What Happened to New Zealand's Sector Agreements

What Happened to New Zealand's Sector Agreements

The 2022-era sector agreements for care, transport, construction, meat processing, seafood and hospitality no longer operate as the standalone instruments they were introduced as. What is in force now is a set of named visa products and appendix lists. This page sets out what replaced what, and which of them actually lead to residence.

Quick Facts

Primary sources: Appendix 13 — Green List and Appendix 14 — care workforce and tourism and hospitality occupations. Both read on 20 August 2026.

What sector agreements were

When the Accredited Employer Work Visa replaced six older work visas in 2022, the government paired it with sector agreements: negotiated arrangements for industries that could not meet the new settings, giving them concessions on pay, skill level or maximum stay in exchange for commitments on training and conditions. Care, construction and infrastructure, meat processing, seafood, seasonal snow and adventure tourism, tourism and hospitality, and transport were the named sectors.

That framework was a live part of the 2022 system, and it is still widely described online as if nothing has changed since.

What is actually in force now

The evidence points a different way. The sector-specific concessions have largely been restructured into named visa products and dedicated appendix lists, and the standalone agreements do not clearly survive as distinct instruments.

That distinction is not pedantic. If you go looking for "the care sector agreement" you will not find an instrument to apply under. If you go looking for the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, you will find an open visa with nine named occupations, a stated pay rate and a published fee.

This page will not claim that any 2022-era sector agreement is or is not currently in force as a distinct instrument. That could not be verified against a primary source, and the honest answer is that the named visa products are what you can actually read, check and apply under. What follows is those products.

Care workforce

Now: the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa. Open.

Nine occupations, set out in Appendix 14 of the Operational Manual, effective 10 March 2025:

The conditions are 24 months of full-time New Zealand work in one of those occupations within the previous 30 months, at NZ$28.25 an hour or above, with an accredited employer, aged 55 or younger, for a fee of NZ$6,450.

The NZ$28.25 rate is not indexed to the median wage. Full detail in Care Workforce Work to Residence.

Transport

Now: the Transport Work to Residence Visa. Open.

Two named occupations: Ship's Master (231231), requiring a Skipper Restricted Limits qualification with a 500GT or 3000GT endorsement or an STCW certificate for vessels of 500 gross tonnes or more; and Deck Hand (899211), requiring a Qualified Deck Crew or Deck Watch Rating Certificate of Proficiency.

The conditions are 24 months in an acceptable transport job in New Zealand within the previous 30 months, holding a valid work visa throughout, paid at least NZ$35.00 an hour, with an accredited employer, aged 55 or younger, from NZ$6,450.

Legacy rates of NZ$28.00 for bus driver roles and NZ$31.61 for truck driver roles apply to roles approved before 7 April 2024. Six transport occupations were removed from the Green List on that date. Detail, including what is unclear about the road transport roles, is in Transport Work to Residence.

Construction and infrastructure

Now: Green List membership. There is no separate construction instrument to apply under — construction and infrastructure are served by being on the Green List.

Tier 1 (Straight to Residence, no prior New Zealand work):

• Construction Project Manager (133111)
• Project Builder, including Building Project Manager and Site Foreman (133112)
• Quantity Surveyor (233213)
• Surveyor (232212)
• The 23 Engineering occupations — Civil, Structural, Geotechnical, Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Materials, Electronics, Industrial, Production or Plant, Aeronautical, Environmental, Naval Architect, Engineering Professionals nec, the four engineering technician occupations, the three Aircraft Maintenance Engineer occupations, and the two telecommunications engineering occupations.

Tier 2 (Work to Residence, 24 months of New Zealand work first):

• Building Associate (312112) at 1.5× the median wage — NZ$52.50 an hour
• Crane, Hoist or Lifter Operator (712111) at 1.3× — NZ$45.50, crane operator roles only, plus a New Zealand Level 3 Certificate in Cranes with at least one Level 4 specialisation or an overseas equivalent
• The seven civil machinery operators at 1.15× — NZ$40.25: Earthmoving Plant Operator General, Backhoe, Bulldozer, Excavator, Grader, Loader and Paving Plant Operator
• The regulated services trades: Electrician (341111), Plumber (334111), Gasfitter (334114), Drainlayer (334113)

A registration caution that matters here. For all 23 engineering occupations, plus Construction Project Manager, Quantity Surveyor and Surveyor, the named professional body — Engineering New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Survey and Spatial New Zealand — appears as one branch of an "or", alongside accredited degrees and specified New Zealand qualifications. Registration is not mandatory for these occupations, and an engineer with a Washington Accord accredited degree can satisfy Appendix 13 without ever registering.

Note also that Licensed Building Practitioner status is not a Green List requirement anywhere, and carpenter is not a Green List occupation. See jobs with no Green List pathway.

Meat processing

Now: one Green List Tier 2 entry, and it is narrow.

Slaughterer (831212) is on Tier 2. The requirement is specific: the role offered must be as a Halal Slaughterer, working for an employer and at a site listed on the New Zealand approved animal products halal premises (excluding dairy) under the Animal Products Notice, administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries. On top of that, the standard Tier 2 rule applies — 24 months of full-time New Zealand work in the occupation within the previous 30 months.

There is no broad meat-processing residence pathway. General meat processing, boning, packing and freezing work has no Green List occupation.

Seafood

Now: covered through the Transport Work to Residence Visa. The maritime and fishing roles — Ship's Master and Deck Hand — are the pathway. There is no separate seafood residence instrument, and no residence route for general fishing crew work outside those two certificated occupations.

Tourism and hospitality — the important distinction

Appendix 14 carries, alongside the nine care occupations, a Tourism and Hospitality list of 27 occupations, effective 10 March 2025:

Hotel Service Manager (431411) · Hotel or Motel Manager (141311) · Accommodation and Hospitality Managers nec (141999) · Licensed Club Manager (141411) · Conference and Event Organiser (149311) · Travel Consultant (451612) · Travel Agency Manager (142116) · Tour Guide (451412) · Caravan Park and Camping Ground Manager (141211) · Diving Instructor, Open Water (452311) · Hunting Guide (452213) · Gallery or Museum Technician (399311) · Trekking Guide (452216) · Waiter (431511) · Commercial Housekeeper (811411) · Kitchenhand (851311) · Barista (431112) · Hotel or Motel Receptionist (542113) · Bar Attendant (431111) · Fast Food Cook (851111) · Food Trades Assistants nec (851299) · Hospitality Workers nec (431999) · Cafe Worker (431211) · Pastrycook's Assistant (851211) · Doorperson or Luggage Porter (431912) · Gaming Worker (431311) · Travel Attendants nec (451799)

This list is a work visa setting, not a residence pathway. It exists to modify work visa rules for those occupations. No residence instruction turns on membership of it, and no one becomes eligible for residence by being on it.

The confusion is understandable — the care workforce list and the hospitality list live in the same appendix, and one of them does lead to a residence visa. They are doing different jobs.

Why the framing matters

Three practical consequences.

You cannot apply under a sector agreement. You apply under a visa. If a page tells you to "apply through the care sector agreement", there is nothing to click.

Sector-based thinking hides the real gates. Whether a construction worker has a residence pathway does not depend on the construction sector having an agreement; it depends on whether their specific ANZSCO code is in Appendix 13 and whether they meet the requirement attached to it. A quantity surveyor has a Tier 1 pathway. A carpenter has none.

Lists are not interchangeable. Appendix 13 is the Green List and drives residence. Appendix 14 holds one list that drives residence and one that drives work visa settings. Reading either as "the shortage list" produces wrong answers.

What remains for sectors with no pathway

For occupations with no named product and no Green List entry, the general skilled route is the Skilled Migrant Category: six points from a qualification, income or occupational registration, topped up by New Zealand skilled work experience, with a job at an accredited employer that is permanent or fixed-term for 12 months or more (or a contract of 6 months or more) and at least 30 hours a week. Cost from NZ$6,450.

From 24 August 2026 the Skilled Migrant Category adds two pathways — Skilled Work Experience, and Trades and Technician — together with red and amber occupation lists whose full contents were not published at the time of writing and must be confirmed on Immigration New Zealand's site. See Skilled Migrant Category changes.

Where to get advice

This page describes which instruments exist and what they cover. It does not assess whether any person qualifies under them, because under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 that is licensed work — and the Act applies whether or not the advice is paid for.

If you were told your sector has an agreement and cannot find it, or if your occupation sits close to but not inside one of the named lists, take it to a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer. See licensed immigration advisers explained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do New Zealand sector agreements still exist?

The sector-specific concessions introduced in 2022 have largely been restructured into named visa products and appendix lists. Whether any 2022-era agreement survives as a distinct instrument could not be verified, so the practical answer is to work from the named products: the Care Workforce and Transport Work to Residence visas, the Green List, and the Appendix 14 lists.

Is there a care sector agreement in New Zealand?

What exists now is the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, covering nine occupations listed in Appendix 14, requiring 24 months of New Zealand work at NZ$28.25 an hour or above.

Is there a hospitality sector agreement?

Appendix 14 carries a Tourism and Hospitality list of 27 occupations, but it is a work visa setting list. It does not create a residence pathway.

Does the construction sector have a residence agreement?

No separate instrument. Construction and infrastructure are served through Green List membership — four Tier 1 construction occupations, the 23 engineering occupations, and Tier 2 entries for Building Associate, crane operators, the seven civil machinery operators and the regulated services trades.

Is there a meat processing residence pathway?

Only one, and it is narrow: Slaughterer (831212) on Tier 2, where the role offered is as a Halal Slaughterer at an employer and site listed on the Ministry for Primary Industries halal premises notice.

Is there a seafood or fishing residence pathway?

The maritime roles are covered by the Transport Work to Residence Visa — Ship's Master and Deck Hand, both requiring maritime certificates. There is no broader seafood instrument.

My employer says we are covered by a sector agreement. What should I check?

Ask which visa the plan is to apply under, and find that visa on immigration.govt.nz. Every live pathway has a visa page with a fee, a set of requirements and a published occupation list. If none of that can be produced, the plan is describing something that cannot be applied for.