More than 100,000 New Zealanders living as "indefinite temporaries" in Australia may finally gain rights to Australian welfare and student loans following a landmark joint transtasman inquiry.
The nine-month inquiry by the Australian and New Zealand Productivity Commissions into further transtasman integration has found that denying full rights to Kiwis on indefinite temporary visas in Australia "may develop into a point of irritation within the transtasman relationship".
The commissions have urged Australia to create a new "pathway" for New Zealanders to gain permanent residence and Australian citizenship, and to let NZ citizens get Australian student loans after "an appropriate waiting period" such as two years' residence.
Submitters told the inquiry the current rules barring Kiwis from welfare, student loans and voting rights had created an "underclass" of disfranchised people, many of whom had paid Australian taxes for many years.
Prime Minister John Key and Julia Gillard, Australia's Prime Minister, both acknowledged the problem when they announced the joint inquiry in January.