People responsible for hiring migrant workers as part of an accredited employer’s business currently have an obligation to complete Employment New Zealand's online modules. Additionally, accredited employers currently have an obligation to provide time for their migrant workers to complete Employment New Zealand employee modules. 

From 27 January 2025, employers and employees will no longer be required to complete the online modules. Employers are still expected to provide employment and settlement information to migrant workers.

The requirements regarding online modules will be removed from 27 January 2025 for all current and future accredited employers and Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSEs).

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will instead provide employers and workers with links to freely available Employment New Zealand or INZ webpages that set out employment rights and obligations at the most appropriate points in the immigration process, including in their visa approval letter.

Domestic workforce threshold requirement changes

Additionally, the domestic workforce threshold required for triangular employers hiring certain construction roles will reduce from 35% to 15% to align with the requirements for triangular firms in other sectors.

Employers will need to meet and maintain this 15% threshold throughout the period of their accreditation.

This will support the construction sector to deliver critical infrastructure projects for New Zealand while still maintaining the intent that labour hire firms should not solely rely on migrant labour.

This will also come into effect from 27 January 2025.

These changes are part of the reforms to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) the Government announced on 17 December 2024.

Reforms to Accredited Employer Work Visa announced