WK3.5 Acceptable employment (28/08/2017)

1. To grant an Essential Skills work visa, an immigration officer must be satisfied that:
   1. the offer of employment meets the requirements set out at W2.2.10; and
   2. the employment offered is genuine, sustainable and full-time for the duration of the employment period specified in the employment agreement; and
   3. payment is by wages, or salary; and
   4. the rate of pay is not less than the market rate for New Zealand workers in that occupation (regardless of whether the occupation is on one of the Essential Skills in Demand Lists); and
2. An immigration officer will assess the employment offered to determine the skill-band of that employment (WK3.5.1) based on the remuneration and the skill level of the occupation as set out in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
3. Applications for visas under Essential Skills instructions for self-employment must be declined.
4. Applications for visas under Essential Skills instructions related to planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries must be declined.

   Note: Applications for work visas to plant, maintain, harvest or pack crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries must be made under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Instructions (see WH1) or the Supplementary Seasonal Employment Instructions (see WH3).

WK3.5.1 Determining the skill-band of employment

1. Employment will be assessed as higher-skilled where the remuneration offered is greater than $35.24 per hour, regardless of the ANZSCO occupation.
2. Employment will be assessed as mid-skilled where:
   1. the remuneration offered is between $19.97 per hour and $35.24 per hour (inclusive); and
   2. the employment substantially matches the description for a skill level 1, 2 or 3 occupation as set out in the ANZSCO.
3. Employment will be assessed as lower-skilled where:
   1. the remuneration offered is less than $19.97 per hour, regardless of the ANZSCO occupation; or
   2. the remuneration offered is less than $35.24 per hour and the employment substantially matches the description for a skill level 4 or 5 occupation as set out in the ANZSCO.

WK3.5.5 Calculating remuneration

1. Remuneration will be calculated on the basis of payment per hour.
2. Remuneration will be calculated according to the hours of work stated in the employment agreement.
3. If the employment agreement specifies payment by salary, the payment per hour will be calculated by dividing the annual salary by 52 weeks, followed by the number of hours that will be worked each week.
4. If the employment agreement specifies payment other than by hour (including payment by salary), and the hours of work are variable, an immigration officer may request evidence of the range of hours to be worked in order to calculate the remuneration and determine the skill-band of the employment.
5. Hours of work per week will be considered variable where the employment agreement contains a provision allowing the employer to request or require the employee to work additional hours from time to time.
6. Where evidence of the range of hours is provided in terms of (e) above or where the employment agreement specifies a range of hours, the maximum hours will be used to calculate the remuneration.
7. Each hour of work must be paid above the remuneration threshold for a particular skill-band, for employment to be assessed as within that skill-band.
8. For the purposes of WK3.5.5, remuneration includes:
   1. the agreed value of any reasonable deduction from the applicant’s salary or wages for goods or services; and
   2. in the case of accommodation provided in connection to the employment:
      • the agreed value of any reasonable deduction from the applicant’s salary or wages for that accommodation; or
      • if accommodation is provided by the employer, and there is no deduction from the applicant’s salary or wages for that accommodation, the market rental value of the accommodation provided; or
      • if an accommodation allowance is provided, the amount of that allowance.

        Note: In relation to WK3.5.5(h)(ii) above, the meaning of accommodation, and the value of accommodation that is included in the definition of ‘remuneration’, reflects the definition of accommodation and the value of accommodation that forms part of a person’s income under section CE 1 of the Income Tax Act 2007.

9. For the purposes of WK3.5.5, remuneration excludes other employment-related allowances (for example tool, or uniform allowances), and bonuses which are dependent on performance.
10. The remuneration requirements set out in WK3.5.1 will be updated in November each year based on New Zealand income data.

WK3.5.10 Assessment that employment substantially matches an ANZSCO occupation

1. When assessing whether an offer of employment substantially matches a particular occupation in the ANZSCO, an immigration officer must be satisfied that the applicant’s duties and responsibilities match the description of that occupation as set out in the ANZSCO.
2. Where related occupations are described by the same task list in the ANZSCO, an immigration officer may disregard tasks not relevant to the occupation that most closely matches that of the applicant.

Effective date 28/08/2017