Waikato Business News | December 1, 2023

10 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS
DECEMBER 2023
End of year immigration
update for employers
Advertorial
St Peter’s school
changes backed
Employers employing migrant
workers were required to be
accredited by Immigration New
Zealand from July 2022. Once
accredited, an employer must then
obtain a Job Check approval, before
the worker can apply for an accredited
employer work visa (AEWV).
Since this new regime began, now 16
months ago, there have been 31,000
employer accreditation applications,
49,000 Job Check applications
covering 230,000 jobs, and 94,000
AEWVs have been approved. The
processing of all these applications
had been going very (too?) smoothly
until a few months ago when a
number of significant incidences of
migrant exploitation surfaced. Many
workers paid large amounts of money,
sometimes as much as $50,000, to
obtain their New Zealand job and
work visa, only to find on their arrival
in New Zealand that there was no
job, or the job was not what they had
signed up for, or that suddenly the
work had dried up.
Immigration NZ has now changed the
rules. The process of accreditation,
Job Check and AEWV was previously
able to be completed within 4-6
weeks. This process can now take
3 months or more. INZ is also now,
finally, undertaking appropriate
verification and checking of all
applications to ensure these are
credible, and supported by suitable
evidence. In other policy changes 90-
day trial periods are no longer allowed
within migrant workers employment
agreements, and AEWVs will now
(normally) be issued for a 5-year
duration. The minimum payrate for an
AEWV to be approved is $29.66 per
hour (the median payrate) but lower
rates can apply for some roles where
there is a sector agreement (eg; care
workforce, hospitality). The previous
Government has signalled that this
median pay would increase to $31.61
per hour in February next year – it
will be interesting to see if the new
National led Government ratifies this
increase or cancels/defers it due to
the cost to employers.
Much of the migrant exploitation is
understood to be associated with
third-party/labour hire employers,
and within the construction sector,
and INZ is tightening policies for
these employers to require evidence
of financial viability, and that their
workforce comprises at least 35% of
New Zealand workers.
INZ is also currently undertaking
audits of (around 16% of) accredited
employers to check they have been
compliant with their accreditation
obligations - including maintenance
of time and wage records, and
completion of settlement information
and Employment NZ modules.
Currently 1,600 employer audits have
been completed with another 1,200
underway. Some 1,500 complaints
have been made against accredited
employers, and 103 employers have
had their accreditation revoked
(many due to business liquidations),
and 23 have had their accreditation
suspended. Accredited employers
should revisit their original
accreditation application to ensure
they are aware of, and up to date with,
their obligations.
INZ is continuing to review the Green
List which lists those roles, and the
credentials required, for in-demand
roles that enable either a straight-toresidence
application or a residence
application to be made after working
in the role for 2 years. Another 17
roles will be added to the Green List
in March 2023 including Corrections
Officer, welder, fitter, metal fabricator
and panel beater, among others.
Congratulations to Hon Erica Stanford,
the new Minister of Immigration. It
is reassuring to now have a minister
who is so passionate, knowledgeable
and capable in dealing with the
immigration portfolio.
For any immigration matter please do
not hesitate to contact the friendly
Pathways team.
By Mary Anne Gill
St Peter’s Head of School Marcus Blackburn in his office.
A
restructure of its admissions,
international and marketing offices
into one directorate will help
maximise the potential of St Peter’s School,
says its Head of School Marcus Blackburn.
He made the comment in response to
rumours circulating in the community
that the school was undertaking a series of
redundancies. The News was contacted by
several sources suggesting there were as
many as 12-13 people involved.
Blackburn, who started at the school
earlier this year following the controversial
resignation of his predecessor Dale Burden
in May 2021 amid an investigation into
bullying, denied the rumours.
“It is disappointing to hear (the gossip),”
he said.
“The whole concept of getting rid of people
is regrettable.”
Restructuring was happening in three
departments – admissions, international
and marketing - which currently operate out
of two separate offices enrolling students
into the school.
One is for overseas students and the other
for day and boarding. Bringing marketing in
would clarify what St Peter’s was all about,
said Blackburn.
Staff numbers would go from 10 to seven,
with deployment elsewhere in the school
being actively pursued for “those staff who
wish to remain members of the St Peter’s
team.”
Recruitment is underway for the new
role of Admissions and Marketing head,
who will coordinate all three functions. The
merger made sense and would provide a
key operation and function for the school,
he said.
“We will expect there will be great
collaboration across that team.”
Other staff resigning across the school
and changes to the school’s sport academies
probably led to the rumours.
“I feel as a leader I’m coming in to facilitate
the things we need to do to maximise the
potential of the school.”
The school is piloting a programme next
year from years seven to 10 next year which
would bring sport into the timetable as a
double period every week, in addition to
before and after school.
Sport is currently an elective subject with
some students feeling they could not afford
to do sport so they could preserve their
academic options.
“I care about equity. I want our most
experienced expert sports staff supporting
students across the age levels and at all
Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
teams. If your sport only happens after
school, those staff members have to choose
which teams they work with.”
Blackburn, a former regional development
officer for the Welsh Rugby Union and
the Singapore national rugby sevens coach,
worked under a similar successful system
when he was at Scots College in Sydney from
2009-2015.
Performing arts is another area under
review following the resignation of the
current Director of Performing Arts. The
process around recruiting to that position
had not started yet.
“I’m really confident in their (the staff)
capacity to keep that engine going.
“I really value co-curricular activities at
school,” he said.
It was something he developed during
his time as Assistant Head (Co-curricular)
at Hereford Cathedral School in the United
Kingdom from 2015-2018.
From 2020 to 2022 in Adelaide Blackburn
was deputy headmaster and Head of Senior
School at St Peter’s College – a boys only
Anglican boarding and day school of 1500
students.
St Peter’s in Cambridge has a roll of 1200.
He, wife Tara and sons Jack, 20, and Rory,
17, moved to Cambridge earlier this year.
Tara is a primary school teacher and an
Irish dance teacher.
The first part of the year was one of getting
to know the school and the community,
speaking to people on sport sidelines, being
at events and meeting with Year 13 learning
groups to learn about their experience at St
Peter’s.
“Culture is just integral. I made that
real commitment to the community -
whakawhanaungatanga, to get to know the
people and the place and the rituals, the
tikanga.”
“Failing to do that would have been
missing a real opportunity.”
He coached the St Peter’s under 15 girls’
rugby team and supported a basketball
team.
Using his rugby sevens experience – he
wrote a book 10 years ago called Coaching
Rugby Sevens – he will take charge of the
Hautapu club sevens team.
“I’ve come in as a leader. I do believe that
schools require leaders that pay attention
to school as a workplace and not just a
place for young people to come to learn. I’m
committed to do that. I am here to balance
that support of our staff at the same time as
trying to inspire their performance,” said
Blackburn.