Regulators have swept through 147 construction businesses across North Island

Regulators have visited 147 construction businesses across the North Island in a large-scale operation targeting unlawful activity, worker exploitation, and serious non-compliance in the sector.

The week-long exercise, dubbed Operation Rimu, was led by regulatory teams from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), with Labour Inspectorate, and Immigration Compliance and Investigations staff conducting site checks and Tenancy Services and the Companies Office on standby.

Inspectors focused on businesses in Auckland and centres including Napier, Morrinsville, Pōkeno, Wellington, Tauranga, New Plymouth, and Hamilton. They checked compliance with employment, immigration, company, and tenancy laws.

Early findings identified evidence at several companies of breaches of minimum employment standards, cash-in-hand wage payments and poor record keeping.

Simon Humphries, head of the Labour Inspectorate, said some construction company directors acknowledged awareness of unlawful practices, particularly in Auckland's residential building market.

"They said there were whispers in the industry, particularly in Auckland residential construction, about instances of businesses being significantly undercut to a degree that raised suspicions about the legitimacy of competing contracts," he said.

During last week's site visits, Labour Inspectorate and Immigration teams looked for potential...

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