Appendix 5: How the Migrant Levy is used

Immigration New Zealand: Supporting new migrants to settle and work.

Government organisations with an interest in immigration and settlement-related matters can bid for Migrant Levy funding. The assessment criteria for funding proposals make it clear that:

Successful settlement outcomes encourage migrants to remain in New Zealand and to make a positive and long-term contribution to the economy and society. Consequently research and settlement initiatives funded by migrant levy allocations need to support new migrants, those who have been in New Zealand for less than five years, to optimise their potential contribution ... (See Migrant Levy Funding Review and Proposed Allocations for 2012/13, March 2012, EGI (12) 37, Appendix Three, Part A, page 13.)

The table on the following page provides an overview of how the Migrant Levy has been distributed since 2008/09.

MIGRANT LEVY FUNDING 2008/09 – 2012/13
2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
Vote Initiative $000 $000 $000 $000 $000
IMMIGRATION NEW ZEALAND FUNDING
Immigration Migrant research programme 2,473 2,473 2,313 2,253 2,453
Immigration Core settlement services 1,780 1,780 1,780 1,780 1,780
Immigration Levy admini-stration 629 629 422 422 310
Immigration LisNZ survey/research 707 694 714 200 -
Sub-total Immigration Funding 5,589 5,576 5,229 4,655 4,543
PROGRAMME FUNDING – OTHER DEPARTMENTS
Statistics NZ LisNZ survey/research 650 250 150 - -
Internal Affairs Language line 669 743 790 790 833
Education ESOL for adults 426 426 426 426 426
Education ESOL in schools 2,460 2,460 2,460 2,460 2,460
Education ESOL professional development 400 400 400 400 222
Education ESOL resources - - - - 177
Social Development Migrant employment assistance 782 782 782 782 587*
Sub-total Other Departments 5,387 5,061 5,008 4,858 4,705
Contestable Settlement Initiatives 1,649 616 571 768 -
Total Migrant Levy Funding 12,625 11,253 10,808 10,281 9,248

Source: Department of Labour Annual Report to June 2012, pages 123 and 124.

*Having at first failed to fulfil assessment criteria for funding for the first half of 2012/13, the migrant employment assistance initiative's funding was reduced to $196,000 for the first half of 2012/13. A later Migrant Levy review reassessed this initiative, which received $391,000 in funding for the second half of 2012/13.

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