Police have been banned from hiring overseas workers for six months and fined $7000 for breaching employment laws.
The Labour Inspectorate has found police were in breach of the Employment Relations and Holidays Act.
In a statement, police said it was because police vetters were paid on a per file base, as opposed to an hourly rate.
The Act required a complete record of hours worked for a wage, and because vetters' work wasn't recorded that way, police were in breach.
Police were working with the Labour Inspectorate to make sure they were compliant with wage and time records.
They can't hire overseas workers until the end of July.