THE number of job-ready New Zealanders heading to Australia jumped this year, with many of them bound for Western Australia.
According to Department of Immigration figures, 60,293 New Zealand citizens moved to Australia during the 2011-12 financial year.
The statistics show that 44,304 New Zealanders will settle permanently while 15,989 were long-term arrivals, representing a 22.5 per cent increase on the previous year.
And for nearly one-fifth of these, the destination was WA.
It's little wonder, when the average full-time weekly wage in 2011 for a New Zealander stood at ,017 ($800), compared to the average equivalent Australian wage of $1,330.
Statistics also showed that at June 30 this year there were just over 647,000 New Zealanders living in Australia.
Since 1994, New Zealanders have been able to live and work in Australia through a special category visa arrangement.
This means they have had virtually unfettered access to the Australian labour market.
However, over the past two decades, New Zealanders wishing to return home have been caught by the 9 per cent super guarantee surcharge, which means they have their savings locked away in Australia until they reach retirement age.
The good news for them is that this financial drawback has finally been resolved.
Under new laws just passed by the Senate, New Zealanders and Australians will now be able to transport their super with them when moving between the two countries.
This means New Zealanders with super funds in Australia will be able to repatriate their savings and roll them into KiwiSaver or another complying scheme, from July 2013.
The same privilege will be afforded to Australians living in New Zealand under the terms of a Trans-Tasman portability agreement.
This is the first time Australia has set up a fully portable international superannuation scheme.
NZ Finance Minister Bill English says the Australian Taxation Office estimates it holds about $13 billion (.6 billion) in “lost super funds”
“We expect that much of this money could belong to New Zealanders who have returned home and these new rules will allow these funds to be brought back to New Zealand,” Mr English said.
Also, in June this year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority agreed to allow qualified financial advisers to practise on both sides of the Tasman.
Operating under trans-Tasman mutual recognition legislation, advisers will be kept busy recommending optimal outcomes for clients that may benefit from the new arrangements.
KiwiSaver members moving from New Zealand to Australia will be able to keep any member tax credits if they transfer to an Australian scheme.
They will not be able to withdraw money transferred from Australia to help them buy their first home, but will be able to use interest earned on those savings to purchase property.
Over time, pressure may mount on the Australian government to allow super fund members here to access personal retirement savings to help secure their first home, now available to New Zealanders under their system. Under KiwiSaver rules, savings can be withdrawn when members reach 65, while super funds transferred from Australia may be accessed when members reach 60, as set out under Australian rules.
KiwiSaver funds transferred to Australian schemes will only be able to be withdrawn when members reach 65, as set out in KiwiSaver rules.
Self-managed super funds have been excluded. However, a future coalition government will consider an expansion of the agreement to include them. This latest superannuation measure is one more step towards a single financial market for both countries.
• Steve Blizard is a senior securities advisor at Roxburgh Securities
