4. Overview and timeline of the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme In March 2020, with minor exceptions, Aotearoa New Zealand closed it borders in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. The Government announced a phased reopening in February 2022 and a full reopening occurred in July 2022 (after initially being scheduled for October 2022).9 the validity of the employer assurance is through the digital platform Advanced Digital Employerled Processing and Targeting (ADEPT) and through post-decision checks.12 The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme was introduced in 2022 with the reopening of Covid 19 related border restrictions. It brought together six work-related visas into a single visa and the scheme moved from a migrant-led to an employer-led process. Under the scheme an employer becomes accredited, advertises the roles locally to check no citizens or residents are available, and then completes a job check which includes whether the migrant is qualified and skilled for the role. Following this process a worker can apply for their visa.10 In the first half of 2023, there were growing media reports of exploitation of workers participating in the AEWV scheme. This included workers not receiving wages,13 workers paying tens of thousands of dollars as a premium for employment,14 and reports of migrants arriving in Aotearoa to non-existent jobs or dubious and early dismissals.15 There were also reports of pressure placed on family offshore to encourage workers to withdraw grievances in New Zealand,16 migrants living in garages, and migrants working in informal employment after job losses.17 The scheme is administered by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). A key feature of the policy design is a “high trust model”, whereby the employer components of accreditation were “designed to rely heavily on the declarations made by employers”.11 The main mechanism for assessing 4.1 Media reports of worker exploitation On 14 August 2023, there was a further highprofile news story regarding exploitation under the AEWV scheme with reports of workers in crowded and unsanitary living conditions without food and without work18. Later that month, it was 9 Assurance review of the operation of the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme, February 2024, Executive Summary, paragraph [2]. 10 See https://www.immigration.govt.nz/employ-migrants/new-employer-accreditation-and-work-visa/steps-to-hiring-migrantson-the-aewv 11 Ibid, paragraph [4]. 12 Ibid. 13 https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018882160/filipino-construction-workers-say-they-reowed-thousands 14 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/131621939/eating-instant-noodles-every-day-the-penniless-chinese-builders-leftdestitute-by-uncaring-employers 15 https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018894291/work-visa-scam-leaves-dozens-of-migrantsdestitute 16 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/131621939/eating-instant-noodles-every-day-the-penniless-chinese-builders-leftdestitute-by-uncaring-employers 17 https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018895071/chinese-migrant-living-in-garage-after-jobdisappears 18 https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/08/major-criminal-investigation-after-dozens-of-migrants-discoveredliving-in-squalid-auckland-home.html 9