INDUSTRY GOOD
Employers must apply to DairyNZ to nominate a worker and then have a class exception visa granted by Immigration NZ.
Apply now for international staff
Tim Mackle DairyNZ chief executive
W
e know finding enough staff to keep our farms going is one of dairy farmers’ biggest current
concerns. The Government recently announced another 300 international dairy farm workers will be allowed into New Zealand this year. This adds to the 200 places dairy was given in 2021. Given the dairy sector requested government allow 1500 dairy workers into NZ in 2022, we are disappointed with just 300 places being granted. DairyNZ is continuing to advocate strongly on farmers’ behalf for more international workers. The staff shortage is putting significant pressure on many farmers and farm workers, as well as creating risks around health and safety, and animal welfare. It’s been a tough time for many.
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If you aren’t able to fill farm positions with Kiwis, it’s worthwhile applying now to bring an international worker in through the border exception. It’s very unlikely we will see another chance to recruit international workers before this calving. If the nomination criteria is met, then applications operate on a first-in first-served basis – so now is the time to act to bring someone onboard for calving. Workers on the class exception visa can undertake any dairy farm role, including working as a farm assistant. Farm assistants need to be paid $28 per hour. Significantly, the Government also announced that international workers no longer need to isolate or stay in MIQ, which speeds up the process and reduces costs. With these changes, and more clarity about the criteria, we hope to see more farmers sponsoring international workers to come into NZ to help relieve some of the pressure on farms. DairyNZ is continuing its drive to attract Kiwis. We recently launched a new Join Us campaign, aiming to connect dairy farmers and New Zealanders and inviting Kiwis to get a
dairy job – see www.godairy.co.nz for more detail. It’s been great to see we’ve had lots of interest from Kiwis in this new campaign and strong support from farmers. The new class exception will allow 300 international dairy workers to enter NZ. Employers must apply to DairyNZ to nominate a worker and then have a class exception visa granted by Immigration NZ. A 2021 class exception is already open for applications, which allows 200 dairy workers to enter NZ, and has nearly been filled. Remaining places in the 2021 exception will be filled before the 2022 exception. For both class exceptions, workers are able to enter from March 5, 2022, without isolating or using MIQ. n
MORE:
A limited number of dairy workers may be eligible to enter NZ under other criteria – for more information on all the options see www.dairynz.co.nz/border
with DairyNZ DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
