Social Development Minister Anne Tolley and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said the streamlined process would benefit employers trying to fill low-skilled vacancies in the district.
The changes replace a temporary labour market test exemption - put in place at the end of last year - which expires today.
Changes announced yesterday enable employers with a low-skilled vacancy to receive formal advice from Work and Income before lodging a migrant worker visa application, rather than Immigration New Zealand contacting Work and Income after the application has been lodged.
Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay said Work and Income would refer any suitable New Zealanders to the employer for consideration and employers would have access to an updated list of jobs where advice was not required, because Work and Income had no jobseekers available to fill the position.
Mrs Tolley said the new process would look after the interests of New Zealanders and provide more certainty for employers and migrants because they would know sooner if a work visa application was likely to succeed.
''New Zealanders will always be first in line for jobs, but we recognise that for certain roles which are hard to fill, employers want to bring in migrant workers and this new system provides a quicker and more effective solution for them,'' she said.
Mr Woodhouse said by introducing the changes in Queenstown Lakes the Government was acknowledging the ''unique circumstances'' faced by employers in the area, particularly tourism operators, in a period of ''exceptionally strong growth''.
''Officials will also continue to monitor how immigration policies are working for Queenstown employers, in the context of wider work under way in the tourism sector to address labour and skills needs in the long term.''
Mr Barclay said the announcement was a ''win'' for employers in the region.
''Queenstown employers face difficult circumstances where the supply of Kiwi workers is nowhere near the requirements needed to service the town. These changes will go a long way in alleviating that pressure,'' he said.
