ACT has welcomed the release of the Public Service Commission’s review into the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme but is calling on MBIE leadership to use all levers at their disposal to close avenues for the dishonest to use the scheme to commit fraud against would-be workers. 

ACT Immigration spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar said, “We’re glad to see confirmation that changes are already happening within MBIE and welcome the Minister considering broader changes to the settings.

“But ACT stresses the urgency of the action that must be taken to protect the reputation of New Zealand’s immigration system. We cannot afford to become known as a haven for employment scams. These scams do a disservice to the majority of honest employers who rely on the good reputation of our immigration system to attract the talent they need.

“Initiatives and proposals to untie workers from their accredited employer can go some way to prevent workers from effectively being held hostage in their often-low paying jobs. But this approach alone is not enough. In many cases, the jobs promised to immigrants under the scheme don’t even exist, or the jobs are terminated immediately. Simply releasing scammed immigrants into the labour market turns the scam into someone else’s problem, which is why ACT is firm that action must be taken to ensure people aren’t brought into the country under false pretences in the first place.

“If the scheme cannot be fixed, it needs to be scrapped.

“This is a problem created by the state. We have handed an unscrupulous minority of self-proclaimed employers the opportunity to scam trusting foreigners, and the results have been horrific. Would-be workers have been lured into the scheme by the credibility lent to it by the New Zealand Government’s name, and as lawmakers we should all feel complicit until this mess is sorted.

“This scheme was initially launched by Labour as a knee-jerk reaction to worker shortages post-COVID. Reports emerged quickly of scammed workers living in squalor, having been given false promises of work under the scheme. Labour failed to act fast enough, and we have waited too long for the results of the review, so now is the time for action.”

On Friday, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford received the findings of the Assurance Review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) Scheme released by the Public Service Commission.  

“The report highlights serious issues, and I am disappointed that appropriate risk assessments were not being carried out by Immigration New Zealand from October 2022 until June 2023,” Ms Stanford said.  

“I accept that the Ministry were under a great deal of pressure following the reopening of borders after COVID-19 and the unprecedented demand for migrant workers. This included having significant numbers of new staff, the merging of six previous visa types into one, and a new IT system that was not fully operational.”  

Ms Stanford said she had received assurances from MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain, that there had been significant improvements in risk assessments for AEWV applications and documenting decisions and that the feedback from visa processing and compliance staff has been taken seriously.  

“I want to thank staff who did absolutely the right thing in raising their concerns. I have been clear with the Ministry that when significant risks are identified in our immigration system, appropriate action must be taken and that I must be advised. I would also like to thank the reviewer, Jenn Bestwick, and her team for their work.”  

Ms Stanford said the review confirmed that changes to improve the system were already happening but that more was needed.  

“Along with the recommendations in the report, I have also asked for a range of advice about the AEWV and immigration settings more broadly that I will be considering over the coming weeks.  

“New Zealanders need to have confidence that those who seek to live and work here, have the qualifications and skills they say they do and do not pose a risk, and those who come here for a better life are protected from exploitation.”  

In accepting the review’s findings today, MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain says Immigration New Zealand has acknowledged the serious nature of the issues that were raised in the review.   

“The scheme was implemented at the same time as the border reopened after COVID-19 and the review acknowledges the extraordinary challenge that MBIE faced with huge demand for visas to work, study and visit.  

“Since 30 June last year, Immigration New Zealand has made a number of changes to tighten the settings, introducing more checks and, as a consequence, processing times have increased,” she said.  

“But the AEWV scheme has enabled employers to recruit much needed migrant labour to boost the economy in the immediate period after opening our borders.”  

Latest figures show there are nearly 33,000 accredited employers and more than 108,000 approved AEWV applications.  

Ms Tremain said the vast majority of employers are doing the right thing and treat their migrant workers fairly and well. But unfortunately, the relatively small proportion of bad actors will always seek and exploit weakness in immigration systems and policy.  

“As a result of our investigations 145 employers have had their accreditation revoked and 53 have had their accreditation suspended,” she said.  

Ms Tremain says staff have raised serious concerns and that they felt senior Immigration leaders did not pay adequate attention to the concerns raised by them about the AEWV risk settings.  

“We encourage our people who want to raise an issue because they’re worried about the integrity of the system to report it – if they are not comfortable doing so to their manager, then to any of the leadership team or to the MBIE Integrity line.”  

The Deputy Public Service Commissioner, Heather Baggott said the changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme did not work as intended and INZ could have done more to minimise the risk of abuse of the work visa system.  

INZ should have assessed the risk before implementing the changes, and reviewed the impact of the changes, which would have identified any faults or risks due to the reduction of verification checks.  

“Immigration New Zealand implemented, very quickly, a new model to accelerate immigration at a time the country desperately needed skilled workers,” said Ms Baggott.  

“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.  

“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.  

“I expect the chief executive will continue to make improvements in line with the recommendations identified in the report. And the chief executive has assured me this will happen.”