The Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP), which allows workers from the Pacific and Timor-Leste to work on Australian farms for up to nine months, grew by 44% in 2018-19 or by some 3,000 workers – the largest absolute increase ever and one of the highest percentage...

An objective of both Australia’s Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) and New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE) is to encourage economic development in the Pacific. This paper highlights how a number of ni-Vanuatu seasonal workers in both RSE and SWP have created various businesses and...

This research stems from a 10-year longitudinal study of 22 ni-Vanuatu temporary migrant labourers participating in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE) established on 30 April 2007. This report highlights changes, challenges, experiences and opportunities during the first 10 years of RSE and makes...

After more than 10 years of established seasonal work schemes in Australia and New Zealand, this report focuses on seasonal labour mobility in the context of a policy assessment framework that addresses both wins and losses when considering a sustainable future for labour mobility in...

Interrogating both the extent of labour shortages in the horticulture industry for pickers, packers and graders and the level of non-compliance with labour standards, this report examines horticulture labour supply to develop an evidence base for analysing the effectiveness of existing practices and to identify...

This report provides a fresh understanding of the links between labour markets in Pacific counties and those in New Zealand and Australia.

The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) policy allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas - mostly from the Pacific Islands - for seasonal work when there are not enough New Zealand workers. Under the scheme employers can bring in up to 9,000...

This report presents the findings of a review of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) worker pilot training programme. The purpose of the review was to assess whether the pilot had achieved the intended outcomes and, if it had (at least in part), identify if any...

In April 2007, New Zealand introduced the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) program, which allows NZ employers to recruit overseas workers from the Pacific and South East Asia for seasonal work in horticulture and viticulture. Over the last year, New Zealand has opened its doors to...