Northland nurse Hanibrez Sipu has moved to Australia to work until she can afford to live in New Zealand again. Photo / Supplied
Northland nurse Hanibrez Sipu has moved to Australia to work until she can afford to live in New Zealand again. Photo / Supplied
In the face of rising costs of living, a housing crisis and industry shortages, you may have heard from a friend or a sponsored advertisement about how much "better" it is to live in Australia.
While both Northland and Australia offer hot summers and beautiful beaches, only Australia promises higherpay and lower living costs.
The pay she is receiving in Australia is three times the hourly rate she was receiving in Northland.
"I have given myself a timeline of four years to save up for a deposit on a house so I can go back home [to Northland], buy a house for my family and my father and just try to get by, I suppose."
Sipu said she has found her working hours and staffing numbers much better at her Wilcannia role, despite it being a town of under 800 people.
"It's a small little town, however the people in Wilcannia have a lot of respect for me and every time I walk up past someone, I don't even know their name, they'll say hi."
Sipu used a recruiter to guide her through the process of moving and working in Australia and ensure she had the right nursing registrations to work.
"It gets a lot more complex and you're basically a sitting duck waiting to hear from [Immigration]."
Sipu was able to secure free accommodation and free transportation with her new Australian outback nursing role.
"I don't think I would be able to make it across Australia and find employment here without the assistance of a recruiter," Sipu said.
Northlander Hanibrez Sipu is now working as a nurse in Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. Photo / Supplied
Grace Harman and her partner moved to Melbourne from Christchurch in 2007 and created their website, Move to Australia because they couldn't find a central resource to help them with their move.
"We are currently seeing another peak in demand for workers in Australia, as immigration from other countries is still not back to normal levels, so there are real shortages in some industries."
In the past two to three months Kiwis have had more confidence about moving to Australia again now that Covid restrictions on travel have been dropped, Harman said.
"We have noticed two main reasons for people moving to Australia over the years: to escape a situation in New Zealand and to find new opportunities, mainly work, not so readily available in New Zealand," Harman said.
Move To Australia guide creator Grace Harman moved from Christchurch to Melbourne in 2007. Photo / Supplied
Moving for work
There are currently 119 Australian jobs available offering relocation packages on Seek NZ.
While most relocation packages are in the healthcare sector or in trades and services, there are also jobs for Kiwis in other areas.
"This year there seems to be a lot of general demand for Kiwis in other industries like hospitality, retail, hairdressing etc. These industries may not have the budget to offer a relocation package, but they are pretty desperate for workers," Harman said.
"I've talked to a couple of employers who have advertised on social media for Kiwis because they couldn't find anyone locally. Some of these jobs are offering $10-$15 more per hour compared to New Zealand wages for similar roles."
It's a good idea to do research on workers' rights and minimum pay rates in Australia for different industries.
"Penalty rates and superannuation work a bit differently than in New Zealand. Wages are generally better but the system is more complex, so it's helpful to understand if you are being paid correctly."
Moving to escape debt
Harman said her website's forum often sees many cries for help from Kiwis dealing with debt, usually relating to student loans, and she said it's a big driver of the exodus.
"The student loans system does seem to have created a situation where some people feel they can't earn enough to get ahead on New Zealand wages."
If you're away from New Zealand for more than six months and you have a student loan, interest begins to be added to your loan and repayments are no longer automatically deducted from your income.
Missed payments can incur late payment interest fees, which are currently 6.8 per cent and it will keep being charged until you have caught up with your payments.
What's the catch?
Finding short-term accommodation while you get yourself set up can be tricky, Harman said, especially if you don't have friends or family in Australia or are on a limited budget.
"The other major issue is the lack of income support for Kiwis in Australia," Harman said
New Zealand citizens can move to Australia to live and work without needing to apply for a visa of any kind under a Special Category Visa (SCV).
The SCV is considered a temporary, unprotected visa. There is no limit to how long you can live and work in Australia, but there are several limitations to welfare support.
In contrast, all Australians who come to New Zealand are automatically granted residence visas.
"If you lose your job, you can usually only access jobseeker payments [unemployment benefit] if you have been [in Australia] for 10-plus years or you have permanent residency, but most Kiwis don't bother applying for this, because it is quite expensive and a bit of a paperwork headache."
While Australians in New Zealand can apply for permanent residence after two years, the SCV does not give you the same rights as an Australian permanent resident or citizen.
Move to Australia notes that living in Australia on an SCV means you cannot:
• Access many of the social welfare payments, such as the unemployment benefit • Get a student loan • Vote in Australian elections • Work for the Australian Government on an ongoing basis • Join the Australian Defence Force
Kiwis who plan to work in Australia temporarily before moving back to New Zealand should keep an eye on their superannuation.
Australian super fund savings can be transferred to KiwiSaver schemes if you move back to New Zealand - but there's a pretty big catch.
