SR7.10 Acceptable employment in a Transport Sector role (20/04/2026)

1. Acceptable employment in a Transport Sector occupation is employment where the immigration officer is satisfied that:
   1. the principal applicant holds current employment or an offer of employment for one of the following occupations and meets the requirements for that occupation as specified in the table below:

      Transport Sector occupation and ANZSCO code	Transport Sector Requirements
      Ship's Master (231213)	Must be paid at the least the median wage ($35.00), and either hold: the Skipper Restricted Limits Certificate of Competency (CoC) with 500GT or 3000GT endorsement; or a Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Certificate of Competency (CoC) that entitles the holder to perform the duties of a Ship's Master on a vessel that is 500 gross tonnes or more (as recognised by Maritime New Zealand).
      Deck Hand (899211)	Must be paid at the least the median wage ($35.00), and either hold a: Qualified Deck Crew Certificate of Proficiency (CoP); or Deck Watch Rating (DWR) Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) that entitles the holder to perform the duties of Deck Hand (as recognised by Maritime New Zealand). Notes: -The median wage rate of $35.00 for SR7.10 reflects the June 2025 quarter publication of median wage data by Statistics New Zealand. -The licencing and qualifications requirements specified above are not required to begin accruing the required 24 months of work in New Zealand (see SR7.15).

   2. the employment or offer of employment is with an employer who is accredited at the time of the application (whose accreditation is not suspended); and
   3. the employment is full-time (employment is full-time if it amounts to at least 30 guaranteed hours per week for every week worked); an
   4. the employment is permanent or for a fixed term of at least 12 months from when the application is made; and
   5. the employment is genuine and is not offered as a result of payment (see SR2.1.5).
2. Despite (a)(i) above, acceptable employment also includes current employment in an acceptable occupation that was previously listed above, and the applicant has completed 24 months of work in New Zealand in that occupation or occupations in accordance with SR7.15(i).
3. For roles that do not require occupational registration, an immigration officer may be required to assess whether the employment is substantially consistent with the ANZSCO ‘Occupation’ (6-digit) level description for that occupation and with the tasks listed at the ANZSCO ‘Unit Group’ (4-digit) level description for that occupational group, excluding any tasks which are not relevant to the ‘Occupation’ description (see SR5.10).

Note: To be considered a substantial match to an occupation, the tasks that are relevant to the applicant’s employment must comprise most of that role.

Effective 20/04/2026