Market Rate Pay for the AEWV: What Employers Must Show
Since 10 March 2025, pay on New Zealand's Accredited Employer Work Visa is set by the market rate, not by the median wage. INZ defines market rate as "a range of pay that a New Zealander or resident would be paid within to do the job, or equivalent work". The adult minimum wage is the floor, and pay must match what was advertised.
Quick Facts
| Current pay test | The market rate for the occupation |
| INZ's definition | "A range of pay that a New Zealander or resident would be paid within to do the job, or equivalent work" |
| Changed | 10 March 2025 — the median-wage threshold was removed |
| Absolute floor | The adult minimum wage. INZ's published figure is NZ$23.50 from 1 April 2025 |
| Advertising link | The ad must state minimum and maximum pay or estimated earnings; pay offered must match what was advertised |
| Guaranteed pay | Piece rates, commission and bonuses count only in addition to the hourly rate |
| Advertising exemption | Jobs paying at least NZ$70.00 an hour need no advertising |
| Where assessed | At the Job Check, NZ$735 |
| Still uses the median wage | Green List floors · partner and dependent-child support · residence categories |
The correction most sites still have not made
A large amount of published material about New Zealand work visas describes a median-wage pay threshold. That threshold was removed on 10 March 2025. It has not applied for over a year.
What replaced it is the market rate: what a New Zealander or resident would actually be paid to do that job. The adult minimum wage sits underneath as an absolute floor.
The confusion is understandable, because the immigration median wage still exists and still does a great deal of work elsewhere in the system. It is NZ$35.00, effective 9 March 2026. That figure governs Green List pay floors, the thresholds for supporting a partner or dependent children, and residence categories including the Skilled Migrant Category. It is not the pay an accredited employer must offer, and anyone presenting it as such is describing rules that ended in March 2025.
If you see NZ$35.00 quoted as the hourly rate a New Zealand employer must pay a work visa holder, the source is out of date. See the median wage removed from work visas and wage thresholds for New Zealand visas.
The three threshold types INZ uses
Across the whole immigration system INZ works with three kinds of pay threshold. Knowing which one you are looking at resolves almost every wage question in New Zealand immigration.
| Threshold type | What it is | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| The median wage rate | An indexed figure, currently NZ$35.00 (effective 9 March 2026) | Green List pay floors, partner and dependent-child support thresholds, residence categories |
| The market rate | "A range of pay that a New Zealander or resident would be paid within to do the job, or equivalent work" | AEWV pay, since 10 March 2025 |
| Other rates | The adult minimum wage, or occupation-specific rates such as pay equity settlement rates | Everywhere as a floor, and in specific occupations |
The median wage is updated annually, but the month drifts — February 2023, February 2024, August 2025, March 2026. Never plan against a fixed update month. See the immigration median wage history.
What "market rate" means in practice
INZ's definition is a range, not a point. That is deliberate, and it has three consequences.
1. There is no single number for an occupation. A qualified diesel mechanic in Invercargill and one in Auckland can both be paid the market rate at different figures. What matters is what New Zealanders in that job, in that place, doing that work, are actually paid.
2. The comparison is with New Zealanders and residents. Not with what the employer paid the last migrant, not with what the role is worth overseas, and not with what the candidate would accept.
3. "Or equivalent work" widens the comparison. Where an exact match is hard to find, INZ's own wording admits comparable roles.
The market rate is assessed at the Job Check, against the role — not at accreditation, and not against the individual worker.
How employers evidence the market rate
INZ does not publish a prescribed evidence list on the pages reviewed here, and we are not going to invent one. What the definition itself implies an employer needs to be able to show:
- What the business already pays New Zealanders doing the same or equivalent work — the strongest evidence available, because it is internal and specific
- Published pay data for the occupation and region, from recognised salary surveys or industry sources
- Any collective agreement or industry pay scale that applies to the role
- The advertised range, since the advertisement must state minimum and maximum pay or estimated actual earnings
- Occupation-specific rates where they exist, such as pay equity settlement rates or public-sector pay scales
Confirm what INZ currently requires on the Job Check pages at immigration.govt.nz before preparing an application. Where the position is genuinely unclear for a particular occupation, that is a question for a licensed immigration adviser.
Pay must be guaranteed
Piece rates, commission and bonuses count only in addition to the hourly rate. They cannot be used to reach the market rate.
An employer offering a low base plus commission "which usually brings people up to about NZ$32" has not offered NZ$32. The guaranteed component is what is assessed, and the variable part sits on top of it.
This pairs with the 30-hour rule: the job must guarantee at least 30 hours a week. Guaranteed hours multiplied by a guaranteed rate is what INZ is looking at.
Pay must match what was advertised
The advertisement supporting the Job Check must state the minimum and maximum rate of pay, or estimated actual earnings. And pay offered must match what was advertised.
This runs in both directions and it is enforceable after the fact:
- An employer cannot advertise NZ$34–40 to satisfy the labour market test and then hire at NZ$27.
- A worker paid less than the advertised range has documentary evidence of it.
For migrants: keep a copy of the advertisement that led to your job. It is one of the few pieces of paper in this process that belongs to you and can be used later. Underpayment is also an employment law matter, and Employment New Zealand, not INZ, is the authority on wages, holiday pay and unlawful deductions. See New Zealand employment rights for migrant workers.
The minimum wage floor
Whatever the market rate is, workers must be paid at least the adult minimum wage. INZ's published figure is NZ$23.50 an hour from 1 April 2025.
The adult minimum wage is reviewed annually and takes effect on 1 April. We could not verify a 1 April 2026 figure from a primary source at the time of writing, so treat NZ$23.50 as the last confirmed rate and check the current adult minimum wage at employment.govt.nz before relying on it. That is Employment New Zealand's figure, not an immigration one — it applies to every worker in the country regardless of visa status.
Where NZ$70.00 an hour comes in
A job paying at least NZ$70.00 an hour is exempt from advertising before the Job Check.
That is a procedural shortcut, not a pay requirement, and it applies to a small minority of roles. The figure is exactly twice the immigration median wage of NZ$35.00, effective 9 March 2026, so it moves when the median wage moves. See job check advertising exemptions.
Occupation-specific pay steps
Some occupations are assessed against a published pay scale rather than a general market range, and the required step can move.
From 9 March 2026, some applicants must be on a higher pay step to remain eligible — teachers, for example, must now be on Step 5 of the pay scale rather than Step 4. An employer relying on a scale should confirm the current step requirement for the occupation rather than assuming last year's answer still holds.
What is still tied to the median wage
Removing the median-wage threshold from the AEWV did not remove the median wage from the system. Verified figures that still key off it:
| Threshold | Figure | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration median wage | NZ$35.00, effective 9 March 2026 | The reference rate for everything below |
| Green List pay floor for supporting a partner | NZ$35.00 | Partner of a Worker Work Visa support |
| Partner support, skill level 1–3 | NZ$28.00 an hour (80% of the median) | Partner of a Worker Work Visa |
| Partner support, skill level 4–5 | NZ$52.50 an hour (1.5× the median) | Partner of a Worker Work Visa |
| Dependent child income threshold | NZ$58,240 a year | Dependent child visas |
| Advertising exemption | NZ$70.00 an hour (2× the median) | Job Check advertising |
Some AEWV skill-requirement exemptions also still reference older median figures — for example a pay level of NZ$67.12 an hour, which was twice the 2024 median, exempts a worker from proving minimum skills. Those are historical anchors that have not been re-indexed, which is exactly why the system is confusing. See AEWV pay and wage requirements.
A grandfathering rule worth knowing
INZ's published position: "If you already have a visa and the wage threshold for your visa increases, you do not need to meet the new wage threshold rate."
So a wage threshold rising during your visa does not retrospectively break the visa you hold. It can matter at the next application.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the market rate for the AEWV?
INZ defines it as "a range of pay that a New Zealander or resident would be paid within to do the job, or equivalent work". It is occupation-specific and region-specific, assessed at the Job Check, with the adult minimum wage as an absolute floor.
Is the median wage still required for a New Zealand work visa?
No. The median-wage pay threshold was removed on 10 March 2025 and replaced by the market rate. The immigration median wage still applies to Green List pay floors, partner and dependent-child support thresholds, and residence categories — but it is not what an accredited employer must pay.
What is the difference between market rate and median wage?
The median wage is a single indexed national figure — NZ$35.00, effective 9 March 2026 — used for residence and family-support thresholds. The market rate is a range specific to the occupation and location, and it is what governs pay on the Accredited Employer Work Visa.
How does an employer prove the market rate?
By showing what the business pays New Zealanders in the same or equivalent work, plus published pay data for the occupation and region, any applicable collective agreement or pay scale, and the advertised pay range. Confirm the current evidence expectations with INZ before applying.
Can bonuses or commission be counted towards the required pay?
No. Pay must be guaranteed. Piece rates, commission and bonuses count only in addition to the guaranteed hourly rate, and the job must guarantee at least 30 hours a week.
What is the minimum wage for a work visa holder in New Zealand?
The adult minimum wage applies regardless of visa status. INZ's published figure is NZ$23.50 an hour from 1 April 2025; the rate is reviewed annually with effect from 1 April, so confirm the current amount with Employment New Zealand.
What if I am paid less than the job was advertised at?
Pay offered must match what was advertised. That is both an immigration requirement and, where it amounts to underpayment, an employment law matter — Employment New Zealand and its Labour Inspectorate are the authority on wages and deductions.
General information only. This page explains published Immigration New Zealand rules and does not assess whether any pay rate meets them. It is not immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. Figures as published 20 August 2026 — the adult minimum wage and the immigration median wage both change, so confirm current rates before relying on them.
