IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/asiaps/v12y2025i3ne70034.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New Zealandʼs Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme: Pathways and Prospects

Author

Listed:
  • Charlotte Bedford
  • Richard Bedford

Abstract

Managed temporary labour migration from the Pacific has grown in importance in recent years as New Zealand and Australia seek to fill seasonal labour shortages and strengthen regional relationships by providing cash‐earning opportunities to citizens of Pacific Island countries. This paper provides an overview of New Zealandʼs Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, a circular migration programme to support the countryʼs horticulture and viticulture industries. The scheme began in 2007 and now allows over 20,000 RSE workers a year to enter the country for seasonal work. This paper outlines how the RSE scheme operates, including trends in employersʼ recruitment from the Pacific, and features of employer and worker participation over time. The scheme has been transformative for the horticultural sector due to the certainty of labour it provides during peak seasons. It is also a significant foreign policy tool, helping to continually reaffirm New Zealandʼs long‐standing partnerships with Pacific Island countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotte Bedford & Richard Bedford, 2025. "New Zealandʼs Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme: Pathways and Prospects," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:12:y:2025:i:3:n:e70034
    DOI: 10.1002/app5.70034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70034
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/app5.70034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:12:y:2025:i:3:n:e70034. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=2050-2680 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.