Record exodus to Australia as New Zealanders chase better pay and stability

A record number of New Zealanders are heading across the Tasman, drawn by higher wages and a lower cost of living as the domestic economy falters.

Provisional data from Stats NZ shows 73,900 citizens left in the year to August 2025, the highest annual departure on record. More than half moved to Australia, where wages are stronger and residency rights are automatic. In 2024, New Zealand recorded a net migration loss of 30,000 people to Australia, the biggest outflow in over a decade.

“In New Zealand, I was putting groceries on Afterpay,” said 24-year-old Hayden Fisher, who now works in a Sydney bookshop and spends about a quarter of what he used to on food. Others describe the country as “hollowing out” under weak leadership, stagnant wages, and high living costs.

One young professional told the Guardian that the “money is just insane.” Another, a traditional Samoan tattoo artist, said Auckland “doesn’t feel like the city I grew up in any more.”

Experts say the migration wave reflects both long-term patterns and economic mismanagement. “The current high influx is linked to the downturn in New Zealand,” said Professor Alan Gamlen of ANU, who warned the gap in incomes, roughly NZ$48,000 per capita versus Australia’s NZ$64,400, remains a major driver.

For many, New Zealand is beautiful, but “a bunch of mountains can’t pay your rent.”

Centrist Ltd.