Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has announced a package of practical changes to the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, including a graduated accreditation system, greater flexibility for workers to move between employers, and clearer rules on the costs employers can recover from workers.

The RSE scheme brings about 17,000 people each year from Asia and the Pacific Islands to New Zealand for seasonal horticulture and viticulture work — picking fruit, maintaining vines, and similar labour. About 200 employers participate. RNZ

Stanford said consultation on options for change is currently underway with Pacific partners and employers, and she expects to take decisions by the end of September. The changes will be introduced in stages, beginning in early 2027 through to 2029. RNZ

The graduated accreditation system will recognise employers with a good track record, creating a tiered structure rather than the current binary model where an employer is either accredited or not. Think of it like a rating system: employers who have treated workers well and followed the rules would sit at a higher tier, which could come with advantages. Workers will also have more flexibility to move between employers, a shift that addresses a long-standing tension in the scheme between employer investment in recruitment and pastoral care on one hand, and worker autonomy and vulnerability to substandard conditions on the other.

The government is working with industry and Pacific partners to update accommodation standards and strengthen pastoral care settings, including ensuring employers provide internet access. Clearer rules on the costs employers can recover from workers, covering transport, insurance and accommodation, are also among the announced changes. RNZ

RNZ reports direct quotes from Stanford but does not specify whether the remarks came via a press release, written statement, or interview.

The announcement builds on a series of incremental RSE adjustments over the past two years. In September 2024, the RSE cap was increased to 20,750 for the 2024/2025 season, up 1,250 workers, alongside the introduction of a 30-hour minimum weekly work requirement for RSE workers. Immigration NZ

Accommodation costs have been a particular flashpoint. From 18 August 2025, Recognised Seasonal Employers were permitted to increase weekly accommodation costs for workers by up to 2.5%. Immigration NZ A subsequent change introduced a new system of weekly rent for RSE worker accommodation, set to take effect from April 2026. Immigration NZ

The broader policy review underpinning these changes was conducted by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which sought feedback from industry, community and agency stakeholders and published a summary of submissions. MBIE

The broader context here is that the staging through to 2029 gives the government room to negotiate implementation details with Pacific sending-country governments, whose cooperation is essential to the scheme's legitimacy. The graduated accreditation model, in particular, will require MBIE to develop and operationalise assessment criteria for employer track records, a process that will draw on compliance data already collected through labour inspections and the accreditation regime.

The cost-recovery rules touch on one of the most contested areas of the scheme. Employers currently deduct transport, insurance and accommodation costs from worker wages, and the lack of standardisation has drawn criticism from advocacy groups and Pacific governments alike. Stanford's announcement signals movement toward greater transparency, though the specific parameters will not be settled until after the consultation period closes.

With the scheme now operating well above its pre-2024 cap and accommodation cost settings in a state of transition, the staging announced today means employers and workers will face a period of overlapping regulatory regimes. The September 2024 changes, the August 2025 accommodation cost adjustment, the April 2026 weekly rent system, and now the staged reforms beginning in early 2027 all layer onto the same scheme architecture.

The consultation Stanford referenced is running now, with decisions expected by the end of September.