How we fund settlement services

We allocate settlement funding across government to support services aligned with the New Zealand Migrant Settlement and Integration Strategy (the Strategy).

How we allocate settlement funding

Immigration New Zealand works across government to determine where to allocate settlement funding. Funding is allocated to government agencies that have expertise in specific areas of migrant settlement. The settlement services may be delivered either by the government agency, or by a third-party provider.

Settlement services

Identifying settlement funding priorities

Our Strategy Inter-agency Reference Group determines settlement funding priorities and provides advice to a group of senior government officials and then to ministers. Final decisions on where funding is allocated are made by relevant ministers.

Reaching cross-agency agreement on funding priorities and service delivery involves a number of steps.

  1. We identify service and information gaps and areas of need across the 5 Strategy outcome areas, based on:
    • consultations with recent migrants and settlement sector stakeholders
    • recent trends in the Strategy’s 16 outcome indicators
    • the contribution of current settlement services to the Strategy outcomes.
  2. We identify settlement information and services needed to fill information gaps and complement existing services.
  3. We assess and prioritise proposals, based on:
    • how well they support the Strategy outcomes and indicators
    • how well they contribute to an effective mix of services
    • ensuring they do not duplicate any other government activity or service provided by other organisations
    • opportunities for collaboration and partnering
    • value for money
    • feasibility, including cost, the design and implementation plan and the agency's capacity to deliver it
    • the framework for monitoring and evaluating the contribution to the Strategy outcomes.

National migrant consultations

How we support migrants

How we measure success

Funding sources

Funding sources for migrant settlement services include:

  • Crown funding
  • The Immigration Levy
  • Accrued Migrant Levy revenue
  • Pre-purchased English language tuition (PELT).

How the funding is used

Crown funding

Crown funding supports established settlement services and access to mainstream services that migrants are eligible for, such as healthcare and education. Crown funding also helps us to provide information, tools and resources tailored to the needs of recent migrants and their employers.

Immigration Levy

The Immigration Levy supports settlement services that align with the Strategy outcomes, specifically benefit migrants and have an established evidence base. This levy was introduced in 2015 to replace the former Migrant Levy. Migrants pay this levy when applying for their visa.

There is $7.757 million Immigration Levy revenue available annually for settlement services provided across government agencies. Cabinet makes decisions on the allocation of Immigration Levy funding for settlement every 4 years.

Accrued Migrant Levy revenue

The Accrued Migrant Levy supports one-off, short-term and small-scale settlement initiatives. This levy allows us to respond to migrants’ settlement needs in the period between Cabinet considerations of longer term Immigration Levy or Crown settlement funding allocations. It is a small amount of revenue that continued to accrue in 2016/17 after the new Immigration Levy replaced the Migrant Levy in 2015. This funding is no longer continuing to accrue.

Pre-purchased English Language Tuition (PELT)

Some migrants are required to pre-purchase English language tuition before arriving in New Zealand to help them meet minimum English requirements for residence. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) is responsible for administering PELT funds. Migrants must use their PELT funds at a tertiary education organisation approved by the TEC.

Pre-purchased English Language Tuition | TEC