Retiring in New Zealand from Australia: living there, your pension, NZ Super and health care (2026)

Who New Zealand suits, and what to weigh up

New Zealand suits you if you want to live overseas without visa deposits, retirement ages or a new language. Australian citizens get a free resident visa at the border and can stay as long as they like. Sydney is about 3 hours away. That suits families split across the Tasman, as our page on grandchildren in Australia explains. And if it doesn’t work out, coming back is simple, which helps when one of you is keen and one is not sure.

On our estimates, Christchurch is the sixth-dearest of the 25 countries we price, behind Honolulu, London, Dublin, Sliema and Nice. It won’t stretch a pension. If you move for good, your Age Pension and New Zealand’s own pension, NZ Super, are worked out together under an agreement. You don’t come out ahead by getting both.

From 1 December 2026, Australians in New Zealand can use the public health system without the 2-year stay test. Winters are colder than most of Australia, and Smartraveller calls earthquakes a constant risk.

What a month costs

Our estimate for a month in Christchurch is about A$5,560 for a couple and A$4,140 for one person, rent included.

A month in Christchurch	Couple	One person
Rent, one-bedroom flat in the centre	A$1,820	A$1,820
Living costs (food, transport, bills)	A$2,470	A$1,370
Eating out, local trips and extras (30%)	A$1,270	A$950
Total	A$5,560	A$4,140

How a month in New Zealand compares

For a couple

New Zealand, our estimate

A$5,560

Comfortable in Australia

A$6,580

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$4,040

About A$1,020 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

For one person

New Zealand, our estimate

A$4,140

Comfortable in Australia

A$4,680

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$2,680

About A$540 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

Not built the same way: Australia's figure (ASFA Retirement Standard, comfortable, June quarter 2026) assumes you own your home and includes health insurance; our estimate for New Zealand includes rent and leaves health insurance out. Age Pension: the most paid in Australia from 20 September 2026; living overseas for good, the base rate is about A$3,710 a month for a couple and A$2,460 for one person.

Our estimate: Numbeo’s living costs for one person (without rent) plus a one-bedroom city-centre rent, plus 30% for eating out, local trips and extras. For a couple, living costs times 1.8. Converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average exchange rate for the 12 months to September 2026 (A$1 = 1.1883 NZ dollars). Health insurance is not included. We use Numbeo’s Christchurch page, last updated 19 October 2026.

As a cross-check, Tenancy Services, part of New Zealand’s business ministry (MBIE), records the rent on every new bond. In August 2026 the median weekly rent on new bonds was NZ$550 in Christchurch (about A$460 at the RBA’s 12-month average rate). It was NZ$695 in Tauranga (about A$580), NZ$650 in Auckland (about A$550) and NZ$520 in Nelson (about A$440). Those medians cover homes of every size.

For comparison, ASFA puts a comfortable retirement for a couple in Australia at about A$6,580 a month (June quarter 2026), for homeowners and with health insurance. Ours includes rent but not health insurance.

Against the Age Pension. After 12 weeks away, the most the Age Pension pays is the base rate: about A$2,460 a month for one person and A$3,710 for a couple, before tax (from 20 September 2026). That falls well short of a month in Christchurch. If you move for good, the agreement sets your income instead (see below).

What costs more than you’d expect. Rent is the big one: NZ$550 a week comes to about A$2,010 a month. GP visits aren’t free, because practices set their own fees. Until 30 November 2026, the reciprocal agreement doesn’t cover ambulance travel for visitors from Australia. Christchurch’s average July low is 0.6°C, and a rental only has to have a fixed heater in the main living room. A car’s running costs come on top, because our living costs count public transport.

Renting long term. Tenancy Services sets the rules. A landlord can ask for a bond of up to 4 weeks’ rent, and must lodge it with Tenancy Services. Rent in advance is capped at 2 weeks, and letting fees are banned. On a periodic tenancy, a landlord can end it with 90 days’ written notice without a reason; you can leave with 21 days’ notice. At NZ$550 a week (about A$460), the most you’d pay upfront is NZ$2,200 bond plus NZ$1,100 rent (about A$1,850 and A$930). Before you sign, check what is included and how the place is heated.

Visas for Australians

Visiting or moving. Immigration New Zealand gives Australian citizens an Australian Resident Visa when they arrive. It lets you live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, it costs nothing, and you can’t apply for it before you travel. Citizens don’t need an NZeTA travel authority. Australian permanent residents need an NZeTA before they fly, then get the same visa.

You must be of good character. Immigration New Zealand says a criminal conviction, or being deported or removed from another country, may mean you don’t meet the test. If you aren’t sure, it says to apply for a visa before you travel.

All travellers must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration before passport control. It is free on the official site, travellerdeclaration.govt.nz, or in the NZTD app, and you can submit it from 24 hours before your trip starts.

What the visa does and doesn’t do. Each time you leave New Zealand, the resident visa expires, and you get a new one when you come back. If you want to keep your residence status while you travel, Immigration New Zealand offers a variation of travel conditions for up to 24 months.

Staying for good. After 2 years in a row on a resident visa, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. It costs NZ$315 (about A$270), and Immigration New Zealand processes 80% of them within 2 weeks. You need to show commitment to New Zealand in one of five ways. The time test is at least 184 days in New Zealand in each of the last 2 years. With it, you can travel in and out as you like.

By age. There is no age, income or savings test. The visa is the same at 55 or 85.

A partner who isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Your partner can’t use the Australian Resident Visa. The usual route is the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, which counts an Australian living in New Zealand as the “New Zealander”. You need to have lived together at least 12 months, and your partner must meet health and character rules. It costs from NZ$5,360 (about A$4,510), with 80% decided within 7 months. Immigration New Zealand, or a licensed immigration adviser there, can say which visa fits.

Documents to get in Australia before you go. For the visa on arrival, your Australian passport is enough. For a Permanent Resident Visa or a partner visa, Immigration New Zealand may ask for police certificates under 6 months old. An Australian Federal Police check costs A$57, and the AFP says most online checks arrive within a few days. For a partner visa, bring evidence of your relationship, such as a marriage certificate and joint bills.

Your Age Pension and Medicare in New Zealand

This is general information; Services Australia and Work and Income can give you your own figures. From New Zealand, Services Australia’s free-call number is 0800 441 248. From Australia, Work and Income’s international team is on 1800 150 479.

For a visit. The usual travel rules apply. Your Age Pension keeps paying; after 6 weeks the Energy Supplement stops and your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled, and after 12 weeks the Pension Supplement stops completely (since 20 September 2026). The 6, 12 and 26-week rules explain each step.

The agreement. Today’s version started on 1 July 2017 and covers the Age Pension and NZ Super, among other payments. The Department of Social Services’ guide says its biggest difference from other agreements is that you generally can’t be better off with payments from both countries. Combined, they can’t exceed the maximum the country you live in would pay.

The Australian part. Services Australia works out the Australian part. If you move for good, or plan to stay a year or more, the DSS guide says it is calculated with the “outside Australia” rate from the day you arrive. Until you have lived in New Zealand 10 years in all, your Age Pension is cut by the share of your working-age years spent living in New Zealand. Working-age years run from age 20 to pension age, counted up to 45 years. They stop at pension age (67 for now), so time in New Zealand after 67 doesn’t reduce it on that formula. After 10 years in New Zealand, the rate depends on your working-age years in Australia, out of 45. Our guide to moving overseas for good covers the day you leave.

Claiming from New Zealand. Because of the agreement, you can claim the Age Pension while living in New Zealand. Services Australia’s factsheet says you lodge the claim form at any Work and Income office, which sends it to Centrelink. You need to have reached Age Pension age, and your Australian residence plus your working-age years in New Zealand must add up to at least 10 years. Claims can generally go in up to 13 weeks early.

NZ Super. Work and Income pays NZ Super from 65 to people who hold residence (your Australian Resident Visa counts) and have lived in New Zealand long enough since age 20, including 5 years since 50. The years needed depend on your date of birth. Born on or before 30 June 1959, it is 10 years. Born from 1 July 1959, it rises by a year every two years of birth, to 20 years for anyone born on or after 1 July 1977.

Under the agreement, your working-age years in Australia can count towards those years. You qualify that way from 67, if you lived in Australia at least 12 months between 20 and 67 (6 months of it in one stretch). You must also live in New Zealand, or intend to stay at least a year. The DSS guide says the agreement’s pension age is the higher of the two countries’ ages, so 67 for now.

How they fit together. Work and Income counts the Australian part as an overseas pension. It converts it to NZ dollars at an average monthly exchange rate and takes it off your NZ Super, dollar for dollar, using the before-tax amounts. If your Australian part is larger than your NZ Super, you get only the Australian part. From 1 April 2026, NZ Super for a single person living alone is NZ$1,294.74 a fortnight before tax (about A$1,090). For a couple who both qualify, it is NZ$1,968.56 a fortnight between them (about A$1,660).

An example, not a real person: Margaret is 70, single and has lived in Australia all her adult life. She gets a part Age Pension and moves to Nelson, where she lives alone. Services Australia keeps working out her Australian part; her years in New Zealand after 67 don’t cut it. Work and Income tops it up to the NZ Super rate for a single person living alone, so her total before tax lands at about that rate.

Two ways to be paid. With the Direct Payment Option, Centrelink pays the Australian part into your account and Work and Income pays the rest, and you handle the New Zealand tax on the Australian part. With the Special Banking Option, Work and Income pays one total, exchange rate swings don’t change it, and New Zealand tax is already taken out.

Department of Social Services figures show 21,416 people getting the Age Pension in New Zealand at the end of 2025, more than in any other country. They averaged about A$258 a fortnight each, so the Australian part is often small.

Medicare. New Zealand is one of Australia’s 11 reciprocal health care countries; the next section covers what that means there. If you are an Australian citizen and move to New Zealand, you can still use Medicare for treatment in Australia, on visits home, for up to 5 years after you leave. Visits home do not restart that clock. After that, you re-enrol when you move back to live.

Health care and insurance

Smartraveller says New Zealand’s medical facilities are of a similar standard to Australia’s. Until 30 November 2026, what is free depends on whether you live there or visit. On 1 December 2026 the rules change.

If you live there, until 30 November 2026. Health New Zealand says Australian citizens and permanent residents are eligible for publicly funded care if they plan to live there 2 years or more in a row, from their first day. Proof can be a long-term rental agreement, a home you own or a work contract.

If you visit, until 30 November 2026. Under the reciprocal agreement, Services Australia says necessary care that can’t wait until you get home is covered within 2 years of arriving. That covers hospital care, maternity services and medicines. It doesn’t cover GP visits, the full cost of medicines a GP prescribes, or ambulance travel. Smartraveller adds that it doesn’t include ongoing treatment of existing conditions.

From 1 December 2026, living there or visiting. The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) (Eligibility) Regulations 2026 replace the old rules. They make Australian citizens and permanent residents eligible for publicly funded services while they are in New Zealand. Their explanatory note says the 2-year requirement has been removed, to match New Zealand residence class visa holders. The Ministry of Health’s guidance says Australians who are only visiting are also eligible under these general rules. The ministry adds that being eligible doesn’t make every service free. Clinical need decides what you get, and some services carry a co-payment, set by separate funding decisions.

Separately, Accident Compensation (ACC) covers hospital treatment for accidents in New Zealand, for visitors too.

Doctors and medicines. It is free to enrol with a general practice, but only people eligible for public care can enrol. Each visit then costs whatever the practice charges, less a government subsidy for enrolled patients. Health New Zealand says prescriptions from approved prescribers, such as your enrolled GP or a public hospital, are free for eligible people aged 65 and over.

What is where. Health New Zealand’s hospital lists show where emergency care is. Christchurch’s main public hospital has an emergency department and a children’s hospital; across Canterbury, 13 other public hospitals and health centres have no emergency department. Auckland has four general public hospitals with emergency departments. Tauranga has a 24-hour emergency department, and Nelson has one too. In a smaller town, an emergency usually means a drive to one of these. Call 111 for an ambulance.

Medicines. Medsafe allows up to 3 months’ supply of a prescription medicine, in its original container, with the prescription or a doctor’s letter. Controlled drugs are limited to one month’s supply and must be declared. Our guide to taking medicines overseas has the Australian side. Smartraveller says there is an increased risk of measles in New Zealand.

Insurance. For a visit, Smartraveller says your travel insurance must cover all medical costs overseas, including evacuation, because the Australian Government won’t pay them. Our guide to travel insurance for long stays covers age limits. Once you live there, an insurance broker can explain what private cover in New Zealand would add. Our page on retiring overseas with a health condition has questions to ask. If you’d like help working out where to start, book a free planning session on Zoom.

Where Australians live

There is no official count of where Australians settle in New Zealand. Here are four to compare, with August 2026 median weekly rents.

Area	What it’s like	Getting around	Hospital	Airport
Christchurch	The South Island’s largest city; our cost base; rent NZ$550 a week (about A$460)	Flat and spread out; buses; Port Hills to the south	Main public hospital with an emergency department	Christchurch International
Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty	Warmer North Island coast around Mount Maunganui; rent NZ$695 (about A$580)	Mostly flat; a car helps; about 3 hours’ drive to Auckland	Public hospital with a 24-hour emergency department	Tauranga (domestic flights)
Auckland	The largest city, around two harbours; rent NZ$650 (about A$550)	Hilly in parts; buses, trains and ferries; heavy traffic	Four general public hospitals with emergency departments	Auckland International
Nelson	Small sunny city at the top of the South Island; rent NZ$520 (about A$440)	Compact and mostly flat; buses limited; about 6 hours’ drive to Christchurch	Public hospital with an emergency department	Nelson (domestic flights)

Christchurch is our cost base. It is flat, which helps if you walk or cycle, with non-stop flights to five Australian cities.

Tauranga has the highest rents of the four, milder winters than Christchurch and the most rain. Trips home start with the drive to Auckland.

Auckland is the largest city, with the most hospitals of the four and the main international airport.

Nelson is the smallest, with the lowest rent of the four. Flights to Australia connect through Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.

Renting or buying a home

Australian citizens can buy a home in New Zealand on close to the same terms as New Zealanders.

Toitū Te Whenua LINZ, which runs the Overseas Investment Act, says Australian citizens can buy land classed as “residential” or “lifestyle” without applying for consent, even before they live there. Land that is residential and also “sensitive” is different: on an island, or next to a beach, lake, river or reserve, for example. For that, an Australian citizen needs to be “ordinarily resident” or get consent. Ordinarily resident means holding a residence class visa, having lived in New Zealand for the last 12 months, and being a tax resident through more than 183 days there.

Australian permanent residents can buy residential or lifestyle land without consent once they are ordinarily resident. Before then, they need consent. If you buy with a spouse or partner, only one of you needs to meet the rules. Rural land over 5 hectares has its own consent rules. LINZ says breaking the rules can bring penalties and recommends legal advice.

The people to ask are a property lawyer in New Zealand, who handles the purchase, and the local council about the land. Smartraveller suggests reviewing your will if you buy property overseas. Our guide to overseas property and visa scams covers the warning signs. For the Australian side, see whether to keep, rent or sell the family home, and whether it counts for the pension while you are away.

Tax: there and at home

In New Zealand. Inland Revenue says you become a tax resident at the first of two points. One is being in New Zealand more than 183 days in any 12 months; the other is having a permanent place of abode, somewhere you call home. Tax residency is separate from your visa.

New arrivals who haven’t been New Zealand tax residents in the last 10 years are usually “transitional residents”. For about 4 years, Inland Revenue says, most overseas income is exempt, including overseas interest, dividends and rent. Income from work done overseas isn’t exempt, and lump sums from foreign super funds have their own 4-year rule. Work and Income says you may owe New Zealand tax on the Australian part of your pension.

The treaty. Australia and New Zealand signed a tax treaty on 26 June 2009, and Treasury lists it as in force. A treaty settles which country taxes which income. When it was signed, Inland Revenue said pensions exempt in the home country would be exempt in the other. It also said lump-sum pension benefits would be taxed only in the country they come from.

At home. The ATO’s residency tests decide whether you are still an Australian resident for tax; our guide to tax residency when you retire overseas walks through them. If you become a foreign resident, you lose the tax-free threshold, so Australian income such as rent is taxed at 30% from the first dollar (2025-26), as the foreign resident tax rates show. Sell your Australian home while you are a foreign resident and, for sales after 30 June 2020, you generally lose the main residence exemption from capital gains tax, apart from narrow life events.

Talk to a registered tax agent in Australia, and to a tax adviser in New Zealand about your pension, super and any rent, before you go.

Money and banking

Your pension. If you’ll be away more than 12 months, Services Australia pays every 4 weeks into an Australian or overseas account. Paid into a New Zealand account, it arrives in NZ dollars, usually within 2 to 6 days. Bank fees are yours. Under the agreement, the Special Banking Option pays it all through Work and Income instead.

A local account and an IRD number. New Zealand banks set their own identity and address checks, so the bank can tell you what it needs. Inland Revenue issues IRD (tax) numbers, and new arrivals can apply online and usually get one within 2 days. Without it, your bank must take tax from your interest at the non-declaration rate of 45%.

Your super. The ATO says the Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme lets you move retirement savings between an Australian super fund and a KiwiSaver scheme when you move countries. It is voluntary, and only funds regulated by APRA and KiwiSaver providers take part. A licensed financial adviser can explain what moving it would mean for you.

Moving money and cash. The main options are a transfer from your Australian bank, a currency transfer service, or an Australian card at an ATM. Each charges a fee and builds a margin into its exchange rate; ask for both. Smartraveller says you must declare amounts over NZ$10,000 (about A$8,420), in any form of currency, when you arrive or leave.

Currency swings. Your pension is in Australian dollars and your rent is in NZ dollars. At the RBA’s 12-month average rate (A$1 = NZ$1.1883), NZ$1,000 is about A$840. If the Australian dollar fell 10%, the same NZ$1,000 would cost about A$940.

Day to day

Language. English is the everyday language, with Māori place names everywhere.

Getting around without driving. Smartraveller says buses, trains and ferries run throughout New Zealand, and taxis and rideshares are generally reliable.

Driving. You drive on the left, as at home. New Zealand law lets you drive on a current overseas car licence until you have been in the country 12 months in a row; then you need a New Zealand licence. A temporary 18-month limit, brought in in November 2024, is revoked on 1 November 2026. NZTA can tell you how that applies to you and how to convert. Smartraveller warns about ice, fog, roaming animals and railway crossings without barriers.

Safety. Smartraveller says crime rates are similar to Australia’s, and thieves often target cars and campervans. Earthquakes are a constant risk: about 150 to 200 a year are big enough to feel. All of the coast is at risk of tsunami. After a long or strong quake near the coast, Smartraveller says to move to high ground without waiting for a warning. New Zealand also has several active volcanoes. Drug penalties include fines and prison, even for small amounts.

An Australian driver’s licence isn’t accepted as ID to buy alcohol, so take your passport. Undeclared biosecurity items bring an instant fine.

Weather. Christchurch has four distinct seasons, and frosts in winter:

Month in Christchurch	Average high	Average low	Rain
January	22.6°C	11.9°C	36 mm
February	21.9°C	11.6°C	43 mm
March	20.3°C	9.6°C	46 mm
April	17.4°C	6.5°C	44 mm
May	14.3°C	3.7°C	58 mm
June	11.7°C	1.1°C	58 mm
July	10.9°C	0.6°C	65 mm
August	12.4°C	2.0°C	62 mm
September	14.8°C	3.9°C	41 mm
October	16.9°C	6.0°C	49 mm
November	18.9°C	8.0°C	46 mm
December	21.1°C	10.5°C	47 mm

Figures: MetService normals for 1981 to 2010, published by the World Meteorological Organization. Auckland’s average highs run from 23.6°C in January to 14.3°C in July, with about twice Christchurch’s rain. Nelson’s run from 22.4°C to 12.5°C.

Public holidays. New Zealand has 11 national public holidays, including Waitangi Day (6 February), Anzac Day, Matariki (10 July in 2026) and Labour Day. Each region also has its own anniversary day. Almost all shops must close on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day morning until 1pm.

Making friends. With no language barrier, clubs, volunteering and local groups are open to you. For consular help, Australia has a High Commission in Wellington and a Consulate-General in Auckland.

Getting there and coming home

Flights across the Tasman take about 3 to 3 and a half hours from the east coast. BITRE’s June 2026 figures show non-stop flights to Auckland from Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, the Sunshine Coast and Sydney. Christchurch had them from Brisbane, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney, and Queenstown and Wellington from four of those.

New Zealand is 2 hours ahead of Sydney and Melbourne for most of the year, and 3 hours ahead of Brisbane in New Zealand’s summer. Perth is 4 hours behind, 5 in New Zealand’s summer. New Zealand’s daylight saving starts on the last Sunday in September and Australia’s a week later, so for about a week each spring the gap with Sydney is 3 hours.

Your first steps

One order that works, from a first visit to living there. The right order for you depends on your health, your home and your money.

1. Ask for help first. Book a free planning session on Zoom, or contact our team. Once we understand your situation, we can point you in the right direction.
2. Visit in winter as well as summer, and stay in the town you have in mind. Our guide to trying before you move has ways to test it.
3. Talk it over with your partner and family early. Our guide to talking to your family has ways to start.
4. Ask Services Australia and Work and Income how the agreement would work out your pensions.
5. If your partner isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident, check their visa with Immigration New Zealand before anything else.
6. Find out what public care covers and what insurance would add. The 2-year stay rule for public care ends on 1 December 2026.
7. Decide what happens to the house in Australia, and talk to a registered tax agent about the tax side.
8. Fill in the free New Zealand Traveller Declaration and fly over. Your resident visa is given at the border.
9. Some people rent for a year before they buy. Tenancy Services’ rules on bonds and notice apply to every lease.
10. Apply for an IRD number, open a bank account and enrol with a general practice.
11. Tell Services Australia you have moved, and lodge any pension claim at a Work and Income office.
12. Convert your driver licence before your 12 months are up.
13. Know your way back: coming home covers your pension and Medicare.

Questions people ask

Can I retire in New Zealand from Australia?

Yes. Australian citizens get a free resident visa when they arrive, if they are of good character. It lets you live, work and study there indefinitely, with no age, income or savings test. After 2 years you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

How long can Australian citizens stay in New Zealand?

As long as they like. The Australian Resident Visa has no end date while you are there. It lapses when you leave and is given again when you return.

Can I get my Australian pension in New Zealand?

Yes. If you already get it, it keeps paying, worked out under the social security agreement once you live there. You can also claim the Age Pension from New Zealand, through a Work and Income office.

Can Australians get NZ Super?

Yes, if they live in New Zealand. You can qualify on your own years there from 65, or from 67 using your years in Australia under the agreement. Your NZ Super is then reduced dollar for dollar by any Australian pension.

Are Australian pensions taxable in New Zealand?

They can be. Work and Income says that if you get NZ Super and your Australian pension is paid straight to you, you are responsible for New Zealand tax on it. A tax adviser in New Zealand can explain how the transitional resident exemption and the tax treaty apply.

Is healthcare free in New Zealand for Australian citizens?

Until 30 November 2026, the reciprocal agreement covers visitors for necessary hospital care and medicines, but not GP visits or ambulances. From 1 December 2026, Australian citizens in New Zealand, living there or visiting, are eligible for the public system without the 2-year rule. Some services still carry a co-payment, and GP visits cost a fee.

Can Australians buy property in New Zealand?

Yes. Toitū Te Whenua LINZ says Australian citizens can buy residential or lifestyle land without consent. Land that is also sensitive, such as next to a beach or on an island, needs you to live there first or get consent.

Is it cheaper to live in New Zealand than Australia?

Not by much, if at all. Our estimate for a month in Christchurch is about A$5,560 for a couple, rent included, against ASFA’s A$6,580 for a comfortable retirement in Australia without rent but with health insurance. Christchurch rents are lower than Auckland’s or Tauranga’s.