Mr Vrins spent his first two years in Australia doing "fly in fly out" work in the mines of Western Australia, spending three weeks away from his family and one week at home.
The 37-year-old was promoted through the company and now has a rail infrastructure management job in Melbourne, where he starts work at 7am and is home by 3pm each day.
But he warned that Australia was not a golden ticket - Kiwis had to be prepared to work hard if they wanted to make good money.
"People come over here thinking 'awesome, there's money to be made'. It's not like that. You are not going to come over here for a free ride.
"When I was on the mines it was bloody hard, especially when the kids were doing things or were sick and I couldn't be there.
"We were doing 14 hours on the site, but I knew it was short-term. You have to really focus on your goal."
Mr Vrins misses friends and family in New Zealand and wants to return to Tauranga, after gaining more experience in Australia. "We are Kiwis, we love New Zealand."