assessments. This means additional documentary evidence is expected to be needed when immigration officers conduct manual assessments for the reaccreditation process to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.
Implementing the Accredited Employer Risk Monitoring and Review, which determined whether accredited employers were meeting relevant requirements, was deferred by a one-off extension in February 2023 for employer accreditation.
Only 16% of accredited employers were subjected to post-decision checks by INZ in the first year. Despite the AEWV’s instructions stating that accreditations can be suspended or revoked if there are any active verification, compliance or investigation activities due to potential non-compliance by the employer or its key personnel, the verification of employer measures to minimise migrant exploitation has not yet been carried out as designed.
Since the review has identified potential opportunities for misuse and migrant exploitation due to the lack of monitoring and checking, more post-decision checks will likely be conducted to minimise migrant exploitation and ensure compliance with the regulations. If non-compliance is detected during these verification procedures, the accreditation can be revoked immediately.
Recently, INZ said it expected accredited employers to take their responsibilities seriously and adhere to AEWV conditions. For example, all accredited employers are required to inform INZ if their migrant workers leave their jobs before their visa expires. They must also provide at least 30 hours of work each week to the AEWV holders. Failure to do so will result in their accreditation being revoked. Furthermore, if any employer is found to be actively investigated for any breach of accreditation after 7 April 2024, their accreditation may be suspended.
As stated in the review, “no perfect system can mitigate all risks to migrants, but there are additional steps that INZ should take to minimise the risk of irregular migration and migrant exploitation and to ensure trust and confidence in New Zealand’s system”.
Vienna Tse is an associate at Cavell Leitch.
0 Comments