Independent review into the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)
An independent review into the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme was announced in August 2023.
The review was led by Jenn Bestwick and looked at the appropriateness of all aspects of the employer accreditation and job check processes undertaken by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) as part of the AEWV scheme.
The objective of the review was to determine whether INZ’s administration of the scheme was being carried out appropriately, with a focus on mitigating the risk of migrant exploitation and irregular migration.
The review was published in February 2024 by Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission. It made 10 specific recommendations and 25 sub-recommendations around reducing the risk of migrant exploitation, developing an integrated compliance and system monitoring model, improving intelligence gathering and resetting the relationship between INZ’s senior leaders and frontline staff.
Review into administration of work force visa scheme released(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
MBIE accepted all the Review’s findings and recommendations, and acknowledged the serious nature of the issues that were raised in the review.
MBIE responds to review on Accredited Employer Work Visa
MBIE’s progress in addressing the review’s recommendations
MBIE has a programme of work underway to ensure a coordinated and priority response is undertaken to respond to the review’s recommendations.
We have delivered 18 sub-recommendations.
Completed recommendations
Recommendation 1(b)
Recommendation
An operational framework guiding the use of General Instructions, their duration, content, review and use.
Action
An operational framework was agreed on 26 April 2024 on how general instructions should be used in future for the manner of processing.
Recommendation 1(e)
Recommendation
Further embed appropriate and effective governance structures to provide governance oversight across the system model outlined above.
Action
Immigration system governance is in place and is operational. This will be monitored and refined as needed.
Recommendation 2(a)
Recommendation
Continue work on whether current settings are appropriate for known high-risk categories and whether the weighting of information requirements and verification activities is adequately informed by the risks observed in the Scheme to date.
Action
Risk management approaches for the 3 AEWV gateways were endorsed by the Immigration Risk and Compliance subcommittee on 28 June 2024, with operational changes having been made to better manage the immigration risk. This work is ongoing as a core part of the Immigration Risk and Border work programme.
Recommendation 2(b)
Recommendation
Introduce a priority lane and processing pathway for Green List applications.
Action
The Deputy Secretary Immigration agreed to amend the general instructions for the order of processing to prioritise the allocation of certain AEWV job check and work visa applications for processing.
Recommendation 3(a)
Recommendation
Strengthen existing and consider developing further formal feedback loops with Non-Government Organisations and community groups working with migrant communities.
Action
A range of meetings have been held with representatives from Non-Government Organisations. The work required to meet the intent of this review will need to be maintained, and will remain a focus of the dedicated programme.
Recommendation 4(b)
Recommendation
Completing the Implementation of AERMR as it was originally designed.
Action
The first year of Accredited Employer Risk Monitoring and Review (AERMR) has been completed.
Recommendation 4(d)
Recommendation
Undertaking further targeted remedial review activities as required, specifically relating to high-risk employer accreditation.
Action
A number of things have been undertaken to address this recommendation including:
- As per rec 2(a) Developing risk management approaches have been developed to inform the immigration system when making operational decisions regarding the AEWV product and how applications are assessed.
- Continuing ongoing risk monitoring and review to inform regular reviews which will allow the immigration system to better monitor whether risk is being managed appropriately and if not, what changes might be required to the agreed risk management approaches.
- Implementing pre-decision risk monitoring and review to support early risk identification and ensure it is treated appropriately at the Employer Accreditation and Job Check gateways, rather than relying solely on post-decision checks.
Recommendation 10
Recommendation
The Review further recommends that INZ provide regular reports to the Minister on its progress in addressing recommendations 1 to 9 of this review.
Action
The Minister of Immigration approved the work programme in May 2024. Monthly progress reports will be provided to the Minister.
Recommendation 1(d)
Recommendation
The development of indicators, measures, and triggers of system abuse and/or migrant exploitation to better inform INZ’s decision making and wherever possible use lead indicators to decrease reliance on lag indications.
Action
2 new dashboards have been produced which provide a retrospective view on non-compliance in AEWV. These will continue to be refined over time. This is part of wider work being completed to establish an end-to-end compliance model.
Recommendation 2(c)
Recommendation
Review the achievability of currently published processing times recognising the need to balance resourcing and risk considerations and service standard considerations.
Action
Advice has been provided to the Minister regarding the achievability of current target processing times for AEWV. Further advice is being prepared based on feedback received.
Recommendation 5
Recommendation
INZ set a clear expectation for managers to reinforce the importance of frontline staff being supported to fulfil their regulatory obligations in the exercise of their duties. This expectation should be supported by further training for managers, as well as regular audit checks in the future to ensure management practices on the ground are aligned to this.
Action
A leadership webinar was held on 24 October with leaders providing clear guidance and expectations on regulatory obligations. Work on completing regular audits of this is being developed.
Recommendation 8
Recommendation
INZ continue to develop existing and potentially new forums for staff to engage with INZ leadership could be modified/created to continue focusing of building trust and confidence in the relationship between front line staff and senior leadership.
Action
A number of deliverables have been achieved this month addressing staff engagement. These include:
- Establishing an expanded AEWV change champions network including frontline staff across the immigration system.
- Setting up an immigration System frontline representative’s forum
- Launching a new online tool to get regular, timely feedback from frontline kaimahi (staff).
Recommendation 6(a)
Recommendation
Put in place processes to ensure that ADEPT functionality and its User Manual are always consistent with standard operating procedures and implementation.
Action
A range of work has been completed to respond to this recommendation. The work completed to date includes a review which found that INZ has effective processes in place for ensuring consistency of ADEPT functionality and the User Manual and SOPs. We are creating, and will trial the use of a single document that links to the existing range of AEWV guidance so staff can more easily find the guidance they need in one location.
Recommendation 7
Recommendation
Increase Immigration Officer engagement and provide improved change management support for processes involving changes to the AEWV operating system.
Action
A change management blueprint prototype has been created. This outlines best practice for change activities that anyone undertaking initiatives involving change can use.
Recommendation 9 (a, b, c and d)
Recommendation
This recommendation advised that MBIE provide further policy advice to the Minister of Immigration that specifically includes the following 3 areas:
- Mitigating the risk of domestic job displacement through AEWV together with policy options;
- Removing the job check requirement for a new Job Check if a migrant changes employer; and
- Introducing a differential Employment Accreditation model that rewards low risk and good employer practices for employers.
Action
Work on the second phase of the AEWV review, which includes consideration of these recommendations is ongoing, with final decisions on any changes will be made by the Government.
Next steps
Work remains underway to respond to the remaining recommendations. Good progress continues to be made on completing the remaining recommendations by the end of this calendar year. The 3 recommendations will take longer as they relate to a larger piece of work being managed separately.
Last updated: 12 December 2024
