Govt announces RSE changes, accommodation an open question

By Kaya Selby of RNZ

The Government is promising stronger and clearer accommodation standards for Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) scheme workers, though a landmark court case remains undecided.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced this week that various rule changes will be phased in over the next two years, promising stronger protections for workers.

Among them, RSE workers will soon be able to apply for a migrant exploitation protection visa, allowing them to break contract and stay in the country for up to six months. Others aim to “simplify” wage deductions, while extending accreditation time for “exemplary” growers to six years.

Speaking at a Horticulture NZ industry conference, Stanford said workers will have greater flexibility to move between employers during their time in Aotearoa.

“Workers will be able to remove themselves ... and access the same protection mechanism available to temporary workers in New Zealand,” she said.

“That gives workers the same protection without compromising the core purpose of the RSE scheme.”

With those changes due for next year, Stanford told a room full of RSE employers they had yet to make decisions on accommodation – but she emphasised that bad actors would be punished.

The quality and cost of housing for RSE workers has drawn serious criticism for the scheme’s 20-year lifetime. Workers are contracted typically for six to seven months and live in housing provided by their employer.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii

Stanford said “exemplary” workers would be rewarded with six years accreditation before renewal. Those with compliance issues would have three years, and all first-time employers one year.

“When employers have demonstrated a really strong record of compliance, the system should recognise that.

“We also need to make sure that we are clear that there are consequences for those who don’t.”

Decisions on accommodation standards will be made in September, she noted.

Soapi v Pick Hawkes Bay

Since 2024, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has been reviewing the RSE scheme, attempting to strike their “triple win” objective – the industry, the workers, and their Pacific home countries.

A landmark Employment Court case from October 2025 appears to have shaped the review, framing key Pacific concerns – and problems for the industry that could arise.

Speakers at the Horticulture NZ event regarded it as an elephant in the room.

In Soapi v Pick Hawkes’ Bay Inc, three workers from the Solomon Islands claimed that their employer had made unlawful deductions from their pay, including that they had exaggerated the value of the accommodation.

As a result, they claimed, they had been paid below the minimum wage.

It was ultimately found that the employer had made a number of frivolous deductions – including the value of PPE and missing cutlery, deferred from week to week – that had not been approved by Immigration New Zealand.

On accommodation, the court held that the employer was only entitled to deduct around 5% of wages for accommodation costs – the workers claimed they had deducted as much as 15%.

Documents released to RNZ Pacific under the Official Information Act showed that in December 2023, nearly two years before the Soapi ruling, Horticulture NZ sent an email warning Stanford about “the potential consequences of any adverse findings in the case”.

Noting the accommodation cost deduction claims, advice noted that this would differ from how MBIE currently interpreted the Act. It was flagged that it would significantly increase costs on the employer side.

“If the Employment Court [EC] adopts a different interpretation ... there could be significant implications not only for the operation of the RSE scheme but also other employment arrangements where accommodation is provided such as dairy workers,” it read.

Within the next two years, MBIE had presented options for a system overhaul. A range of weekly rent caps were decided, between $150 to $211 per week per person, with employers only allowed to recover the actual cost. The new system came into effect in April 2026.

In the meantime, Pick Hawkes Bay have appealed the EC ruling, and the case was heard in the Court of Appeal on April 22 and 23. A decision had not yet been made.

Lower-cost option

During that time, documents show Stanford went against the advice of officials in removing the requirement for new RSE workers to be paid a wage 10% higher than the minimum wage.

The option was presented as a compromise between retaining the 10% rule for all RSE workers, and removing it altogether at the behest of employers.

Advice noted that RSE employers had “expressed concern” to the Government, “citing the financial impact and inequities between the wages for New Zealand and RSE workers”.

Stanford was “interested” in removing this requirement altogether, advice noted. If it were, it was recommended that it be done over time “to reduce impacts on returning workers,” for workers below the two-year experience mark, it was removed immediately.

“Research shows 54% of workers work for two-three seasons, and 22.8% for four-five seasons,” advice noted.

A man from Vanuatu works in a Hawke's Bay orchard under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. Photo / RNZ, Johnny Blades

Officials said the experience requirement “would be somewhat more complex for INZ to administer” because returning workers “would need to be identified and the different wages would need to be reflected and verified) in employment agreements”.

Within the next two years, MBIE had presented options for a system overhaul. A range of weekly rent caps were decided, between $150 to $211 per week per person, with employers only allowed to recover the actual cost.

During its term, the current Government has also increased the annual minimum cap on RSE workers by 1250, per their coalition agreement with the Act Party.

Likewise, it has brought in Timor-Leste, taken away a requirement to be screened for HIV, and enabled employers to average a 30-hour minimum weekly work requirement over four weeks.

  This story was first published on rnz.co.nz