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Changes To NZ Labour Market Skills: Over And Under Supply Lists

Changes To NZ Labour Market Skills

The New Zealand Government and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) have created lists of occupations and regions facing clear over-or under-supply of New Zealanders.

The lists are continuously updated to ensure that the oversupply and undersupply occupations are aligned to the changes in labour market conditions. In pursuance of this policy, from 16 April 2021Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will use the updated lists to assess Essential Skills Work Visa applications paid below the median wage.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant and evolving impact on migration flow and the labour market in New Zealand.

With the new changes, INZ has stated clearly that employment opportunities are to be offered to as many New Zealanders as possible.

The overseas workers may be allowed work visas where they can demonstrate that there is a genuine labour shortage. As per the already laid down policy, INZ asks New Zealand employers to list job vacancies with Work and Income to determine whether local workers can fill the role first. If that’s not possible, a Skills Match Report (SMR) is accepted in support of a work visa application.

After considering various factors, INZ has introduced changes to the requirement for an SMR for occupations on a Labour Supply List.

Labour Market List

The MSD has come up with the occupations lists and regions where there is an obvious oversupply or undersupply of New Zealanders who are available to work in those specific occupations to make it easier for employers to find the information relevant to their business.

From 16 April 2021, Immigration New Zealand will use the updated lists to assess Essential Skills work visa applications that are paid below the median wage.

Additional jobs are being added to the undersupply lists in various regions, which implies that SMR will not be required with work visa applications that are paid below the median wage. Employers will still need to advertise their job vacancies and demonstrate they have made genuine attempts to attract and recruit suitable New Zealanders.

Whereas no such improvisations are incorporated for the oversupply lists for any region. In fact, several roles are being removed from the list, and the employers will need to provide an SMR for roles paid below the median wage unless the role is on the undersupply list.

Other changes include adding the ANZSCO codes for each role to improve consistency and simplifying the steps for checking whether an employer needs an SMR.

If you have any questions or require information regarding your situation, contact Immigration Advisers New Zealand Ltd at [email protected] or call on +64 09 3790219.

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Vandana Rai

(LIA 201400900)
Director

Vandana Rai is a Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser and has built a reputation around her rare set of skills, which could be considered ideal for her legal profession.

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