AEWV roles exempt from paying the median wage
You can pay less than the median wage for some roles when you employ a worker on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). Check our list to find out which roles this applies to.
Employment sectors and paying less than the median wage
These employment sectors have agreements or exemptions that allow them to pay less than the median wage for some roles for a limited time:
- tourism and hospitality
- the care workforce
- seafood processing (onshore)
- construction and infrastructure
- meat processing
- seasonal snow and adventure tourism
- transport
Find out more about sector agreements.
Sector agreements and hiring migrants on an AEWV
Stand-down periods for AEWV holders paid below the median wage
A stand-down period may be in place for AEWV holders paid below the median wage.
An AEWV holder paid below the median wage whose visa expires can also move onto another visa type or a new AEWV for a role paying the median wage or higher. However, any further time spent in New Zealand does not count towards their stand-down period.
Uncapped and capped sectors
Some sectors are either 'capped' or 'uncapped'. This means they may or may not have a set number of migrant workers they can hire and pay below the median wage each year.
Uncapped sectors
These are the 'uncapped' sectors:
- the care workforce
- tourism and hospitality
- construction and infrastructure
- seasonal snow and adventure tourism
- transport
Capped sectors
These are the capped sectors and the numbers of workers they can hire and pay below the median wage per year:
- Meat processing: 320 workers per year
- Seafood processing (onshore): 600 workers per year
The allocation of these caps is carried out by the Meat Industry Association (MIA) and Seafood New Zealand. MIA and Seafood New Zealand contact employers through industry channels with further information on getting a share of the cap.
You can contact MIA or Seafood New Zealand for more information about the cap.
MIA: sectoragreement@mia.co.nz
Seafood New Zealand: application@seafood.org.nz
Seafood (sea-based) sector and hiring fishing crew
Seafood (sea-based) employers also have a sector agreement letting them hire migrant workers and pay less than the median wage. But their migrant workers are hired on the Fishing Crew Work Visa and not the AEWV.
Information on the amount employers can pay, and any capped numbers of workers they can hire below the median wage per year, can be found in our fishing crew sections.