It’s a tough time in NZ, and moving to Australia is looking pretty good. But first, check the facts

Thursday, 25 September 2025

This Saturday, the All Blacks will take on the Wallabies at Eden Park.

It will be the latest battle in a long-standing rivalry. Australia versus New Zealand: the two claimed creators of the pavlova, the flat white and Russell Crowe.

The home of the hopping marsupial up against the stomping ground of the iconic flightless bird.

The winners of the 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cup, versus the 1987, 2011 and 2015 champions.

The list goes on.

And, with 116 New Zealanders moving to Australia every day (on average), the rivalry is as alive as ever.

So, Stuff has decided it is time. I, explainer reporter Emma Ricketts, will make a final ruling on which country is better.

That’s a joke, of course. This will never be settled. But I have taken a look at the pros and cons of living in Australia versus New Zealand, to try and unpack why so many Kiwis are leaving.

Would you like to see something explained or fact checked? Email me at emma.ricketts@stuff.co.nz.

Cost of living and jobs

According to Leonela Hooker, who moved with her family of five from Auckland to the Gold Coast earlier this year, the cost of living is lower, jobs are easier to come by and business confidence is better over the ditch.

“The grocery bill is about 20% less here and staple items like bread, milk and eggs are a lot cheaper,” she said.

Hooker founded a sunglasses brand with her daughter in January, something she said she wouldn’t have had the confidence to do in New Zealand.

“I think there’s not much encouragement and you feel isolated if you try something out of the box,” she said of New Zealand.

Australia’s superior economy won’t be new news to anyone. As Stuff has reported before, Australia is a wealthier country than New Zealand, with a higher GDP per capita.

And while Finance Minister Nicola Willis celebrated New Zealand’s economic growth outpacing Australia’s in June, figures released last week confirm we have reversed. New Zealand’s GDP fell 0.9% in the June 2025 quarter, while Australia’s grew by 0.6%.

It is a tough time for New Zealanders. But does that make Australia superior?

As Simplicity economist Shamubeel Eaqub told Stuff recently, hard times are cyclical.

“Every cycle ends - but man, this cycle has been brutal,” he said. “People are struggling, and many people are feeling discontent.”

Are you considering moving to Australia? Let us know why by emailing your thoughts to newstips@stuff.co.nz

Safety nets and support

New Zealander Joanna Wyatt lived in Australia for nine years before moving home in 2014. She agreed with Hooker, the cost of living was much better.

“I reckon I was probably earning 20% more at the time, and I would come home, you know, because my family was here, and I used to think, oh my goodness, it's cheaper for me to buy groceries over there.”

But there was a catch. At the time, New Zealanders living and working in Australia were not eligible for welfare support.

“Seven years in, if you were made redundant or if you got sick or anything like that, there was nothing to back you up,” Wyatt said.

“I had salary protection insurance just because I felt I had to. But my girlfriend, who got breast cancer, had nothing. She had to work right through her chemo and everything. It was quite horrific.”

The Australian government changed the rules in 2023. Now, New Zealanders living in Australia are eligible to apply for citizenship after four years, making those benefits available.

But those first four years can still be a gamble.

“You can go there for a job, but it could be gone tomorrow. Just be prepared for the worst,” Wyatt warned.

This year was not the first time the Hooker family have transitioned over the ditch. In 2003, just before their first child was born, Hooker and her husband moved home after six years in Sydney.

“We had good, corporate jobs and Sydney was a great place to live. But, when I fell pregnant with our eldest at 25, we had no family there.”

Even now they are back in Australia - and thrilled to be there - Hooker said she had no regrets about returning to New Zealand.

“There would have been more opportunities in Sydney for us at that time, but the reason we moved back was purely for family. When you are having a baby, you realise that their roots are in New Zealand.”

Eaqub would agree. In his recent interview with Stuff, he pointed out that an economy is about more than jobs and businesses.

“It is also your social contacts, your family, friends, the wider community, all of those things are important.”

While Australia’s economy looks better than New Zealand’s in strict number terms right now, it is important to consider the context. And that, in many cases, can make New Zealand a better place to live, he said.

Housing

If falling house prices were the key to success in this rivalry, New Zealand would be winning.

House prices have dropped by 17% here since the 2022 peak, putting the national median price at $809,113, data firm Cotality reported in early September.

In Australia, Cotality put the national median at NZ$957,589, up 4.1% over the year.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s median weekly rent dropped to $628 in August, more than $100 lower than Australia’s national median rent in the second quarter this year.

But remember, cost of living is relative. And with the average weekly income nearly $800 higher in Australia than New Zealand, things are likely to balance out.

Healthcare

One thing Australia does far better than New Zealand is healthcare, Joanna Wyatt says.

According to 2020 OECD data, New Zealand spent the equivalent of US$1873 per person less on health than Australia throughout the 2010s (US$3929 per capita compared to Australia’s US$5802).

And according to Wyatt, it showed.

“Once I went into the doctor because I had a tingling down my arms. The next day I was in to get scans.

“They found a tumour in my cheek. But if I'd been here, that may never have been found and it would probably have metastasised.”

Weather

It’s hard to argue that the Aussies have us beat on weather.

Cities over the ditch tend to be warmer, drier and all-around more conducive to regular visits to the beach.

But this does bring its own issues, and climate-fuelled extreme weather disasters may be even more pressing there than in New Zealand.

Already, heatwaves caused 909 deaths in Australia between 1990 and 2022 - more people than bushfires and floods combined, a recent report revealed.

Vibes

To save one of the most important points for last - as Stuff political reporter Glenn McConnell put it in July, the vibes are arguably better in Australia.

“There has been a lot said, in recent years, about how New Zealand is now being left off tour schedules for musicians who used to pay a visit to (at the very least) Auckland,” he wrote.

“The health of Wellington and Auckland’s night life has also been making headlines, with beloved bars, cafés and restaurants all announcing closures.”

The Government has since announced a $70 million major events fund in a bid to compete with Australia and rejuvenate our vibe (and our economy).

This investment is unlikely to move the needle on the number of Kiwis fleeing our shores, but it could go some way to making New Zealand cool again.

We will just have to wait and see.