Advertising a Job Before a Job Check
Before most Job Checks, a New Zealand employer must advertise the role on a general national job platform for 14 days (skill level 1–3) or 21 days (skill level 4–5, plus Work and Income engagement). The advertisement must state duties, pay range, guaranteed hours and minimum requirements. Get it wrong and the Job Check fails before the role is assessed.
Quick Facts
| Who advertises | The employer, before lodging the Job Check |
| Minimum period — skill level 1, 2 or 3 | 14 days |
| Minimum period — skill level 4 or 5 | 21 days, plus good-faith engagement with Work and Income |
| Where | A general, national job platform. INZ names Seek and TradeMe as examples |
| Must state | Duties · minimum and maximum pay · type of work and minimum guaranteed hours · minimum skills, experience and qualifications |
| Hours floor | At least 30 guaranteed hours a week |
| Multi-location roles | Must be advertised in each location |
| Lodge the Job Check | Within 90 days of the advertisement closing |
| Pay rule | Pay offered must match what was advertised |
| Cost of the Job Check | NZ$735, whether or not advertising was required |
Why a migrant should read an employer's advertising page
You cannot control any of this, and it can still sink your visa.
The advertising step is the most common point of failure in the whole three-step process. It is procedural, it is unforgiving, and it happens weeks before you have anything to file. An employer who advertises on the wrong platform, for thirteen days instead of fourteen, or without stating the pay range has failed the labour market test — and a failed Job Check means there is no visa application for you to make. Not delayed. Not conditional. It does not exist until the employer redoes the advertising and pays another NZ$735.
That is the reason to read this page: so you can ask the right questions early, while there is still time to fix something.
Step 1: Work out the job's skill level
Everything else follows from this. The skill level sets the advertising period and whether Work and Income engagement is required.
| Skill level | Advertising period | Work and Income engagement |
|---|---|---|
| ANZSCO skill level 1, 2 or 3 | 14 days | Not required |
| A job on the National Occupation List usable for the AEWV or the seasonal Specific Purpose Work Visa | 14 days | Not required |
| ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 | 21 days | Required — good-faith engagement |
Getting the level wrong is expensive. Applying at skill level 1–3 for a job INZ assesses as level 4–5 can lead to decline and re-application — and because the advertising period is shorter at 1–3, the advertising has usually failed too. The employer then repeats 21 days of advertising and pays the Job Check fee again.
The National Occupation List applies to Job Checks submitted on or after 3 November 2025 and was expanded on 9 March 2026 with 47 more occupations at skill levels 1 to 3. See AEWV skill levels explained and occupation skill levels explained.
Step 2: Check whether an exemption applies
Three situations remove the advertising requirement entirely:
- The job is on the Green List and meets Green List requirements
- The job pays at least NZ$70.00 an hour
- The job is on the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa job list and the hire is on that visa
An exemption removes the advertising, not the Job Check. The NZ$735 is still payable and the role is still assessed. Detail: job check advertising exemptions.
Step 3: Choose where to advertise
INZ requires a general, national job listing website or platform where New Zealand citizens and residents are likely to see and apply for the role. INZ names Seek and TradeMe as examples.
Industry-specific sites are acceptable where they are more likely to attract qualified New Zealanders than a general platform — a specialist veterinary, engineering or agricultural jobs board, for instance. The test is reach into the domestic labour market, not the employer's convenience.
What does not satisfy the requirement, on the face of the rule:
- A notice on the company's own website only
- A closed or invitation-only channel
- An overseas platform aimed at migrant candidates
- A social media post to an existing network
Multi-location work must be advertised in each location. A role split between two cities is two advertising obligations, not one.
Step 4: Write an advertisement that contains everything INZ requires
The advertisement must state all of the following. A missing element is a failed labour market test, however good the rest of the process was.
| Required element | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Job description with key tasks, duties and responsibilities | Enough detail that a New Zealander could tell whether they can do the job |
| The minimum and maximum rate of pay, or estimated actual earnings | A real range. "Competitive salary" does not satisfy this |
| The type of work and the minimum guaranteed hours | Permanent or fixed term, full or part time, and the guaranteed hours |
| Minimum skills, experience and qualifications | The genuine minimum, not an aspirational list |
Two structural rules sit alongside those:
- The job must guarantee at least 30 hours a week. A role advertised at 25 hours cannot support an AEWV.
- Pay offered must match what was advertised. An employer cannot advertise NZ$32–38 and hire at NZ$28.
That last rule is enforceable after the fact, and it is one of the few pieces of documentary protection a migrant worker actually holds. Keep a copy of the advertisement that led to your job. If what you are eventually paid does not match it, you are holding evidence — and Employment New Zealand, not INZ, is the authority on underpayment.
Requirements set too high
An advertisement that demands qualifications the job does not need is a familiar problem in this system, because it makes it easy to say no New Zealander applied. INZ assesses whether a suitable and available New Zealander could do the job, defined as a citizen or resident who is qualified or trainable, living near or able to move, with a practical way to travel, and available for full-time work in the hours needed. Inflated minimum requirements invite scrutiny of exactly that.
Step 5: Run the advertisement for the full minimum period
14 days or 21 days, in full. These are minimums, and there is no partial credit — 13 days is a failed test, not a nearly-passed one.
Practical points:
- Count from the day the advertisement goes live to the day it closes.
- Keep the listing live and unchanged for the whole period. Editing pay or requirements part-way through invites the question of what was actually advertised, and for how long.
- Record screenshots and the platform's own listing dates. The employer will need to evidence this in the Job Check.
For skill level 4 and 5 roles, the 21 days runs alongside good-faith engagement with Work and Income (MSD). Since the March 2025 changes, that engagement is declared by the employer rather than proven through direct evidence — which makes the declaration itself the compliance exposure. See the labour market test and the MSD declaration.
Step 6: Lodge the Job Check within 90 days
The Job Check must be applied for within 90 days of the job advertisement closing. After that, the advertising has to be run again from the start.
The order that works:
- Accreditation granted
- Advertise — 14 or 21 days
- Advertisement closes
- Lodge the Job Check within 90 days, for NZ$735
- Job Check approved → job tokens issued
- The migrant applies for the AEWV, from NZ$1,540
Employers who advertise while accreditation is still pending start the 90-day clock too early. It is the single most avoidable failure in the sequence. See the AEWV three-step process.
What migrants should ask, and when
Five questions, none of them rude, all of them answerable in one sentence by an employer who is actually doing this properly:
- Is the role being advertised, or is it exempt? If exempt, on what basis — Green List, pay level, or the seasonal list?
- Which platform, and for how many days? You are listening for a general national platform and 14 or 21 days.
- What skill level is the role being assessed at? It determines the advertising period, the English requirement and the maximum visa length.
- When did the advertisement close? Add 90 days. That is the outside date for lodging the Job Check.
- Can I have a copy of the advertisement? Pay offered must match what was advertised, so this is a document worth keeping.
If the answers are vague, that is information. If you are being asked for money at any point in this, that is a different problem entirely — read how to check if an employer is accredited.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you have to advertise a job before a Job Check in New Zealand?
At least 14 days for ANZSCO skill level 1, 2 or 3 roles and for National Occupation List jobs usable for the AEWV, and at least 21 days for skill level 4 or 5 roles, which also require good-faith engagement with Work and Income.
Do I have to advertise on Seek or TradeMe?
Not specifically. INZ requires a general, national job platform where New Zealanders are likely to apply, and names Seek and TradeMe as examples. Industry-specific sites are acceptable where they are more likely to attract qualified New Zealanders.
What must a job advertisement include for a Job Check?
The job description with key tasks, duties and responsibilities; the minimum and maximum rate of pay or estimated actual earnings; the type of work and minimum guaranteed hours; and the minimum skills, experience and qualifications. The job must guarantee at least 30 hours a week.
Can an employer pay less than the advertised rate?
No. Pay offered must match what was advertised. Keeping a copy of the advertisement is the simplest protection a migrant worker has, and underpayment is an Employment New Zealand matter as well as an immigration one.
What happens if the advertising period was too short?
The labour market test fails and the Job Check is declined. The employer must advertise again for the full period and lodge a new Job Check at NZ$735. Reconsideration at NZ$250 does not fix a factual shortfall in the advertising.
Does an employer have to advertise in every location?
Yes, where the work is in more than one location. Multi-location work must be advertised in each location.
How soon after advertising must the Job Check be lodged?
Within 90 days of the advertisement closing. Advertising before accreditation is granted starts that clock early and is a common reason employers have to repeat the whole exercise.
General information only. This page explains published Immigration New Zealand requirements and does not assess whether any advertisement or application meets them. It is not immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Rules and fees as published 20 August 2026.
