NZ Immigration News: The Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act 2023, set to come into effect on 6 January 2024, introduces changes across the Employment Relations Act, Immigration Act, and Companies Act to combat migrant exploitation.
Three new immigration infringement offences are introduced in Immigration Act mentioned in the latest NZ Immigration News:
- Requiring employers to provide employment-related documentation within 10 working days of it being requested by an immigration officer.
- Introducing 3 new immigration infringement offences. These are:
- allowing a person who is not entitled under the Immigration Act to work in the employer’s service to do that work.
- employing a person in a manner that is inconsistent with a work-related condition of that person’s visa.
- failing to comply with a requirement to supply documents within 10 working days.
- Enabling the Chief Executive of MBIE to publish the names of employers who offend against the Immigration Act.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will not begin issuing infringement notices until changes to the immigration regulations are made to prescribe the form of the infringement notice. This is subject to decisions by the new government.
Employers are already required to only employ people who hold a valid visa and in line with those visa conditions, as well as provide documents as part of post-decision checks under the Accredited Employer scheme.
MBIE will not start publishing the names of non-compliant employers immediately on 6 January 2024, as this power is intended to support the publication of an immigration stand-down list. The offences that will lead to a stand-down and the formula for calculating a stand-down period are still to be approved by the government.
Full NZ immigration news can be checked on the official immigration website.
Read in Punjabi: Click NZ Immigration News