FICA submitted a joint submission with FOA on 11 October 2024. The Government announced changes 22 December. The changes move the needle in the right direction for a lot of employers, but it won’t go far enough for the forestry sector:
Two years of experience will still be problematic
They are not proposing to remove the English language requirement
The home country stand-down (12 months) will still apply
The government is not going to change its position on 1 to 3 above. Understandably they don’t want people entering the country and being endlessly on work VISAs with no pathway to residency. So, contractors are going to have to balance their worker capacity with a combination of NZ Workers, those on 3-year work VISA as AEWVs (with conditions 1 to 3 above) and use the existing SPWV until it is replaced by the Seasonal Work VISA that is best suited to the planting.
FICA is currently working through process with INZ (MBIE Policy team) on how to get forestry roles on the Green List. This is a long-shot but it is the only way under existing settings to retain migrant workers for more than three years and give them a pathway to residency.
