Immigration New Zealand says Statistics New Zealand and the Australian Bureau of Statistics have released an updated version of Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

It says it will continue to use the previous version - ANZSCO Version 1.2 - in the assessment of most applications until mid-2020.

"In mid-2020, we will no longer use ANZSCO to assess the skill level of jobs for the Essential Skills Work Visa. For this reason, continuing to use ANZSCO Version 1.2 will ensure a smoother transition to the new way of assessing temporary work visa applications."

Immmigration New Zealand says it will treat an occupation differently if it is low-skilled (skill level 4 to 5 in ANZSCO version 1.2), skilled (skill level 1 to 3 in ANZSCO version 1.3) and the visa applicant earns at least the New Zealand median income (currently NZ$25/hour). In these circumstances it will treat the occupation as if it is ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3.

For all other occupations Immigration New Zealand will continue to use ANZSCO Version 1.2 "until mid-2020".