The guilty verdict for three people involved in exploiting migrants under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme is being welcomed by Immigration New Zealand.

On February 17, Antony Swarbrick, Christina Kewa-Swarbrick, and Martha Fretton were found guilty on nine representative charges of aiding and abetting, completion of a visa application known to be false or misleading, and provision of false or misleading information to an Immigration Officer under sections 342(1) and 355(1) of the Immigration Act 2009.

Their offending occurred between 2013 and 2016, when they arranged for groups of seasonal workers from Papa New Guinea to work illegally in New Zealand for very low wages, says a statement from Immigration New Zealand.

The workers were led to believe that they would be travelling to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme in full time employment and they believed they were going to be paid hourly rates of around $15 NZD per hour, well below the minimum wage

INZ verification and compliance general manager Richard Owen says combatting migrant exploitation is a top priority for INZ.

'No form of exploitation is acceptable in New Zealand, and INZ will hold offenders to account. This conviction should act as a strong warning to anyone considering exploiting temporary or unlawful migrants.

'Employers who demonstrate this kind of exploitive behavior are jeopardising New Zealand's reputation as a fair place to live, work and do businesses.”

The trio are due to be sentenced at the Te Awamutu District Court on March 30.

INZ encourages anyone who is aware of immigration fraud or migrant exploitation offending to report it immediately.

Cases can be reported to MBIE's contact centre on 0800 20 90 20.

Alternatively, they can be reported to police or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the online Crimestoppers form.