Below you'll find questions we've identified as the most frequently asked by email or in our discussion forum. This list should give you a good idea of the things you need to take care of when moving to Australia.
Please also use our site search to find discussion about topics important to you.
Well, we hope you will find all the answers on this site (including our discussion forum). You need to think about some or all of the following things:
Yes! Take a look at our discussion forum where you can ask questions that can be answered by us or by other readers. Asking questions helps to make this a useful resource for anyone planning a shift to Australia, so we encourage you to ask as many questions as you need help with.
If you are a New Zealand citizen you usually don't need to apply for a visa to live and work in Australia - a Special Category Visa (SCV) is electronically assigned when you enter Australia with your New Zealand passport. This special visa currently permits you to live and work in Australia for as long as you want.
You don't need to do anything else to legally live and work in Australia (unless you want to become an Australian citizen).
There are two important exceptions to this - you may not be eligible for an SCV if you have criminal convictions, or if you have tuberculosis. For more information on eligibility for Special Category Visas, see our Australian visas for New Zealanders page.
Note that if you are not a New Zealand citizen and you want to enter Australia to live and work then we recommend talking to a migration agency for professional assistance with Australian visa applications.
New Zealand citizens can receive the following government assistance while living in Australia:
For the most current information on the government assistance available to New Zealanders and the eligibility requirements, see this section of the Department of Human Services.
You cannot receive the unemployment benefit and certain other social security payments without first becoming an Australian permanent resident. Even if you successfully apply to become a permanent resident, there is a two year stand down period before you can receive the benefit.
See our Australian visas for New Zealanders page to find out more.
See our page on becoming an Australia citizen to help you on your way. The first step is becoming a permanent resident of Australia for citizenship purposes. As of 1 July 2023 this is pretty simple - you just need to have lived in Australia for 4 years (on an SCV or other visa).
Once you have lived in Australia for 4 years, you then complete an online application and submit the necessary documents. Read our guide for more information.
Yes. You can become an Australian citizen and remain a New Zealand citizen - that is, you can hold dual citizenship.
That depends on what you are taking. We paid NZ$1,600 for our shipper to pack and ship the following items from door to door:
So, we didn't take much stuff yet it still cost $1,600. Ouch. Let us know if you find a better deal so that we can pass it on to others.
Transit time depends on a number of factors, including the availability of container space and the methods of your removals company. The removals companies often advise 6-8 weeks. In our case, our belongings took just over 3 weeks to arrive at our new place in Melbourne from Christchurch, NZ.
New Zealanders typically have it easier than other Australian immigrants when moving with pets, at least for regular breeds of cats and dogs as there is typically no quarantine period.
Refer to the importing of cats and dogs from New Zealand for detailed information about the process of importing animals into Australia.
For information about taking other pets with you to Australia, start on the general importing of cats, dogs and other pets page of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Basically, if your cat or dog has been certified as healthy by a registered vet and, if it is a dog, it isn't one of the following breeds:
then you shouldn't have any problems and your cat or dog will not need to be placed in quarantine.
We've also written more about taking pets with you on our moving to Australia with pets page.
We spent a lot of time looking into this. In our opinion, the best way to do it is as described on our Moving Money To Australia page.
It describes how to avoid using banks for currency conversion so that you get a better exchange rate, avoid commission on conversion, and how to avoid getting a bad deal from converting physical cash.
Yes - see our how to open a bank account in Australia page for help.
We found the process of opening an Australian bank account from New Zealand very quick and easy. Depending on which bank you choose, you might be able to do it online and via the phone.
Read about how to open a bank account before leaving NZ on our how to open a bank account in Australia page.
We found that by doing the following things we maximised the amount of Australian dollars when we converted our New Zealand dollars. Depending on your circumstances, you might want/need to do things differently. The process we followed is described in far more detail on our Moving Your Money to Australia page.
Not really, no! Only if you really need cash. You will typically get a very bad exchange rate converting to/from cash rather than wiring your money between bank accounts using telegraphic transfer (TT). In general, we strongly recommend avoiding cash except for those small incidentals when getting into Australia etc as it is a very expensive way of obtaining Australian dollars when you consider the commission and bad exchange rate involved.
If you set up a bank account before you leave and go in to see the bank as soon as you arrive, you can activate your new Australian bank account and use EFTPOS and withdraw cash in Australian dollars, and there will clearly be no currency conversion involved.
See our Moving Your Money to Australia page for details on how to convert your money without paying too many fees.
If you like contributing to a record profit for your bank, then go ahead! If you've done this before you will have seen how much banks charge you for doing this. First, you have the awful exchange rate they give you and then they charge you a currency conversion fee on top. Ouch.
This method might be fine for emergencies, but just be aware that you will pay through the nose for using it.
At the time of writing, the income tax rates in Australia are typically more favourable than in New Zealand. Australians have enjoyed a series of tax cuts over the past few years, through a combination of both tax rate cuts and changes to thresholds for higher tax rates. The prospect of paying less tax in Australia is certainly a major reason behind our shift to Aussie. Bill English, are you listening?!
The current individual tax rates for the 2024 Australian financial year (1 July, 2023 - 30 June, 2024):
| Taxable Income | Tax |
|---|---|
$0 – $18,200 | Nil |
$18,201 – $45,000 | 19c for each $1 over $18,200 |
$45,001 – $120,000 | $5,092 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $45,000 |
$120,001 – $180,000 | $29,467 plus 37c for each $1 over $120,000 |
$180,001 and over | $51,667 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000 |
Note that the above rates do not include the 2% Medicare Levy.
You can view the latest individual income tax rates on the Australian Taxation Office site.
The Australian equivalent of an IRD number is a Tax File Number (TFN) from the Australian Taxation Office (which is the Australian version of the Inland Revenue Department).
You can apply for a Tax File Number online on the Australian Taxation Office website. As a New Zealand citizen you can apply for a TFN once you are present in Australia.
Applying for a TFN online takes approximately 20 minutes. You will need to provide your passport or travel document number, a postal address in Australia (to which your TFN will be sent), your legal name and other names you use or have used, and contact details for yourself or your preferred contact person. Once you have applied, your TFN will be sent to you in the post and will take about 1 - 2 weeks to arrive.
We don't pretend to have any personal experience with this, but visit this page on Work and Income NZ and you should find the information you are looking for.
Essentially, you must meet the criteria for the Age Pension in Australia and you need to apply at least 26 weeks in advance of leaving NZ.