What is a Job Check?

The Job Check sits between employer accreditation and the individual visa application in the AEWV process. Where the accreditation process assesses whether an employer is a suitable sponsor of migrant workers in general, the Job Check assesses whether a specific role meets the requirements of the scheme — covering the nature of the employment, pay and conditions, how the occupation is classified, and in most cases whether the employer has genuinely tried to fill the role with a New Zealand worker first.

When INZ approves a Job Check, it issues one or more job tokens — one per approved role. Each token can be used by one migrant worker to support a visa application under the AEWV scheme. Tokens are typically valid for six months from the date of issue.

The Job Check is therefore not just an administrative hurdle. The terms approved at the Job Check stage flow through to the conditions of any work visa granted on the basis of that token, including the occupation, remuneration range, and work location.

Who needs to complete a Job Check?

Any accredited employer wishing to hire a migrant worker under the AEWV must hold an approved Job Check for the relevant role before the worker can apply for a visa. The employer’s accreditation must be current and not suspended at the time of the Job Check application — if accreditation lapses or is revoked, the Job Check application will be declined.

Employers holding Standard Accreditation can have no more than five jobs associated with them at any one time, across all AEWV pathways. Employers with High Volume Accreditation are not subject to this cap. Token management, therefore, matters for Standard Accreditation holders: applying for tokens before you are ready to support a visa application can unnecessarily tie up capacity.

Where the proposed role falls within the List of Seasonal Occupations (Appendix 19), the employer must also nominate which AEWV pathway applies — the regular AEWV, the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa, or the Peak Seasonal Visa. The requirements for each pathway differ, particularly around the labour market test and the nature of the employment.

Job Check requirements

INZ may approve a Job Check where it is satisfied that the employer continues to meet its accreditation requirements, the employment is acceptable, the labour market test has been met where required, and approval would not take a Standard Accreditation employer over the five-job cap.

Acceptable employment

The proposed role must be genuine — meaning it is not created for the purpose of obtaining a visa, the work either exists or will be required within six months of the Job Check being approved, and there is a genuine need for it to be based in New Zealand. The employer must be the direct employer of the migrant worker, though triangular employment arrangements are permitted for employers holding High Volume Accreditation – Triangular Employment.

Employment must be full-time, defined as a minimum of 30 guaranteed hours per week for every week worked. It must comply with all New Zealand employment laws, and the terms and conditions must not be less favourable than the New Zealand market, including notice periods. Employers cannot pass on recruitment costs, compulsory training costs, or equipment costs to the employee.

For roles offered under a seasonal pathway, the employment must also be genuinely seasonal — meaning it is offered during a period of peak activity for the relevant industry.

Remuneration

Pay must be at or above the adult minimum wage and must meet the market rate for the occupation. Remuneration is calculated on a per-hour basis across the pay period. The pay period cannot exceed one month. Where pay is by annual salary, the hourly rate is calculated by dividing the salary by 52 and then by the weekly hours worked.

Where hours are variable, remuneration is assessed using the maximum hours. Accommodation provided in connection with employment can be included in the remuneration calculation in defined circumstances. The calculation excludes performance-dependent pay such as commissions, piece rates, or discretionary bonuses.

The $70.00 per hour threshold (or equivalent annual salary) is also relevant: roles at or above that level are exempt from the labour market test requirement.

Occupation and skill level

INZ assesses the role against version 1.3 of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), as maintained by Statistics New Zealand. For occupations listed in Appendix 20 of the INZ Operational Manual, the National Occupation List applies instead.

The assessment is whether the proposed role is substantially consistent with the relevant occupation description at the six-digit level, and whether those tasks make up most of the role. INZ may also consider the qualifications and experience the employer requires, the remuneration offered, and the scope and scale of the employer’s organisation.

The skill level INZ assigns has significant downstream consequences. It determines whether a labour market test is required and what form it must take, whether English language requirements apply to the visa applicant, and the maximum duration of the work visa. Some ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 occupations can be treated as skill level 3 when they appear on Appendix 7, or when the employer specifies skill requirements consistent with that level — getting this assessment right before applying is worth the effort.

Labour market test

Unless an exemption applies, employers must demonstrate that they made genuine attempts to fill the role with a New Zealand worker before seeking a migrant. The three exemptions are: pay at or above the $ 70.00-per-hour threshold; roles on the Green List that meet the minimum requirements for that occupation; and Job Check applications for a Global Workforce Seasonal Visa token.

Where a labour market test is required, the employer must advertise the role on a general national job listing website (or a more suitable industry-specific platform), for at least 14 calendar days for skill level 1–3 roles, and at least 21 calendar days for skill level 4–5 roles. Advertising must close before the application is submitted and must have ended within the 90 days prior to submission.

The advertisement must include the job description, the minimum and maximum pay, guaranteed hours, location, and the minimum qualifications or experience required. Those minimum requirements must be limited to what is genuinely necessary to perform the role. Requirements that go beyond that — for example, requiring specific overseas qualifications or experience that would effectively exclude New Zealand applicants — risk the labour market test being considered not genuine.

For skill level 4 and 5 roles, there is an additional obligation to engage with Work and Income: listing the role, interviewing referred candidates in good faith, and completing that engagement within 90 days before submission. Employers applying for a Peak Seasonal Visa token can provide evidence of a Work and Income endorsement in lieu of some of these requirements.

The application process

Job Check applications are made through INZ’s online employer portal. A fee is payable for each application. Multiple roles can be included in a single application provided they share the same occupation, location, pay range, terms and conditions, and job description — and where advertising is required, the same advertising campaign.

Processing may be handled automatically where the application meets requirements on its face or assessed by an immigration officer. Officers may request additional information, and can defer a decision where the employer’s accreditation is under review. If accreditation is suspended, INZ must defer any decision to approve the Job Check until the suspension ends.

On approval, INZ issues a Job Check record specifying the occupation, remuneration range, work location, number of tokens, and the token start and expiry dates. The migrant worker can then use the token to apply for an AEWV — but only under the pathway the token was granted for, and only before the token expires.

If a Job Check is declined, the employer has 14 calendar days from the date of the decision to request reconsideration, on payment of a fee. The request is assessed by a different officer under the instructions that applied to the original application. There is no statutory right of appeal beyond this.

Common issues and how to avoid them

Advertising that does not meet the requirements is one of the most frequent reasons Job Checks are declined or returned for further information. The advertisement must accurately reflect the role and must not set requirements beyond what is genuinely necessary to perform the work. Minimum experience or qualification requirements that effectively screen out otherwise eligible New Zealand workers are a known area of risk.

ANZSCO classification disputes can alter the requirements an employer must meet, sometimes after advertising has already been completed. Where INZ assigns a different skill level from the one the employer assumed, the advertising period may turn out to have been too short, or the Work and Income engagement requirement may have been overlooked entirely. Identifying the correct ANZSCO code and skill level before advertising begins is a straightforward step that avoids this problem.

Remuneration calculations pose difficulties when hours are variable or when part of the pay package involves accommodation or deductions. The rules around what counts toward the minimum pay threshold and how it is calculated across a pay period are specific. Errors at this stage can mean the role does not meet the market rate requirement, or that the labour market test exemption does not apply when the employer assumed it would.

For employers holding Standard Accreditation, token management matters. With a five-job cap, applying for tokens across multiple roles before the employer is ready to support visa applications can constrain hiring capacity unnecessarily — tokens that expire unused count toward that cap while they are live.