Unannounced inspections at kiwifruit orchards have been carried out across the Bay of Plenty and Western Bay as part of an operation to identify workers employed outside their visa conditions.

Operation Indigo - a joint operation that targeted high‑risk employers and potential breaches of employment and immigration law - involved teams from the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand Compliance and Investigations taking an integrated and intelligence-led approach to address non-compliance and prevent harm.

Site visits focused on labour hire practices, sub‑contracting arrangements and compliance with immigration requirements.

Immigration Compliance national manager and horticulture sector lead Fadia Mudafar said collaboration and joint visits between Immigration Compliance and Investigations and the Labour Inspectorate as part of Operation Indigo demonstrate how regulatory agencies worked together on the ground.

“The aim of Operation Indigo was to identify, disrupt, and address offending with employment and immigration legislation, with a specific focus on employers identified as high-risk in the kiwifruit sector.”

In a statement from MBIE, Mudafa said the horticulture sector was a priority focus for this work, given its scale and risks of employment and immigration non-compliance.

“We are taking an increasingly joined‑up approach as we strengthen our collective response to address serious economic harm, including harms arising within the horticulture sector.”

Over four days last week, MBIE regulatory teams made unannounced site visits to check recordkeeping, minimum employment entitlements, lawful payroll deductions and compliance with immigration requirements, including work rights.

“Our aim is to identify practices in the kiwifruit industry that involve cynical, material, or systemic breaches which may result in harm to workers,” Mudafar said.

“These joint operations allow agencies to identify and address breaches across our respective areas in a coordinated way, creating a stronger deterrent and greater overall impact. While we will be supportive of employers who are making genuine efforts to comply, we will not hesitate to take action where there is clear and material non‑compliance.

“This includes referring indications of potential criminal activity to our relevant partner agencies, in line with our integrated approach.”

Mudafar said it was disappointing that the regulatory teams identified some workers employed in orchards despite their visas being granted for other roles.

“Follow-up investigative work is now underway, including requesting and auditing employment records to ensure the contractors are complying with employment standards and immigration obligations.”

Labour Inspectorate head Simon Humphries said the sector is important to NZ.

“We want to ensure those employers and contractors who are doing the right thing are not disadvantaged through others’ non-compliance.

Labour Inspectorate head Simon Humphries.

“As a high-risk sector, we want to protect vulnerable seasonal and migrant workers. To do so, we need to disrupt the activities of employers who do not comply with New Zealand’s laws, including exploiting their workers.”

He said work and engagement with the sector was also an integral part of this collaborative approach.

Further information on the regulatory teams’ findings would be available once the information gathered has been fully assessed.