Financial advice for Australians moving to New Zealand

You can often bring your Australian super with you. The Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme lets you move savings from an Australian APRA-regulated super fund into a participating KiwiSaver scheme once you've emigrated permanently. You'll need a New Zealand IRD number, and both your super fund and your KiwiSaver provider have to take part — it's voluntary for them, so not every fund will. There's no cap on how much you can move and a properly handled transfer isn't taxed on the way across, but it's all or nothing: you transfer the whole balance or none of it.

A few things surprise people. Money that came from Australia keeps some Australian rules once it's inside KiwiSaver — you generally can't touch it until 60, it can't go toward a KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, and once it's here it can't be moved on to a third country. Self-managed super funds and defined-benefit schemes can't use the scheme at all. So transferring isn't automatically the right move — sometimes leaving super in Australia makes more sense, and it's worth talking through before you shift anything.

The official mechanics are on the Australian Taxation Office and Inland Revenue websites, and our KiwiSaver advice walks you through a sensible order of operations. It's also worth knowing that KiwiSaver's rules changed in 2026 — the government contribution and default rate both moved — which affects what a transferred balance does once it's here.

New Zealand doesn't have Medicare, and the system is split in a way that catches Australians out. Injuries from accidents are covered by ACC — a no-fault scheme that looks after everyone in the country, including visitors. Everything else — illness, disease, the things that come on gradually or with age — runs through the public health system, and only if you're eligible for it. A broken leg from a fall is ACC's job; cancer or diabetes is the public system's.

Eligibility hinges on time, not paperwork at the border. As an Australian citizen or permanent resident you're generally an "eligible person" for publicly funded care once you've been here two years, or can show you intend to stay two years or more — a work contract or a long-term tenancy usually does it. If you arrive on a work visa of two years or more, you can be eligible from the day you land. You can check your situation on the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora eligibility guide and its reciprocal health agreements page.

"Eligible" is the key word: it's a right to be considered for free or subsidised care, not a guarantee — and waits for non-urgent treatment can be long. Medicare doesn't come with you to fill the gap, either. It keeps you enrolled for about a year after you leave Australia, but it won't pay for treatment you get here; the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement only steps in for care that's immediately necessary during a short stay. That gap is why a lot of new arrivals take out private medical insurance.

Insurers look at your health at the time you apply. If you wait until after a diagnosis to sort life, income protection, trauma or medical cover, that cover can come with exclusions, cost more, or be declined altogether. The practical takeaway: getting personal and medical cover in place soon after you arrive, while you're healthy, usually gives you the most options and the best price.

Private medical insurance here mostly buys speed and choice — seeing a specialist or getting an elective procedure done without joining a public waitlist. It's underwritten, so anything you're already dealing with is usually excluded, which is another reason to sort it while you're well and new rather than after something happens.

We work with nib, which operates on both sides of the Tasman, so if you held nib cover in Australia we can talk through how it compares with what's available here. Your Australian policy generally only pays for treatment in Australia, so most people suspend or cancel it when they leave. If you ever move back, taking out hospital cover again within 12 months keeps you clear of the Lifetime Health Cover loading, and the time you spent overseas doesn't count against you.

In practice, helping an Aussie expat usually looks like: a first conversation to map where you're at and what's urgent; guidance on whether and how to move your super; triaging your insurance so the time-sensitive cover gets sorted first; and getting your KiwiSaver set up properly for your goals here. You work directly with Angharad.

Our advice process explains exactly how we work. Our advice is free to you — how we're paid is set out on the public disclosure page. Visa and residency questions sit with Immigration New Zealand, and we'll happily point you in the right direction.