10. Question No. 10—ImmigrationDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 10—Immigration10. Dr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all policy decisions made in relation to the new Accredited Employer Work Visa; if so is he confident that the new visa will improve the immigration system?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): Fa'afetai tele lava. The new Accredited Employer Work Visa was developed in consultation with business workers and migrants themselves. When we announced the changes back in 2019 we set out our intent to rebalance our temporary work visa system. This is by ensuring that businesses are able to get the workers they need to fill critical work skill shortages but also encouraging employers and regions to work together on long-term workforce planning including supporting New Zealanders with the training they need to fill the gaps. The new Accredited Employer Work Visa does this by replacing six visa categories with one temporary work visa and it ensures there is an employer check a job check and a worker check. This makes it far more streamlined and supports this Government's overall objective to lay better foundations for the future through a rebalanced immigration system. So in answer to the question yes and yes.Dr James McDowall: Is the Minister confident that Immigration New Zealand will be able to avoid creating a significant backlog of employer accreditation applications?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Yes. The new system comes into force on 1 November and we are allowing accreditation to begin earlier than that.Dr James McDowall: Can the Minister be certain that the new scheme will not increase migrant exploitation if for example bad employers demand money from migrants in exchange for supporting their visa applications?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I'm very glad that question has been asked because the new system will prevent migrant exploitation happening compared to the old regime. Under the new regime there will be an employer check and one of the gates that you will have to pass for that is being a good employer and that has being compliant with the employment and immigration law. I am surprised that the ACT Party who support and advocate for business and people following the law aren't supporting the new system which makes sure that good employers are complying with the law and therefore because of that there will be less exploitation.Erica Stanford: On what date will the Minister produce a complete set of instructions so that all users have 100 percent clarity on cost and how long it will take for businesses to go through the accreditation process given they all have to be accredited by 1 November?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I can't give a precise date but in answer to the member's question well before the new system comes into force.Dr James McDowall: Is the Minister concerned that a potential backlog of employer accreditation applications could lead to greater migrant exploitation as workers will be less able to change employers because many will still be waiting for their accreditation?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: As I said in a previous answer the potential for this new system is to drastically reduce the amount of migrant exploitation that has been in the system historically and again the ability for businesses to become accredited is going to open well before the system comes into force.