# Employers on stand-down Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/hiring/employers-on-stand-down Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Starting employment Hiring Employers on stand-down Hiring Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Types of worker Hiring The hiring process Hiring your first employee Hiring young people Hiring temporary migrants Employment for disabled people Discrimination against transgender people Pre-employment trials Tests and checks Employers on stand-down Trial periods Probationary periods Employment agreements Everyone Employers on stand-down Employers who breach employment standards may be restricted from supporting visa applications and put on the employer visa stand-down list. Employers who have breached employment standards Employers An individual or organisation that hires 1 or more employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). who are subject to enforcement action for a breach An act of breaking a law, promise, agreement or relationship. of employment standards may be unable to support visa applications for a set period of time. This is known as a ‘stand-down period’. The length of the stand-down period depends on the enforcement action taken. You can find the list of employers currently on a stand-down period below. The list is updated weekly. A stand-down period starts when: a Labour Inspector A warranted employee of MBIE who ensures employment standards are met in the workplace. They can take enforcement action for non-compliance with employment standards. issues an infringement notice the Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court awards a penalty for a breach of employment standards the Employment Court makes a banning order, a declaration of breach, or awards a pecuniary penalty in relation to a serious breach of a minimum entitlement provision. This applies to all employers who support visa applications, including those who are: supporting work visa applications and approvals in principle seeking accredited-employer status or supporting residence-class visa applications based on employment part of the recognised seasonal employer scheme. Immigration New Zealand sets the legal requirements for supporting a visa application. Find out more on their website. Hiring people from overseas - Immigration New Zealand (external link) Employment law - Immigration New Zealand (external link) Enforcement action and stand-down periods The length of the stand-down period depends on what enforcement action is taken for breaching employment standards. The table shows the enforcement actions that lead to a stand-down period, and for how long. Issued by Enforcement action Stand-down period Labour Inspectorate 1 infringement notice 6 months More than 1 infringement notice at the same time 12 months Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court Penalties against an individual totalling $1,000 or less 6 months Penalties against a company or other entity totalling $1,000 or less 6 months Penalties against an individual totalling more than $1,000 but less than $10,000 12 months Penalties against a company or other entity totalling more than $1,000 but less than $20,000 12 months Penalties against an individual totalling $10,000 or more but less than $25,000 18 months Penalties against a company or other entity totalling more than $20,000 but less than $50,000 18 months Penalties against an individual totalling $25,000 or more 24 months Penalties against a company or other entity totalling $50,000 or more 24 months Employment Court Declaration of breach 12 months Declaration of breach and pecuniary penalty 24 months Banning order of less than 5 years 12 months Banning order of 5 years or longer 24 months More than 1 infringement notice A 6-month stand-down period is issued for each infringement notice, but if more than 1 is issued at the same time, the maximum stand-down period of 12 months will apply. If an employer gets another infringement notice in the future, the stand-down period for the new infringement notice will overlap with the current one, so they will apply at the same time. Example: An employer is issued 3 6-month infringement notices on 1 January 2024, so their stand-down period ends on 1 January 2025 (12 months is the maximum period an employer can be stood down for multiple infringement notices issued at a time). On 1 September 2024, they receive another infringement notice for 6 months. This stand-down period ends on 1 March 2025 – meaning the 2 stand-down periods overlap from 1 September 2024 to 1 January 2025. Stand-down periods following banning orders If the Employment Court makes a banning order against an employer, the resulting stand-down period starts when the banning order ends. Employer stand-down lists Employment New Zealand maintains and makes public a list of employers who are subject to a stand-down period for breaching employment law, as outlined in the table above. This list is authorised by Appendix 10 of the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual. Employers stand-down list [PDF, 94 KB] Appendix 10 - Rules for non-compliant employers (employment non-compliance) - Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual (external link) Immigration New Zealand maintains and makes public a list of employers who are subject to a stand-down period for breaching immigration law, as authorised by Appendix 18 of the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual. Immigration stand-down list - Immigration New Zealand (external link) Appendix 18 - Rules for non-compliant employers (immigration non-compliance) - Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual (external link) Both lists have the same effect, and you can use them to find out: if an employer is on a stand-down period the length of their stand-down period when it ends. Employers who have challenged an enforcement action remain on the list until the outcome of their challenge has been decided. Published: 17 June 2024 Last modified: 25 August 2025 Written for: Everyone Share this page: Print this page: