Moving From Australia to New Zealand: Money Checklist
🌏 Setting up your money when you cross the Tasman
Moving from Australia to New Zealand is one of the easiest international relocations there is. As an Australian citizen or permanent resident you can live and work here indefinitely, and the two countries share arrangements for retirement savings, health care and social security that most migrants never get. That does not mean the money side runs itself. To be paid correctly you need an IRD number and a New Zealand bank account, and there are a few one-off decisions worth getting right in your first year: making the most of the transitional-resident tax break that shelters most of your foreign income for up to four years, deciding whether to move your Australian superannuation into KiwiSaver, and choosing when and how to bring your savings across without losing a chunk to poor exchange rates. This checklist walks through each step in plain terms, using the 2026/27 New Zealand rules. It covers getting set up, how New Zealand tax residency and the transitional-resident exemption work, moving super under trans-Tasman portability, transferring your savings sensibly, the health and pension arrangements between the two countries, and how PAYE and KiwiSaver work once you start a job here. It is general information, not personal advice, so confirm the details that apply to your own situation.
Step one: an IRD number
An IRD number is your personal tax identification number in New Zealand. You need one to be paid through PAYE at the right rate, to open most bank accounts, and to join KiwiSaver. As a new migrant you apply as a new arrival, and you will usually need a New Zealand bank account and proof of identity. It is free, and you should never pay a third party a fee to get one. Without it, an employer must deduct tax at the no-notification rate of 45%, so sort it early.
Step two: a New Zealand bank account
A local transaction account lets your employer pay your wages, lets Inland Revenue pay any refund, and saves you paying international card fees on everyday spending. Several New Zealand banks let you begin the application from Australia before you arrive, then complete identity checks once you land. Having the account open also makes the IRD number application smoother.
Australian citizens are granted a resident visa automatically on arrival, and Australian permanent residents can apply for one. That means you are entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely, which is what opens the door to KiwiSaver and to the full range of the settings in this guide, unlike someone here on a temporary work visa.
📅 Tax residency and the 4-year exemption
When you settle in New Zealand you become a New Zealand tax resident, and residents are normally taxed on their worldwide income. For new migrants there is a valuable exception in your first years here.
When you become a tax resident
You generally become a New Zealand tax resident once you are present for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or when you establish a permanent place of abode here. From that point New Zealand can tax your worldwide income, not just what you earn locally.
The transitional-resident exemption
To help people settle in, a new or returning migrant can be a transitional resident, which gives a temporary exemption from New Zealand tax on most kinds of foreign income for up to about four years. You qualify if you have not been a New Zealand tax resident at any time in the previous 10 years, and you have never been a transitional resident before. It is a one-off: once the period ends, you cannot get it again.
The exemption covers up to 48 months. It starts from the month you meet the residency requirements and runs to the last day of the month four years later. During that window, most foreign passive income is exempt from New Zealand tax.
What is and is not covered
- Exempt during the window: most foreign passive income, such as overseas interest, dividends, foreign rental income, foreign superannuation and pension income, and foreign investment fund income.
- Still taxed: income for work or services you perform, including salary and wages you earn from a New Zealand job, and income from services you carry out overseas. Your local pay is always taxed here through PAYE.
If you or your partner choose to receive Working for Families Tax Credits, you give up the transitional-resident exemption from that point. Weigh the two against each other before you claim, because for some households the foreign-income exemption is worth far more than the tax credits.
The exemption is a timing advantage, not a loophole. It gives you breathing room to organise your affairs before your overseas income becomes taxable in New Zealand. It is also worth remembering that Australia may still tax Australian-sourced income under its own rules, so getting advice on both sides can pay off.
💸 Super, savings, health and your first pay
Moving Australian super to KiwiSaver
Under the trans-Tasman retirement savings portability arrangement, you can move your Australian superannuation into a KiwiSaver account once you have permanently emigrated to New Zealand. It is entirely voluntary, both your Australian fund and your KiwiSaver provider have to offer it, and you keep your super where it is if you prefer.
- Where it goes: the balance transfers into your KiwiSaver account, so you need a KiwiSaver account open first. The money enters KiwiSaver free of entry tax.
- Australian rules follow the money: the Australian-sourced portion keeps Australian rules inside your KiwiSaver. It cannot be withdrawn to buy a first home, and it can only be accessed from the Australian preservation age of 60, rather than the usual KiwiSaver age of 65.
- It cannot move on again: money brought over this way cannot then be transferred to a scheme in a third country.
There is no rush. Leaving super in Australia keeps your options open if you might move back, while transferring consolidates your retirement savings in one country and one currency. Compare the fees, insurance and investment options of both schemes, and get advice, before you decide.
Bringing your savings across
When you move cash savings from Australian dollars to New Zealand dollars, the headline exchange rate is only part of the story. The real cost is the gap between the mid-market rate (the true rate you see on a currency chart) and the rate you are actually offered, plus any transfer fee. Banks often build a wide margin into the rate, while specialist money-transfer services usually quote closer to mid-market. On a large transfer the difference can be hundreds of dollars, so it pays to compare providers rather than default to your bank.
Health and social security between the two countries
New Zealand and Australia have a reciprocal health agreement. In broad terms, Australian citizens and permanent residents who intend to stay two years or more can enrol and get the same publicly funded health services and subsidies as other residents. There is also a social security agreement that lets you count periods of Australian residence towards qualifying for certain New Zealand payments, such as New Zealand Superannuation, so time spent in Australia is not simply lost. These are high-level points, and the detail depends on your circumstances, so check the current rules with Health New Zealand and Work and Income.
PAYE and KiwiSaver as an employee here
Once you start a job, your employer deducts your income tax and the ACC earners levy (1.75% for 2026/27) from each pay through PAYE and sends them to Inland Revenue. You give your IRD number and tax code on an IR330, using the M code for your main job. Because you are entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely, you are also eligible for KiwiSaver and will usually be enrolled automatically when you start a new job, with the option to opt out early on if it does not suit you.
🔢 Worked examples
These four examples use the 2026/27 rates. Currency figures in Example 3 are illustrative only, chosen to show how costs work, not live rates.
Situation: Liam moves from Sydney to Auckland and becomes a New Zealand tax resident. He has not been a New Zealand tax resident for over 10 years and has never been a transitional resident, so he qualifies. He takes a job here paying $85,000 (M code) and still receives about A$8,000 a year in Australian share dividends and A$12,000 a year in net rent from an Australian property.
His Australian dividends and rent are foreign passive income, so during the transitional-resident window (up to 48 months) they are exempt from New Zealand tax. Only his New Zealand salary is taxed here. When the exemption ends, that Australian income becomes taxable in New Zealand too, so it is worth planning ahead.
Situation: Sarah has permanently emigrated to New Zealand and decides to move her Australian super balance of about A$60,000 into her KiwiSaver account under trans-Tasman portability.
The transfer is voluntary, so Sarah could equally have left the balance in Australia. By moving it, she consolidates her retirement savings in one country and one currency. The trade-off is that the transferred money is locked to Australian access rules: released at the Australian preservation age of 60, unavailable for a first-home withdrawal, and unable to be moved on to a third country later.
Transfers cannot usually be reversed, and you may give up insurance cover attached to your Australian super. Compare fees, investment options and any cover on both sides, and get advice, before you move a balance across.
Situation: Ben moves A$50,000 of savings to New Zealand. The rates below are illustrative, used only to show how the cost is made up, not current market rates.
Most of the cost hides in the exchange rate margin, not the visible fee. On a move-across-the-Tasman-sized amount, checking the rate against the mid-market benchmark and comparing a couple of providers can be worth well over a thousand dollars.
A transfer advertised as "fee-free" can still cost more if the exchange rate is poor. Compare the New Zealand dollars you would actually receive from each provider for the same Australian dollars, after all charges.
Situation: Emma, an Australian citizen now living in Wellington, starts her first New Zealand job on $70,000. It is her only job and she has no New Zealand student loan, so she uses the M code on her IR330.
Because Emma is entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely, she is eligible for KiwiSaver and is enrolled automatically when she starts. If she contributes, that comes off her pay on top of the figures above, and her employer adds its own contribution. Her Australian HECS-HELP debt is not a New Zealand student loan, so nothing extra is deducted for it here.
Sources
Rates, thresholds and rules in this guide were checked in July 2026 against Inland Revenue, Work and Income, Health New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand guidance:
- Inland Revenue, "Temporary tax exemption" and "Tax residency status for individuals" (transitional resident where not NZ tax resident in the previous 10 years and never a transitional resident before; up to about 4 years of exemption on most foreign income; NZ and overseas employment income still taxed; Working for Families ends the exemption), ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Trans-Tasman portability of retirement savings" (voluntary; savings move into a KiwiSaver scheme; exempt from entry tax; Australian-sourced amounts keep Australian rules including the age 60 preservation age and no first-home withdrawal; cannot move to a third country), ird.govt.nz and taxtechnical.ird.govt.nz
- Inland Revenue, "Joining KiwiSaver" and "Check employee eligibility for KiwiSaver" (Australian citizens and residents entitled to live in NZ indefinitely can join; ACC earners' levy 1.75% for 2026/27), ird.govt.nz
- Health New Zealand, "Reciprocal health agreements" (Australians intending to stay two years or more can access publicly funded services), tewhatuora.govt.nz
- Work and Income, "Social Security Agreement with Australia" (Australian residence can count towards qualifying for certain NZ payments), workandincome.govt.nz
- Immigration New Zealand, "Australian Resident Visa" (Australian citizens and permanent residents can live in NZ indefinitely), immigration.govt.nz
Note: this guide is general information about New Zealand money and tax, not personal advice. Your residency position, super options and social-security entitlements depend on your circumstances, so confirm the current rules with Inland Revenue, Work and Income and a licensed adviser.
Related tools and guides
- Currency Converter - compare Australian and New Zealand dollar amounts
- PAYE Calculator - work out your New Zealand take-home pay
- KiwiSaver Calculator - project your KiwiSaver savings
- Income Tax Calculator - tax across the 2026/27 brackets
- Getting an IRD number in New Zealand
- KiwiSaver when you move overseas
- International money transfers
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