Act leader David Seymour then told the Herald the party was open to feedback about whether “the levy should not apply or be reduced in rural areas”.
In a statement today, Act’s agriculture spokesman Andrew Hoggard confirmed the party’s proposed Rural Workforce Visa would be exempt from the levy.
“Rural New Zealand faces different pressures from urban New Zealand,” he said.
“In many communities, the problem isn’t too many people arriving, it’s not enough workers being available. Applying an infrastructure levy in those circumstances would make no sense, which is why Act’s Rural Workforce Visa would be exempt.”
The proposal is being announced ahead of Fieldays at Waikato’s Mystery Creek, which kicks off on Wednesday.
Act, which will be represented at the agricultural event, said on Tuesday it wants to create a three-year visa specifically for dairy, sheep and beef, and general farm workers.
A migrant who attained the visa would be attached to accredited rural employers and able to transfer between these employers without a new application, regardless of region. However, they could not move into non-rural sectors.
Near the end of the visa term, the employer can re-advertise. If no “suitable New Zealander” is found, the visa can then be reissued for another three years, which Act said “removes the repeated annual compliance loan on employers”.
A worker who holds the new visa for 72 cumulative months – six years – with an accredited employer and who meets standard requirements, would become eligible for residence.
Act’s agriculture spokesman Andrew Hoggard. Photo / Alex Burton
Hoggard said the policy was designed to give farmers a “reliable, year-round pipeline of workers”.
“New Zealand’s farms, orchards and fishing fleets generate $60 billion in exports every year. Right now, they can’t find enough capable workers to do the job, held back by a chronic labour shortage that the current immigration system simply isn’t equipped to solve.”
Federated Farmers’ Farm Confidence Survey released in January showed recruitment difficulty for skilled and motivated employees had worsened since last July’s survey. However, there has been a trend of improvement since 2022.
Hoggard said the Government had made progress with the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa and Peak Seasonal Visa, both of which helped “meet seasonal demand”.
“But they do not address the year-round roles that keep farms running every day. Labour shortages don’t just make it harder to run farms. They also make it harder to keep productive land in farming at a time when many rural communities are already under pressure from the expansion of forestry.”
The two new seasonal visa pathways were announced by Stanford last August to “make it easier for employers to bring back experienced seasonal workers and to fill short-term roles that are hard to fully staff locally”.
Migrants can currently apply for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), while there are also agricultural roles on the country’s Green List.
With the AEWV, migrants are linked to employers. If the migrant then wants to change jobs or their location, they have to apply to vary the condition of their visa or apply for a new visa.
Today’s Rural Workforce Visa announcement follows Act’s broader immigration policy released in May. It included the infrastructure surcharge, an expansion of deportation powers, an extension of English language requirements, and a dedicated overstayer enforcement unit.
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s Chief Political Reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.