Adult minimum wage
Employment law · effective from 2026-04-01
Employment New Zealand lists this adult minimum wage from 1 April 2026.
NZD 23.95 per hourOfficial source
New Zealand wage checks
Check pay signals before relying on a role
Compare job pay against current wage signals. This helps you spot roles that need closer INZ review.
NZD 35.00median wage from 9 Mar 2026INZ wage rules
Pay signal
Check a wage against current signals
Enter pay to check the signal.Annual pay uses a 40 hour week.
This is a pay signal only. INZ may use different pay rules for each visa, role, date, and pathway.
Immigration median wage
Many immigration wage settings · effective from 2026-03-09
INZ says the immigration median wage is NZD 35.00 per hour from 9 March 2026.
NZD 35.00 per hourOfficial source
1.5 times median wage
SMC and some lower-skill settings · effective from 2026-03-09
This is a pay signal for settings that use 150% of the median wage. It is not a full visa decision.
NZD 52.50 per hourOfficial source
Twice median wage
Highly paid settings · effective from 2026-03-09
INZ says some settings use twice the median wage. Check the exact visa before relying on this.
NZD 70.00 per hourOfficial source
Previous immigration median wage
Historic checks · effective from 2025-08-18 to 2026-03-08
This historic rate is useful when checking older work periods or older applications.
NZD 33.56 per hourOfficial source