Photo: RNZ
New figures show Australian visitor arrivals surged over the past year - while migration data shows a record number of New Zealanders leaving.
Stats NZ said visitor arrivals from across the Tasman reached 1.48 million in the year ended September, up from 1.33m the year before.
Stats NZ said it was the second-highest number of Australian visitor arrivals after 2019, pre-pandemic.
"The increase in visitor numbers from Australia in the September 2025 year coincided with an increase in flights between Australia and New Zealand, and a Tourism New Zealand marketing campaign from early 2025 targeting the Australian market," Stats NZ international travel statistics spokesperson Bryan Downes said.
Overall visitor arrivals were 3.43m for the year, an increase of 197,000 from the prior year.
Aside from Australia, the biggest increases were from the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Record number of NZers leave the country, again
Stats NZ also released migration data, showing annual net migration gains were 12,400 in the year ended September, compared to a net gain of 42,400 in the same period last year.
For New Zealand citizens, the net migration loss was 46,400 in the September 2025 year, driven by a record departure of 72,700 New Zealanders - primarily to Australia.
Stats NZ said 26,300 New Zealand citizens arrived in the period.
Net migration gains for non-New Zealand citizens were 58,800, reflecting 112,600 arrivals and 53,800 departures.
For migrant arrivals the biggest groups were New Zealand citizens, followed by China, India and the Philippines.
Government responses
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said New Zealanders were began leaving in 2023 due to economic decline, and expected fewer New Zealanders would leave as the economy improved.
"You always find during economic cycles that Kiwis will go overseas to seek better opportunities, but we know as soon as that turns around they come back. We've done it before and we're doing it again," Stanford said.
Finance minister Nicola Willis said it underscored why the government needed to grow the economy.
"We need more jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders here at home. We have known for many decades that Australia is a wealthier country than ours, there is no reason why we can't keep up with them."
Willis said the biggest leap in the number of New Zealanders leaving for Australia occurred on the previous government's watch.
But the Green Party's immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said it was a "tragedy" that people no longer saw a future for themselves in New Zealand, and it was time for the government to stop blaming the previous one.
"Christopher Luxon has failed to create the conditions where people can see themselves holding good, well paying jobs in this country," he said.
Labour's deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Labour's deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said "sadly" many did not feel there were opportunities in New Zealand.
"That's a real loss for us. But what they're seeing here is job losses en masse, a health system that's broken, there simply aren't the housing options that they need, and the cost of living is so high. So they're looking for better opportunities because the government's not providing them here."
Tourism Minister Louise Upston said the record number of departures underlined the need for growth.
"That's why we've got to grow the economy, we've got to ensure that there are job opportunities here.
"It's a very common phenomenon when the labour market is in the way it is at the moment, which is why we are absolutely focused on getting growth up, getting those employment opportunities up, so more Kiwis stay here."
She said some of those moving to Australia would be doing so for work opportunities, and some will come back but others won't.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said it was "not necessarily the case that they'll stay over permanently".
"A lot of people go overseas and a lot of people come back, I'm not too worried about that."
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