Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced that an extra 12,000 working holiday makers will be able to enter the country as part of a raft of changes to address labour shortages.
The changes include extending the working holiday visas of workers already in the country and a "one-off" doubling of capped visa numbers under the Working Holiday Scheme.
New sector agreements will also grant exemptions to the Government's new median wage thresholds - allowing "crucial sectors" to pay workers less while new rules come into force.
The Government has bowed to pressure over labour shortages. (Source: 1News)
Wood announced the changes to immigration settings at Sky City in Auckland on Sunday afternoon. He said the Government had listened to the concerns raised by businesses.
“We have listened to the concerns of these sectors, and worked with them to take practicable steps to unlock additional labour," the Immigration Minister said.
New sector agreements have been struck with the meat processing, seafood, aged care, construction, and seasonal snow tourism industries.
"These measures are about providing immediate relief to those businesses hardest hit by the global worker shortage."
The agreements would keep immigration wage requirements for the industries "more in line with those under the old immigration settings" prior to the Government's "immigration rebalance".
Wood said each agreement would be monitored and inform decisions about future access to migrants below set-wage thresholds.
READ MORE: Major reforms to NZ immigration settings announced
He said the changes to working holiday maker visas would relieve pressure on the hospitality and tourism sectors who relied on overseas labour.
"Workforce challenges are being seen across skill levels and sectors. New Zealand is not alone in this, with countries around the world reporting similar issues," he said.
“Since our borders have fully reopened we are seeing the return of working holiday makers with approximately 4,000 already in the country and over 21,000 have had their application to work here approved."
READ MORE: NZ's failure to attract migrants hurting Covid recovery - National
The changes would mean visas of working holiday makers already in New Zealand will be extended by six months if they expire between August 26, 2022 and May 31, 2023.
Meanwhile, more flexibility will also be available for those who previously held a working holiday visa but didn't travel due to Covid-19. New visas will be issued to people from October, allowing them to enter New Zealand by January 31 next year. This visa will allow them to be in the country for 12 months.
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