Immigration Minister Erica Stanford proposed removing the annual cap on Pacific Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers, but Cabinet did not approve the change, according to government papers released on 5 August 2026 (RNZ Pacific).

The RSE scheme allows workers from Pacific nations to come to Aotearoa New Zealand for seasonal horticulture and viticulture work. Stanford made her case at a Cabinet committee meeting last month, arguing that scrapping the cap would reduce administration costs for RSE employers and increase the remittances workers send back to their home countries. But a decision on the cap removal was absent from the committee's decision minutes, meaning it never progressed to the full Cabinet. Stanford's office told RNZ Pacific the proposal was considered but ultimately put aside ahead of the RSE announcement.

Stanford's proposal did acknowledge potential downsides. Her office argued a cap-free scheme would lead to a manageable increase in worker numbers, though it noted the change could see RSE workers take jobs that might otherwise go to New Zealand workers. The proposal itself read: "On balance, I consider this risk low and able to be mitigated." It said officials would monitor RSE volumes with regular reporting and could reinstate the cap if needed (RNZ Pacific).

The cap has not been a binding constraint in recent years. According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's 2026 RSE scheme policy review, published on 4 August, the cap has not been reached for the last three seasons. The cap has grown from 5,000 in 2007 to 20,750 today (MBIE). The current level of 20,750 was set when the cap was raised from 19,500 for the 2024/25 season as part of the National-ACT coalition agreement, and that level remains in place.

The Government's announced RSE scheme changes, released on 28 July 2026, did not include cap removal. Instead, the package covers recruitment processes, cost recovery arrangements, accreditation and compliance settings, and pastoral care (Beehive; Immigration NZ). The cap was increased by 1,550 places for the current year. Weekly accommodation rent caps were set between NZ$150 and NZ$211 per week per person, with employers only allowed to recover the actual cost (RNZ Pacific).

Stanford said the RSE changes recognise the important role the scheme plays while responding to clear feedback (Beehive). She had earlier signalled a work programme set to launch in 2026 (PMN).

The political backdrop is familiar. At the 2023 general election, ACT campaigned on scrapping RSE limits entirely, while National campaigned on a smaller increase. ACT agriculture spokesperson Andrew Hoggard celebrated the RSE changes in a press release, saying growers need workers in the orchard because "fruit doesn't wait around for forms to be processed" (RNZ Pacific).

The wider labour mobility environment has been unsettled. A labour expert warned in February 2026 that Pacific nations are too dependent on seasonal worker schemes (RNZ Pacific). Issues around labour mobility prompted the Samoan government to cap seasonal workers from accessing those programmes. Samoa had previously imposed a temporary ban on participation, and its government defended a hard line on misbehaving RSE workers, saying 10 workers had been sent back for reasons including theft, adultery and smoking marijuana (RNZ Pacific).

On the New Zealand side, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has reported that RSE workers are being subjected to flagrant breaches of their minimum entitlements (RNZ Pacific). Earlier, the Government had banned a group of Vanuatu seasonal workers from busking at a Motueka farmers market (RNZ).

The broader context here is that the cap removal proposal sat at the intersection of two pressures the Government has been managing. On one side, the horticulture sector wants fewer constraints on accessing Pacific labour, and the coalition agreement already moved the cap upward. On the other, MBIE's own review confirms the cap has not been reached in three years, which weakens the practical case for removal while sharpening the political question of why a minister would push to scrap a limit that is not binding. The Government's announced package, with its focus on compliance, pastoral care and accommodation settings, signals where Cabinet's comfort lies: not on removing the cap, but on tightening the framework around workers already in the scheme.

For those watching the coalition dynamics, the outcome is notable. ACT's policy position on RSE cap removal has not been adopted, even though the party could claim partial credit for the increases already delivered. Stanford's proposal suggests the minister was willing to go further than her Cabinet colleagues allowed, and the decision minutes indicate the idea was stopped at committee rather than reaching the full Cabinet table.