I would be interested to know what INZ's working from home capacity is. Basically, are case officers able to work on applications at home? My inkling (it is no more than that) is that they aren't.
Government departments are currently assessing their work-from-home capabilities in case the Beehive takes measures to shut down workplaces. If such measures were undertaken then I assume that INZ's visa processing would more or less grind to a halt, with work continuing on only the most important or urgent cases? INZ's offices are in various locations, so if a government shutdown was limited to, say Auckland and Wellington, they could reallocate work to other offices if practicable?
Even then, case officers wouldn't be able to verify an applicant's information if things have been shut down.