A 'family link' refugee policy derided as racist has been removed by Jacinda Ardern's Government as New Zealand increases its refugee intake.
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced changes to the policy on Friday which will allow greater numbers of refugees to enter from Africa and the Middle East.
Advocacy groups have celebrated the axing of a requirement for refugees from those regions to have families already living in New Zealand before they're accepted.
The "discriminatory" practice has been cited as a barrier for New Zealand reaching its refugee resettlement target.
Carsten Bockemuehl, who is advocacy and campaign lead at World Vision Pacific, said he was celebrating the policy shift as it "makes New Zealand a better global citizen".
"It's a wonderful and important signal to the African and Middle Eastern communities here in New Zealand. They have been speaking out against this policy for a long time because they felt targeted and discriminated against, and rightly so," he told AAP.
"It's really positive to see that piece of policy removed. It will make our quota fairer and more responsive to the world's settlement needs."
Next year the government will make good on its pre-election pledge to up the annual intake from 750 refugees to 1,500.
This year, the intake was 1,000.
Mr Lees-Galloway also announced the annual share of Middle Eastern and African refugees accepted would lift to 14 to 15 per cent, or 225 people from each region, from next year.
"We knew changes needed to be made," the minister said.
"We are proud to be a welcoming and inclusive nation committed to supporting some of the world's most vulnerable people to rebuild their lives and thrive in New Zealand."
Mr Bockmuehl said the tweak to the African and Middle Easter intake was "still not enough ... but definitely a step in the right direction".
"More than two-thirds of the world's approximately 25 million refugees comes from Africa and the Middle East," he said.
"It's important that New Zealand supports countries like Jordan and Lebanon, Uganda and Kenya, who have been overburdened by the massive refugee crises in their regions."
National party Immigration spokesperson Stuart Smith said the family link provision was "a way to ensure we were looking after New Zealanders during the height of the Rohingya refugee crisis" as "we didn't have the support of infrastructure in order to cope with the number of refugees".
The Green Party, the only party to take the family link removal to the poll, also celebrated the policy change.
"This decision gives us a principled refugee policy that puts fairness and inclusion first," Green immigration spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said.
The government also announced $NZ6.6 million ($6.2 million AUS) of funding towards a "Welcoming Communities" program over the next four years.
