Key Points:

• Government has announced new seasonal work visa pathways but largely excludes hospitality roles
• Visa launch delayed to December 8th, creating more uncertainty for summer planning
• Hospitality faces workforce shortages heading into peak summer trading period
• Ongoing immigration policy concerns remain unaddressed

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Hospitality business owners have been holding their breath for some good news about workforce solutions. Unfortunately, the Government’s announcement about new seasonal work visa pathways isn’t delivering the relief our industry desperately needs.

The new Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) is an up to three-year visa for highly experienced seasonal workers in roles such as rural contracting, sheep scanning, winemaking, and snow instruction. It enables skilled workers to return for subsequent seasons on the same visa. The Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) is a visa of up to seven months for short-term seasonal roles such as meat and seafood processing, calf-rearing, and wool handling.

With these new Visas largely excluding hospitality, the Association, alongside our members, is feeling frustrated that our industry has again been sidelined when it comes to immigration policy.

Summer is approaching, staffing headaches remain

As we prepare to gear up for what should be our biggest trading period of the year, the exclusion of hospitality roles from the new seasonal visa pathways feels like a significant missed opportunity.

As summer arrives, we can expect a surge in visitor numbers and locals eager to make the most of outdoor dining and seasonal hospitality experiences. No operator wants to be scrambling for staff during their busiest period. The seasonal nature of our peak trading makes hospitality a natural fit for seasonal visa schemes, yet the Government hasn’t recognized our sector among those needing support to fill critical roles when New Zealand workers aren’t available in sufficient numbers.

We’re also unsure why the launch date for these new visas has been pushed to December 8th. For employers, this is well into the busy season when you would need your team locked and loaded, not still trying to navigate visa applications.

The bigger picture problems

This latest setback highlights something the Restaurant Association has been advocating about for some time – our immigration policy settings just aren’t working for hospitality.

The reality is that many hospitality businesses rely heavily on seasonal workers to meet customer demand, especially during summer. Local workers alone often can’t fill the gap, particularly for the volume of roles needed during peak periods.

What are the solutions?

The Restaurant Association is pushing for concrete solutions:

• We would like to see Immigration New Zealand expedite the review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme, particularly with respect to the tiered accreditation system, which remains under review.
• We would also like to see an update on the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa and clarity around the consultation process for the Skilled Migrant Category review.

While the Association continues to advocate for workforce solutions that support our industry, the immediate reality for many hospitality operators is another challenging summer ahead. We urge the Government to give equal attention to the workforce needs of the hospitality industry and remain committed to collaborating with the Government to ensure that the industry’s workforce needs are addressed. In the meantime, we will continue to advocate for immigration policies that allow businesses to thrive while prioritising job opportunities for New Zealanders.

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Read the Government announcement about the new Global Workforce Seasonal Visas here.

5 August 2025

Hon. Scott Simpson
Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Parliament Buildings
Wellington

Tēnā koe Minister Simpson

Hospitality industry response to the ban on surcharges

I am writing to you on behalf of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand (the Restaurant
Association), the largest representative body for restaurants and cafés in New Zealand, regarding your
recent announcement of a ban on surcharges for in-store payments.

Over the past year, we have been actively engaged with officials from the Commerce Commission on
reforms to our retail payments system, so we were shocked to find out about this policy shift through
the media despite having met with officials from the Commerce Commission less than a week prior to
the announcement being made.

While we are supportive of efforts to make payments clearer and more affordable for consumers — our
customers — we are extremely disappointed by the ongoing commentary which perpetuates the
incorrect narrative that surcharges are a way for businesses to “swindle” their customers for more
money, and the misleading insinuation that businesses have nothing to worry about as a result of this
announcement.

Capping interchange fees

We are concerned by your answers to patsy questions about the impact of these changes on small
businesses in the House last week. Your comments suggested that, because the ban on surcharges is to
be implemented in conjunction with the Commerce Commission’s decision to cap interchange fees,
there is no need for concern.

While the fees that businesses pay to banks will be reduced, they have not been removed entirely —
under your current proposal, business will be left with three options: increase prices across the board,
impacting all customers; restrict the use of certain payment methods, potentially limiting their
customer base; or absorb these fees as a cost of doing business, eating into already slim profit margins
(an average of four percent across the hospitality industry).

The decision of the Commerce Commission to cap interchange fees also included an intent to monitor
the impact of regulating such fees, to ensure that surcharging was reduced by a commensurate
amount. In our opinion, this would have been the appropriate process to follow.

Promoting understanding of our payments system

Throughout our engagement with the Commerce Commission on the retail payments system, we have
stressed the importance of taking a holistic approach to reform — including through addressing
surcharging at the appropriate time to prevent undue negative impacts on both retailers and
consumers.

Our members were clear throughout consultation on changes to the retail payment system that if there
was a way they could remove surcharging for certain card payments without having to absorb the costs
themselves, they would do so. The idea of mitigating the provision of outstanding hospitality service by
ending the experience with a conversation around surcharging and potentially leaving a bad taste in
our customers’ mouths is not one that our industry signs up for voluntarily — it is out of necessity.

Regulating payment providers

To date, it has been our business who have had to constantly explain that the fees they are charged by
payment providers are the reason surcharges exist. While often uncomfortable conversations, they also
lead to giving customers a choice between using a payment method that incurs a surcharge, or those
that do not. The decision to ban surcharges removes that choice for consumers.

Further, throughout engagement with the Commerce Commission, it was clear that further work was
needed to ensure payment providers did not simply increase other fees paid by retailers to cover any
shortfall in their income. As it stands, the ban on surcharges leaves retailers in the lurch, required to
either increase their prices to cover costs or absorb the cost of fees, while there is no guarantee that the
actual fees they pay across our entire retail payments system will actually decrease. This must be
addressed before any further action is taken to ban surcharges.

It is important to also note that while the benefits of a cap on interchange fees are intended to be
passed on through a reduced merchant service fee, the interchange fee is only a portion of the amount
charged to retailers. The full merchant service fee is not being capped — only the interchange fee
portion of the merchant service fee — meaning businesses are still left with large fees that they will not
be able to recuperate through surcharges.

Evidence-based policy

You referred several times to overseas evidence, indicating there would be no need for businesses to
increase prices following the ban on surcharges. Notwithstanding the points we have already raised,
we submit that the Government would have been better off to wait for the reduced interchange fee
decision to take effect and gather domestic, real time evidence to determine if there was still a need to
regulate surcharges — and if so, in what form such regulation would take.

For example, it is unclear whether your current proposal to ban surcharging includes surcharging
during trade on public holidays, which goes towards covering increased wage costs provided for under
the Holidays Act. While we would advocate against such a blanket ban being implemented, any
exceptions will only add to the confusing regulatory system within which our small businesses already
operate.

I would value the opportunity to meet with you in person to discuss how we can work together in
future on this and other matters of shared importance. We remain willing and ready to collaborate on
critical work in the Commerce and Consumer Affairs portfolio, including the work initiated by your
predecessor to amend the Companies Act, which was expected to be introduced to Parliament in the
first half of this year.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if I can be of any assistance. I look forward to hearing from
you.

Ngā mihi nui,
Marisa Bidois
Chief Executive
Restaurant Association of New Zealand

cc Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister
Hon Louise Upston, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality

5 August 2025

Hon. Erica Stanford
Minister of Immigration
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
E.Stanford@ministers.govt.nz

Kia ora Minister Stanford

Progressing policy development in the immigration portfolio

As you are aware, immigration policy settings have consistently been one of the most pressing
issues raised by Restaurant Association members over recent years.

After recent engagements with immigration officials that have shown the number of visas expiring
over the coming months, we have work underway as an industry to review our workforce needs
and priority roles within the immigration system.

In the meantime, I would appreciate an update on progress reviewing immigration policy settings,
and when we can anticipate announcements being made which we hope will give our members
some confidence as our industry gets closer to beginning recruitment for the busy summer trading
period.

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

Acknowledging that a number of changes to the AEWV scheme have already been announced, I
would appreciate confirmation or otherwise as to whether further changes to the job check stage
— in particular regarding tiered accreditation — is still being considered. My understanding is that
these decisions were due early this year, and despite good early-stage engagement from your
officials, we have not had any updates on whether this option will progress.

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

In your speech to the Employers and Manufacturers Association on 16 August 2024, you indicated
that once the AEWV review is complete, work would begin to ensure our skilled residence settings
are appropriately targeted to address skills gaps.

We have not been invited to participate in any consultation on the Skilled Migrant Category
review. As such, we are unclear as to whether the Government considers the AEWV review to be
complete, and whether a review of the Skilled Migrant Category is underway. I would appreciate an update on this work, and the opportunity to provide feedback should consultation already be
underway.

New Pathways for Seasonal Workers

We were pleased to participate in consultation on the two seasonal surge capacity visas being
considered for introduction in November, which will certainly have an impact on the hospitality
industry workforce. Understanding that Cabinet decisions were due to be made in June, we would
appreciate a heads up where possible on expected timing for an announcement on decisions
around these two visas.

As our industry looks to the future, I am committed to doing what I can to ensure that policy
settings across Government are as supportive as possible of our recovery and growth. To that end,
please do not hesitate to contact me directly if I can be of any assistance. I look forward to hearing
from you soon.

Ngā mihi nui,
Marisa Bidois
Chief Executive
Restaurant Association of New Zealand

cc Hon Louise Upston, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality

The Government has made changes to the AEWV accreditation and Job Check process during a business sale or restructure.

From 6 November 2024 onwards, if an AEWV visa holder remains in the same role and location, but their employer changes due to a business sale or restructure then they must still apply for a Job Change. However, if the new employer holds, or has applied for, accreditation when the Job Change application is received, Immigration NZ will be able to approve the Job Change before deciding the employer’s accreditation application.

Points to note:

• The new employer will not need to apply for a Job Check unless the AEWV visa holder’s role or work location will change.
• Anyone holding an AEWV who transfers to a new employer after a sale or restructure will be counted in the employer’s quota of 5 AEWV employees under standard accreditation. (Employers who will exceed this should apply for high-volume accreditation before the workers apply for their Job Change.)

These changes follow recently announcements from INZ aimed at improving processing times.

Find out more here.

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Related articles:

• Changes to AEWV aim to address processing times
• Allocation priorities for Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is making changes that they say are to improve wait times across the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme.

INZ have acknowledged that employer accreditation, Job Check and AEWV applications have been taking longer to process – which is one of the key frustrations voiced by RA members.

As a result INZ are now processing similar applications in groups, such as those from the same sector or location or where applicants are in similar situations. The premise is that by assessing these at the same time, INZ can be more efficient and process applications faster, while ensuring the necessary checks still take place.

INZ note that incomplete applications also continue to be a contributor to the longer wait times. Applications that include the required evidence and documentation will be prioritised. Getting your application right the first time will mean it is processed faster. Checks that you:

• include all the required evidence when you apply for accreditation or a Job Check
• understand the advertising requirements for your role before advertising, so you can include the right evidence in your Job Check
• encourage migrants to read about their AEWV application requirements when you send them a job token
• check the duration of your current accreditation.

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View also: Job checks and AEWV applications – getting the information right

More on AEWV wait times

The Restaurant Association welcomes Immigration New Zealand’s announcement that ANZSCO – the role classifications used for visa applications – is to be replaced by a comparable but separate system.

Statistics New Zealand will be introducing a new New Zealand classification system called the National Occupation List (NOL). The first version of the NOL will be released on 20 November 2024.

The RA has worked hard for many years to draw attention to the issues with ANZSCO, which often results in employees wrongly classified into a job role that bears little match to their actual day to day position and causes frustration for employees and employers. We’ve asserted that there is a need for a realignment of the description to better fit current work situations and hence the announcement is welcome news.

Immigration New Zealand say it will take some time to transition to the new classification system and they will continue to use the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) until then and will provide a further update in 2025 when a switch over date is confirmed.

ANZSCO grades occupations according to skill level. ANZSCO skill levels range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the most skilled and 5 being less skilled. Unfortunately the database has many limitations. It is by no means an exhaustive list of all occupations; therefore a common complaint is that the ANZSCO descriptions are not compatible with many roles within our industry. This results in difficulty choosing the closest fit role description and a job specification mismatch when INZ makes the comparison between the employee’s role and that closest fit ANZSCO classification. Problems relating to the chef classification arise because there are a wide-ranging number of levels that exist in the kitchen – from executive chefs / head chefs, right down to commis chefs and apprentices (and every role in between). The ANZSCO fails to address the difference between the levels, nor the vast differences in role requirements related to the size of the business. Chefs are often re-matched as the lower skilled ‘cooks’ classification. Senior front of house roles are additionally also often wrought with problems. One of the reasons for this is that ANZSCO includes occupational classifications for junior roles such as waiters, baristas and bar attendants (classed as skill level 4 occupations) and senior management level roles (café and restaurant managers (skill level 2), however, it is silent on intermediate level management positions such as duty managers and maitre D’s.  When assessing the closest fit, an application for a café or restaurant manager will often be re-assessed by INZ as a better match for a retail supervisor ANZSCO classification (a level 4 occupation).

We will keep members up to date with further developments around the National Occupation List (NOL).

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View the ANZSCO announcement here.

The Government is creating short-term exemptions to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) skills requirements for a limited number of roles and sectors, including Hospitality. 

These changes are designed to avoid shortages in specified sectors while long-term AEWV changes are being decided.  

The exemptions will be available for: 

• new applicants applying for select meat and seafood processing roles
• some current visa holders renewing their AEWV for work covered under the tourism and hospitality and care workforce sector agreements. Their application must be for the same occupation they are currently in but can be for a different employer or in a different region. 

The exemptions will be in place on 8 September 2024.  

An exemption to the AEWV minimum skill requirement will be available for existing visa holders with a role in the tourism and hospitality sector that is exempt from paying the February 2023 median wage, if:

• their visa is expiring on or before 31 March 2025
• they are applying for a further 1-year duration AEWV, and
• their application is for the same occupation.

These changes only exempt AEWV applicants from the minimum skill requirements introduced in April 2024. Applicants will still need to meet any requirements listed by the employer in the Job Check application.

These changes are part of a wider review of the AEWV to ensure it is fit for purpose. Targeted consultation on potential longer-term options to further improve the AEWV will continue throughout the year.

We know that for many operators going through the steps of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) application process it is important for the process to be completed in a reasonable time-frame to enable you to complete your recruitment process. It can be frustrating if the time taken to process applications is longer than expected.

While there are many variable reasons as to why Job Check and AEWV processing may take time, according to Immigration NZ many Job Check and Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) applications currently being submitted, are missing key information, which is impacting overall application processing times. Submitting applications with complete information means Immigration Officers can spend more time making decisions, as applications with complete information are generally processed faster, compared to when Immigration NZ (INZ) has to request this information.

The Immigration NZ website has new guidance about how to advertise and what to do before applying for a Job Check which should be useful guidance on how to submit complete Job Check applications.

Key things to note:

Job Checks

• Ensure the advertising has closed prior to the Job Check being submitted.
• Make sure to include the pay rate or pay range in the advertisement. It is not sufficient to provide the pay range in the job listing search settings, but not state it in the advertisement.
• Ensure advertising with Work and Income has been completed where required. The listing with Work and Income must be consistent with advertising undertaken generally for a skill level 4 or 5 position. This does not mean it needs to be identical or include the same information – as long as the information does not conflict, this will be consistent with policy requirements.
• Ensure you select the right ANZSCO code at the time the application is submitted.
• Employment agreements must contain all clauses required by employment law. Many are missing a statement that sexual harassment personal grievances must be raised within 12 months. Here is a link providing information on this clause under What an employment agreement must include / Types of pay.
• Employment agreements must also have all clauses required by immigration instructions:
  • provide a minimum 30 hours of work per week
  • describe the maximum hours allowed and the provisions for overtime payments (for salaried employees)
  • provide a pay period not longer than one month
  • not include bonding clauses or unlawful deductions
• Employment agreements must not include a trial provision as defined in section 67A (2) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (a ’90 day trial’).

Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWVs)

• Job descriptions must be provided with the work visa application.
• Sufficient evidence of work experience must be provided. Evidence must demonstrate that the suitably qualified requirements are met, as well as the minimum skills threshold.
• Evidence of meeting English language requirements must be provided. INZ will not hold applications for English tests to be undertaken.
• Police certificates must be provided (if the worker is staying for more than 2 years).
• If the employment agreement is amended at the Job Check stage, ensure the amended version is submitted with the Work Visa, instead of the previous version.

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Please contact the RA Helpline for clarification or assistance – 0800 737 827.

From 1 October, visa fees across the board will increase. The government reasoning for the increase is that they have been set at an appropriate level to recover the costs of processing a visa and reflect the benefits received by people using immigration services.

As at 13 August 2024 Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has approved 124,974 AEWV applications since the scheme opened, and there are currently 31,689 accredited employers and 84,676 AEWV holders.

Some notable increases include:

• Accredited Employer Work Visa increase from $750 to $1,540
• Job Check Applications increase from $610 to $735
• Permanent Resident Visa increase from $240 to $315
• Specific Purpose Work Visa increase from $735 to $1,355

The government will continue to support subsidized fees for visa applicants from Pacific countries.

Most of the fees paid for by the employer have increased. You can find the new fee structure here.

2 May 2024
Hon. Erica Stanford
Minister of Immigration
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
E.Stanford@ministers.govt.nz

Tēnā koe e te Minita,

Hospitality sector priorities for the immigration portfolio
Further to my previous letter setting out the hospitality sector’s priorities for the incoming Government, I am writing to brief you on our priorities as they relate particularly to your immigration portfolio.
Immigration is by far the most pressing issue raised by our members, and I have been concerned about the lack of consultation with industry on our immigration policy settings. The announcement made last month on changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme came with no consultation with the hospitality industry, and appears to be a continuance of the trend toward a generalised, one-size-fits-all approach to achieving what are ultimately commendable goals for our immigration system.

While the hospitality sector has specific priorities, we acknowledge the economic and infrastructure impacts of record net-migration and would welcome the opportunity to work with the Government in developing unique approaches to addressing these challenges. The priorities in this list are not exhaustive, and the Restaurant Association remains ready to develop further programmes of work in partnership with the Government to address challenges in the immigration system as they arise.

Migrant worker exploitation
To address migrant worker exploitation within the hospitality industry, the Restaurant Association created HospoCred, an industry accreditation programme for hospitality that sets a platform for standards within the hospitality industry, promoting employers committed to fair and ethical employment and business practices. This initiative is a collective force to prevent worker exploitation, and not only safeguards workers but also strengthens our industry’s reputation and contribution to the economy. We have been approached by several industry bodies who have sought to replicate this initiative for their sectors, because of the way it is designed and the results it is delivering, and we believe that government investment in industry-led initiatives like this will help to address migrant worker exploitation.

As you will no doubt be aware, one of the key challenges for exploited migrant workers is bonding to a single employer. Exploitation often occurs when this happens, where workers are unable to escape their exploitative employment arrangements. Our members have reported workers approaching them seeking help to leave their exploitative employment arrangement, and we at the Restaurant Association are always ready to help with facilitating this. However, to say that the answer is to fill out more paperwork to apply for another visa (whether a variation of conditions or a Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa) puts a layer of bureaucracy in the way of what should be the most important goal – enabling these workers to leave an exploitative environment as quickly as possible.

Accredited Employer Work Visa
The cost and processing times of working through this process are completely out of kilter with what can realistically be considered reasonable. Restaurant Association members have raised the overall cost and processing times of the scheme as significant barriers, with some opting to let their accreditation expire due to these barriers.

Our members have noted that the cost of applying for a work visa for a chef in 2009 was approximately $120, increasing to $200 in 2010. Compared to the current cost of the AEWV scheme, an almost 900% increase in visa application and processing fees is unsustainable – our members have reported paying $740 at stage one, $610 at stage two and $740 at stage three for a total cost of $2,090 for a single application. This does not take into account the cost of becoming an accredited employer, nor the costs associated with job checks and proving that a role cannot be filled by the domestic market.

Exploitation often occurs when the exorbitant cost of a visa is used as a weapon against workers by unscrupulous employers, and the cost hikes associated with the current scheme only add to the risk of this occurring more often. We recognise the Accredited Employer Work Visa was implemented with what were seen as protections against migrant worker exploitation, however making it nearly impossible to apply for a visa by increasing the cost of doing so is not the way to achieve better protections for migrant workers.

Further, the changes to the length of AEWV’s are significantly impacting both employers and workers in our sector. These retrospective changes mean that many staff who came to New Zealand expecting to be able to work and live here for five years, and employers who paid thousands of dollars in visa fees expecting to have those staff in their businesses for that time, are now at a loss both personally and financially.

Definition of low and unskilled migrants
New Zealand’s immigration system needs to recognise that an individual can still be highly qualified and skilled without a doctoral degree. Immigration and education policies are regularly treated as separate topics, however a common issue in our industry is the inability of the government to determine a visa applicant’s level of skill and often making incorrect assumptions based on formal qualifications.
This strict interpretation of the rules without any knowledge of the context of our industry has led to both a shortage of appropriately skilled staff and a bottleneck in visa processing, which must be addressed. A priority for the Restaurant Association is the development of frameworks against which overseas registrations, certifications and training can be measured against domestic qualifications and standards.

English language requirement
Much like the median wage requirement is an inadequate proxy for skill, we submit that an English language requirement is an inadequate proxy for real action on migrant worker exploitation. We recognise that for many industries, language and culture of origin is not an integral part of a migrant worker’s job. In the food and beverage sector, however, cultural identity and competency is a crucial part of the broader hospitality experience. Authentic Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, for example, is most often prepared by those who have limited formal training and whose training has taken place in the home or through on-the-job training in their country of origin.

We submit that this requirement is an unnecessary restriction while there are a myriad of other actions that Immigration New Zealand can take to ensure those with limited English language competence are properly protected from exploitation. For example, it is already a requirement for accredited employers to provide the employee with specific work-related settlement information and support, and this could (and should) include information on worker’s rights and how to seek support in the appropriate language. Exploitation occurs when workers do not know their rights, and we believe providing them with the appropriate information in the appropriate language is a key tool to preventing exploitation.

Acknowledging that the English language requirement introduced to the AEWV scheme is set at IELTS Band 4, we submit that, given the description of language competence at Band 4 is that of a limited nature, the actions above should be introduced irrespective of whether the requirement is removed.

Seasonal work and working holiday visas
It is important to note that the hospitality industry will always be reliant on some level of a short-term, temporary workforce that is filled through the immigration system. The seasonal and events-based fluctuations in demand for workers in our industry are a perfect fit to support our immigration system in places like the Working Holiday Visa scheme, as well as supporting the broader tourism ecosystem when marketing New Zealand as a place to visit.

Currently, agreements with 20 countries¹ restrict travellers with a working holiday visa to working for an individual employer for no longer than three months. For any business, but especially hospitality businesses, three months is just enough time to onboard and train a new staff member on the systems and procedures that are unique to their workplace. Where staff are then required to move on after three months, both the employee and employer find themselves in a constant cycle of training and recruitment. Extending the maximum period to at least six months will help to ease recruitment and training costs and pressures on our businesses, while also providing security for those employees on a working holiday visa to know they aren’t required to constantly look for other work.

As an Association, we are progressing the industry-led work necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the hospitality industry. What we need from the Government to ensure this is achieved is short-term support to address our immediate pressures, and partnership to accelerate the long-term goals we are determined to achieve.

The Restaurant Association’s Immigration and Workplace Relations Industry Advisory Group meets quarterly to identify the challenges for hospitality in our immigration system, and develop solutions to these challenges – including the ongoing development of our industry accreditation scheme HospoCred. A key priority for this advisory group is the balancing of the Government’s objectives for immigration policy with the needs of businesses and employers in our sector, and I would be happy to facilitate an opportunity for you to meet with the group and hear from hospitality business owners first-hand how they see a future immigration system working for New Zealand.

I trust this briefing on the hospitality industry’s priorities for immigration is helpful, and would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you to discuss these priorities and how the Restaurant Association can work with you to support the ongoing work of improving our immigration system. My team is able to assist with scheduling a meeting at a time and location that is most convenient for you – I am often in Wellington and able to visit you at Parliament, or would love to host you at our head office in Auckland.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if I can be of any assistance in the meantime, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Ngā mihi nui,

1 Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Hong Kong, Israel, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam

Marisa Bidois
Chief Executive
Restaurant Association of New Zealand

📢 Major updates to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) as of April 7, 2024! Below is a summary of the changes.

• Employers must now meet enhanced requirements for accreditation, Job Check stages, and during the accreditation period. Ensure your migrant employees are suitably skilled and qualified!
• A new minimum of 30 hours of employment per week is mandatory for AEWVs, and employers need to report any early employment terminations to INZ.
• For those seeking an AEWV, the path has evolved with heightened work experience and qualification demands, particularly for ANZSCO skill levels 4 and 5 roles, alongside specific English proficiency requirements.
• Visa lengths and maximum stays have been adjusted: ANZSCO level 4 and 5 job holders may face shorter durations in NZ, impacting their potential pathway to residence.
• Employers filling ANZSCO level 4 and 5 roles have new advertising and engagement requirements with Work and Income, ensuring a fair chance for New Zealanders.

This is just a summary of the changes with full details available here

As we await the final outcome of the upcoming election, one thing has already been confirmed: New Zealand is on the brink of a change in government. With National and Act poised to form a coalition, there will be some significant shifts in policy. What will the changes mean for the hospitality industry?

National’s 100-Day Action Plan, unveiled prior to the election, outlines a series of key priorities for the new government. Here’s a look at how some of the priorities that affect small business owners in the hospitality sector:

• Repealing “Fair Pay” (FPA) Legislation: National have stated that they aim to repeal Labour’s “Fair Pay” legislation, with the hospitality FPA currently scheduled to start bargaining shortly.
• Reinstating 90-Day Trial Periods: National will introduce legislation to restore 90-day trial periods for businesses of all sizes.
• Fuel Tax Relief: National aims to remove the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, which currently adds 11.5 cents per litre to petrol costs or $7.70 for a full tank.
• Cancelling Planned Fuel Tax Hikes: Additionally, they plan to cancel Labour’s proposed fuel tax hikes, which would have added another 12 cents per litre or an extra $8 for a full tank.
• Discontinuation of Income Insurance Scheme: National intends to halt any work on Labour’s Income Insurance Scheme.
• Safety and security focus: National plans to introduce legislation to ban gang patches and prevent gang members from gathering in public
• Te Pūkenga Merger Reversal: National intends to disestablish Te Pūkenga and return decision-making power to local authorities, which will have an impact on industry training programmes and workforce development in hospitality.

Additionally, National has unveiled their Tourism Plan, outlining the ways they intend to bolster New Zealand’s tourism industry. While this plan may not specify hospitality-focused priorities, it contains elements that could benefit our sector. The Association supports the priority to ensure we can get access to the staff we need so we can continue to operate and deliver visitors the world-class experiences and hospitality New Zealand is known for. Their immigration support will include:

• Priority Visa Processing: National plans to introduce a priority immigration processing service, which will expedite visa applications for migrants and businesses in need of quick staff recruitment.
• Flexible Wage Requirements: They will eliminate the median wage requirement, allowing businesses in sectors like tourism to attract staff at wages that reflect their skills and experience.
• Increasing age limit for Working Holiday Visas (WHV): National will increasing the upper age limit to apply for a Working Holiday Visa to New Zealand from 30 to 35 for eligible countries.
• Multiple WHV Applications: People from eligible countries working in areas with labour shortages, such as hospitality and tourism, will be allowed to apply for a second or third Working Holiday Visa.

In the coming weeks, we will be briefing incoming Government Ministers on the critical role that the hospitality industry plays in New Zealand’s economy and educating them on our value and our current challenges, as we’ve outlined in our Election Manifesto. We will discuss what you have communicated to us are your key priorities We will keep you informed on how the plans are progressing and conversations we are having with Ministers and provide you with any guidance needed to adapt to new policies and opportunities that may arise under the new government