By Gill Bonnett of RNZ

Staff at a government ministry have been sacked or issued with formal warnings after sending inappropriate messages about migrants to their colleagues.

Sixteen staff members at several branches of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) have been disciplined following the discovery of comments on Teams chats about visa applicants.

In July, it said eight people had been placed on leave after “serious and concerning” behaviour in Teams chats was found during an investigation into an unrelated complaint about decisions made by an employee.

INZ, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), told RNZ on Wednesday the ministry found 16 staff members were involved. It said the Teams comments had no effect on immigration decision-making.

Of the 16 staff, mainly based in Auckland but also Christchurch, Wellington and other centres, 10 had already been disciplined, including formal warnings and – in a “small” but unspecified number of cases – dismissal from MBIE.

INZ deputy secretary Alison McDonald said in a statement the ministry reminded its people regularly about expected standards of behaviour, including the use of Teams conversations.

“It is our job as public servants to act professionally and with integrity at all times,” she said. “The conduct of some of our INZ people in this case did not meet these expectations.

“I can confirm that there were a small number of inappropriate or unprofessional Teams chats about applicants. In reviewing these, the content of the messages was not deemed to be of the detail or level necessary to inform any individuals and had no impact on any immigration decisions made. There were no comments about licensed immigration advisers.”

The ministry expected to conclude employment processes this week in a further six less serious cases, she said.

MBIE’s Code of Conduct included being “professional and objective” in language, actions and interactions.

“There is no place for inappropriate or unprofessional communication of any kind in INZ, which is why we have treated these allegations so seriously,” McDonald said.

- RNZ