Before you apply for a Job Check

Before you can apply for a Job Check gather this information and documents about the job. You may need to advertise the job and engage with Work and Income.

How to apply for a Job Check

Before you apply for a Job Check

Before you start an application you need to have:

  • the right level of accreditation for the jobs you want to fill
  • the job title and location of the work
  • prepared an acceptable job offer, job description and a draft employment agreement
  • the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code and skill level that best matches the job you are offering
  • advertised the job, unless your job is exempt
  • engaged with Work and Income if it is ANZSCO level 4 or 5.

Check the accreditation levels.

How to apply for AEWV employer accreditation

Find out how to find a job's ANZSCO code and skill level.

Check the ANZSCO list

Alert

Choose a accurate ANZSCO code for the job. We will not give you more time to advertise a role or engage with Work and Income if you apply for a Job Check for an ANZSCO level 1, 2 or 3 role, but we assess it as being ANZSCO level 4 or 5.

Advertise the job and engage with Work and Income

Unless your role is exempt, you must have finished advertising the vacancy before you submit your Job Check application.

If the job is ANZSCO level 4 and 5 you also need to engage with Work and Income before you start a Job Check application.

You must apply for a Job Check within 90 days of your listing closing and your engagement with Work and Income ending.

Advertise a job or engage with Work and Income

Prepare an acceptable job offer

The job you offer must fulfil the requirements for an AEWV.

The job offer must:

  • be for full-time work and guarantee at least 30 hours a week
  • pay the market rate and at least NZD$29.66 an hour (the February 2023 median wage rate), unless it is on an exemption list.

Wage rate requirements for visas

AEWV roles exempt from paying the median wage

How we calculate pay rates for the AEWV

Median wage comparison calculator

Prepare an employment agreement

Prepare an unsigned draft contract or employment agreement for the job you are offering.

Employment agreements must have all the clauses required by employment law. There are some immigration specific requirements you must include.

The employment agreements must have:

  • you named as the direct employer
  • all clauses required by employment law
  • paid leave entitlements
  • deductions, benefits or allowances
  • the guaranteed hours — you must guarantee at least 30 hours each week
  • the maximum number of hours the employee may be asked to work before being paid additional overtime rates
  • the total number of hours the employee may be asked to work, including any hours paid at overtime rates
  • wages, pay range, and the overtime rate of pay (if applicable)
  • how often they will be paid (the pay period) — the pay period cannot be longer than one month
  • the terms and conditions for any travel or work that will take place at different locations, if applicable
  • an easy to understand explanation of how the employee can get help with employment relationship problems including:
  • a statement that most personal grievances must be raised within 90 days, and
  • a statement that sexual harassment personal grievances must be raised within 12 months.

The employment agreement cannot include:

  • bonding clauses
  • clauses that do not comply with employment law
  • unlawful deductions
  • a trial period.

If you apply for a Job Check and the employment agreement does not meet these requirements the application may be declined.

Creating an employment agreement — Employment New Zealand

Deductions — Employment New Zealand

You can still negotiate pay and hours with the worker, as long as the actual hours are within the range provided in your Job Check. The information you provide helps us check the guaranteed pay rate if we need to.

Use the business.govt.nz website employment agreement builder to create a draft employment agreement. The employment agreement builder will not include the immigration specific requirements.

You may need to manually add the clauses we require or remove any clauses you cannot include when hiring migrants, such as 90-day trial periods.

Employment agreement builder — business.govt.nz

Note

You are not allowed to use 90-day trial periods in employment agreements when hiring people on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). If you have a Job Check application in progress with us and it includes an employment agreement with a trial period, we will either decline it or request updated information.

The 90-day trial rule does not apply to:

  • Job Checks approved before 29 October 2023
  • migrants who already hold, or have applied for, an AEWV based on a Job Check that was approved before 29 October 2023.

Gather your documents

During your Job Check application you will need to upload:

  • a copy of an acceptable job offer
  • the draft employment agreement
  • evidence you advertised the job, if needed
  • your Work and Income Engagement Check, if you needed to engage with Work and Income about the job
  • information about the number of New Zealanders who applied for the job, and for ANZSCO level 4 or 5 jobs, the reasons they were not suitable or available.