This omnibus Government bill aims to improve immigration and workforce regulatory systems so they are effective, efficient, and accord with best regulatory practice. It was enacted as the Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Act 2025.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (third reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
The Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill that makes a bundle of mostly technical, maintenance-style changes across several immigration and workforce laws. It amends Acts such as the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, the Employment Relations Act 2000, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. Typical changes include clarifying powers such as suspending an immigration adviser's licence during an investigation, tidying up employment-agreement record-keeping rules, refining notifiable-incident and cost-recovery provisions, and closing small gaps so the systems run smoothly.
This is a Government bill in the regular "regulatory systems" programme, where minor amendments to related laws are grouped together for efficiency. Supporters argue it is sensible housekeeping that removes ambiguities, improves enforcement and consumer protection, and keeps regulation working as intended. Critics note that omnibus bills bundle many unrelated changes together, making scrutiny harder, and that some measures, such as broadened suspension powers or longer bans on immigration advisers, are more substantive than the "technical" label suggests.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.