Sector agreements are arrangements between Immigration NZ and specific industries that modify the standard AEWV settings for roles where the normal requirements don't fit. The most common modification is the wage threshold: the standard AEWV requires Skill Level 1–3 roles to be paid at or above the median wage, but some sectors have genuine, persistent shortages in roles that are structurally paid below that threshold. Without a sector agreement, those employers couldn't hire migrant workers at all — the wage requirement would simply exclude them.
The result is a set of industry-specific frameworks with their own eligibility criteria, employer obligations, and sometimes their own residence or continuity provisions. Sector agreements don't remove visa requirements; they adjust specific parameters within them.
The Care and Support Worker Pathway
The care and support sector has one of the most significant sector agreements in the New Zealand immigration system. Residential aged care, disability support, and home and community care providers employ large numbers of workers — healthcare assistants, support workers, caregivers — in roles that are structurally paid significantly below the median wage. The nature of the sector (primarily government-funded, with wage rates set through Care and Support Worker pay equity settlements) means employers have limited ability to simply pay more to meet standard AEWV thresholds.
The sector agreement allows accredited care and support employers to hire migrant workers at the wage rates that apply in the sector, rather than at the median wage. Workers employed under this agreement must be employed by an accredited care employer, in a qualifying care and support role, and must meet the standard health and character requirements for any visa. The employer must be accredited through INZ and comply with sector-specific obligations including training and development commitments.
Care workers employed under this pathway can build toward residence through the standard AEWV-to-residence route. The care sector is also one of the areas where sector pathway provisions have been created to support longer-term settlement — the specifics of any current pathway provisions should be confirmed with INZ or an immigration adviser, as these have evolved with policy changes.
If you're a care worker or a care employer, see the care and support worker visa page for the specific current settings.
The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme
The RSE scheme is a distinct programme that sits alongside but separately from the AEWV system. It's specifically designed for seasonal labour in horticulture and viticulture — fruit picking, grape harvesting, orchard work, and related seasonal activities. RSE employers recruit workers from Pacific Island nations including Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu (among others) under government-to-government arrangements.
The RSE scheme operates differently from standard work visas in several important ways:
Workers come for a defined seasonal period — typically up to seven months in a 11-month period — and return home at the end of the season. The scheme is explicitly circular: it's designed to provide income for Pacific workers and their communities while meeting New Zealand's seasonal labour demand, not as a pathway to permanent residence.
Employers must hold RSE accreditation (separate from AEWV accreditation), meet obligations around worker accommodation, pastoral care, and return travel, and work through approved recruiting agents in the source countries. The RSE scheme involves government oversight from both New Zealand and the sending countries.
The wage rate under RSE is not exempt from New Zealand minimum wage requirements — workers must be paid at least minimum wage — but the scheme doesn't apply the median wage threshold in the same way as the AEWV. Piece-rate arrangements (payment per bin or per kilogram) are common in RSE employment, and the scheme has its own rules around how these are calculated against minimum wage guarantees.
Construction Sector Provisions
The construction sector has had specific arrangements recognising persistent shortages in certain trades. The details of what's available depend on the specific occupation and whether it falls under a formal sector agreement or is accessed through the standard AEWV with role-specific provisions.
Trades that appear on the Green List (see Green List occupations) have their own enhanced settings — direct residence for some, work-to-residence pathways for others. Trades not on the Green List are accessed through the standard AEWV, with the Job Check process confirming the employer's need and the wage meeting the applicable threshold.
Construction employers hiring for shortage trades should check whether the specific role falls under any current sector arrangement, what the applicable wage threshold is, and whether the occupation's Green List status changes the pathway available. The trade skills assessment process (through Trades Recognition Aotearoa or equivalent) may be required for some tradespeople seeking recognition of overseas qualifications.
Meat Processing Sector
The meat processing sector has provisions for workers in roles that the sector faces difficulty filling domestically. Processing plants — particularly in regional areas — employ workers in physical, repetitive roles at wage levels that, while above minimum wage, can be below or at the lower end of the median wage range.
Sector-specific provisions in meat processing allow employers to hire workers for defined processing roles at the applicable wage rates for those roles, rather than requiring the median wage. As with other sector agreements, this doesn't waive health, character, or documentation requirements — it adjusts the wage threshold for qualifying roles.
Workers in meat processing should understand that the residence pathway from these roles is less straightforward than from Green List occupations. A longer tenure on work visas and qualification through the Skilled Migrant Category (based on wage, qualifications, and New Zealand work experience over time) is the typical route to residence from processing roles.
Dairy and Agricultural Sector
Agriculture, and dairy farming in particular, has provisions for migrant workers in roles where the sector faces genuine shortages. Dairy farming involves year-round shift work in physically demanding conditions, in regions where domestic labour supply is limited. The agricultural sector agreement allows accredited farming employers to hire workers for defined agricultural roles under modified wage threshold settings.
The RSE scheme and the agricultural sector agreement are separate: RSE is for seasonal Pacific workers in horticulture and viticulture specifically, while the agricultural sector agreement covers ongoing roles in dairy and other farming. An experienced dairy farm worker employed under the agricultural sector agreement on an AEWV can work toward residence through the standard pathways, with farming experience recognised in the points system.
For more detail on agricultural and farming visa pathways, see agricultural and farming visas.
What Sector Agreements Don't Change
Sector agreements adjust specific parameters — mainly wage thresholds and sometimes some procedural steps — but they don't change the fundamental framework:
Employer accreditation is still required. All AEWV employers must be accredited through INZ. Sector agreement employers typically need to meet additional sector-specific obligations on top of the standard accreditation requirements.
The Job Check process still applies. Before hiring a migrant worker through the AEWV (including sector agreement pathways), employers must have a Job Check approved confirming the role and the need to hire a migrant.
Health and character requirements are the same. Workers hired through sector agreements must still meet the standard health and character requirements for any visa.
Visa conditions still apply. Workers are still subject to visa conditions — they can only work for the named employer in the approved role. Moving to a different employer or role requires a new visa (or variation of conditions if available).
Agreements can change. Sector agreements are policy instruments, not legislation. They can be modified, expanded, or withdrawn as government policy changes. Anyone planning long-term on the basis of a sector agreement should be aware that the terms are not permanently fixed.
Finding Out if a Sector Agreement Applies
The current list of active sector agreements and their specific provisions is maintained on the INZ website. Because agreements are periodically updated, check the current state of any agreement rather than relying on older information. If you're an employer in a sector that you believe has persistent shortages but no current agreement, industry bodies sometimes advocate for new agreements — though this is a longer-term process.
If you're a worker considering whether a sector agreement applies to your role, the most practical step is to check with a prospective employer whether they're using sector agreement provisions and what specific AEWV settings apply to the role they're offering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a sector agreement automatically apply to every role in a covered industry?
No. Sector agreements typically specify which occupations or role types are covered. Not every job in the aged care sector, for example, is covered — the agreement applies to defined care and support roles, not to administrative, management, or clinical roles that are assessed under different visa settings.
If my wage is below the median under a sector agreement, do I still have a pathway to residence?
Yes, but it may be less direct. Some sector agreements include specific pathway provisions; others don't, leaving you reliant on standard residence pathways. The Skilled Migrant Category uses wage as a points factor, and being paid below the median affects your SMC points score. Some workers in sector agreement roles build toward residence through the Green List if their occupation qualifies, or through long-term New Zealand work experience combined with other qualifications and attributes.
Can I change employers while on a sector agreement AEWV?
Changing employers requires a new visa application or variation of conditions. If you move to a new employer in the same sector using the same sector agreement provisions, you would typically need a new AEWV supported by the new employer's accreditation and a new Job Check. You cannot simply transfer your existing visa to a new employer.
Is the RSE scheme a pathway to residence?
No. The RSE scheme is explicitly designed as a temporary, circular programme. RSE workers come for a season and return home. There is no residence pathway built into the RSE scheme. Some people who have worked in New Zealand through RSE and later want to migrate permanently would need to pursue entirely separate residence pathways, typically requiring a job offer and meeting AEWV or Green List criteria as an independent applicant.
Working in a sector with specific immigration provisions? Find a licensed immigration adviser who can explain how sector agreements affect your specific situation.