1. Executive summary All people in Aotearoa New Zealand want and deserve to be treated fairly at work, live in a safe and decent home1, be able to socialise and have a support network, and have enough money to live with dignity. This applies as equally to people who have migrated to Aotearoa to work, as it does to residents and citizens. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission (the Commission) has been told the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme provides economic opportunities for migrant workers in Aotearoa. It is also meant to provide much needed labour for key sectors in this country’s economy, such as hospitality, construction and health. The Commission is raising concerns about human rights abuses affecting temporary migrant workers in the AEWV scheme. Since 2022 the scheme has offered a temporary work visa on the condition that workers are tied to a specific accredited employer.2 The scheme’s policy settings, however, are contributing to workers being exploited for profit with insufficient access to effective redress. Speaking to migrant workers and others, the Commission identified significant risks to the following human rights: 2 • the right to equality and non-discrimination • the right to just and favourable working conditions • the right to an adequate standard of living • the right to health • the right to freedom of association • the right to an effective remedy and access to justice. Additionally, the Commission identified the need for the scheme to adequately protect workers against human trafficking and modern slavery. This review is intended to give voice to the experiences of workers participating in the AEWV scheme and acknowledges the direct effect on them of the human rights risks within it. Workers and others told the Commission about: • being charged tens of thousands of dollars for fake jobs • not receiving their wages and/or wage records • living in poverty and sliding into the informal economy where they are exploited with little or no pay and long hours • living in crowded, unhealthy, unsafe housing or campgrounds • being verbally and physically assaulted • their concerns for potential human trafficking and coordinated profiting from these human rights breaches. These conditions are not what anyone wants for migrant workers living in Aotearoa. As well as bad practice and examples of exploitation, the Commission heard about good experiences which benefitted migrant workers and their employers. These examples informed the Commission’s recommendations for a better AEWV scheme in the future. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is this country’s unique statement on human rights. It provided the legitimate basis for settlement by tauiwi, and subsequently all immigration. The AEWV scheme does not appear to have meaningfully considered Te Tiriti obligations in its design or included substantive consultation with Tangata Whenua. 1 A decent home is safe, warm, dry, affordable, accessible and culturally adequate. It is supported by necessary infrastructure such as water, and accessible to key services and facilities such as education, health providers, and community. See: https://tikatangata.org.nz/human-rights-in-aotearoa/right-to-housing 2 This condition was also present in visas which the AEWV replaced. The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Human Rights Review