A former Rotorua woman living on the Gold Coast says many Kiwis heading to Australia for better salaries end up "begging" on social media.
Rotoiti-born woman Kaylene Vokaty said New Zealanders making the move were being fooled by the "misconception" Australia was a land of plenty with jobs for everyone.
"People see their friends posting on Facebook and Twitter that everything's great over here and that there are heaps of jobs. They're arriving at the airport [in Australia] expecting someone to be at the arrival gate with a high-paying job on a silver platter."
The reality was much tougher for Kiwis over the ditch.
Mrs Vokaty's husband, a former lance corporal in the New Zealand Army, struggled for a year to secure his current job in the mines.
It was just "one rejection letter after the other", she said.
Part of the problem was a change in the local perception of Kiwi workers, Mrs Vokaty said.
"We used to be known for being hardworking."
But thanks to a tiny proportion of New Zealanders who got "overexcited" about their big pay cheque, blew it on the first night and failed to show up for work the next day, this was no longer the case, she said.
Not only were jobs hard to get but there were no benefits for New Zealanders out of work, she said.
When Mrs Vokaty first arrived in 2006, she didn't know she wasn't eligible for social security.
"[Considering] the amount of tax we pay here, it's just not right."
Since a 2001 amendment to the Australian Social Security Act, New Zealanders who move to Australia can no longer receive Government assistance.
Many had resorted to "begging" on pages such as The Koha Shed Australia which were set up to help Kiwis in dire straits, she said.
The Facebook page, which has over 6200 members, raises thousands of dollars for those who find themselves in financial trouble. "Kiwis do look after other Kiwis."