Moving to Australia from NZ: Work Rights, Super, Tax and the First Week

New Zealand citizens get full work rights in Australia from the moment they land. This covers the Special Category Visa, superannuation and KiwiSaver, Australian income tax, and the pathway to permanent residence. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 Kiwis: full work rights
  2. 0:12 Subclass 444 is granted
  3. 0:23 Your first-week
  4. 0:36 Super: 12% of your
  5. 0:49 Preservation age: 60
  6. 1:01 NZ has no tax-free
  7. 1:18 Track your income from
  8. 1:32 Leave entitlements
  9. 1:45 The most common
  10. 1:58 Different admin,

Transcript

You're a New Zealand citizen moving to Australia. You can legally start work the day you land — no visa application, no waiting.

You're granted a Special Category Visa, subclass 444, automatically at the airport. No separate queue, no visa label — it's electronic.

The first few days are admin. Open a bank account with your passport. Apply for a Tax File Number online. Enrol in Medicare — you're eligible from day one as an NZ citizen.

Your employer must pay superannuation — 12% of your salary, since 1 July 2025. You choose the fund, and you can transfer your KiwiSaver into it.

Transferring your KiwiSaver is tax-free. But once it's in, Australian preservation rules apply — you can't access it until age 60, even though KiwiSaver's own age is 65.

Australia's tax year runs 1 July to 30 June. The tax-free threshold is $18,200 — New Zealand has none. Marginal rates run from 16% to 45%, plus a 2% Medicare levy.

Planning to stay long-term? The New Zealand stream of subclass 189 has an income test tied to the Core Skills Income Threshold — $79,423, from 1 July 2026.

Workplace basics carry over well. Full-time employees get 4 weeks of annual leave and 10 days of personal leave a year. Long service leave starts after 7 to 10 years, depending on the state.

Two common mistakes. Carrying more than $10,000 in cash without declaring it at the border. And forgetting your NZ student loan — nothing here deducts it from your pay automatically.

None of this is complicated — it's just different admin, done in a different order. Get the first week right and the rest follows.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

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