Australian migration to NZ doubles in 10 years

More than 14,000 Aussies shifted here to live in the past year. Photo / Photo / Getty Images

The number of Australians moving to New Zealand has nearly doubled in the past decade, official immigration statistics from Canberra reveal.

The latest figures show 14,352 Australians made the big move in the 2008-2009 financial year.

The previous year, the number stood at 14,160, whereas in 1998-1999, just 7468 migrated to New Zealand.

The figures - in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship publication Emigration 2008-2009 - show that in the past decade, the number of Australians crossing the Ditch to live has increased steadily. New Zealand remains one of the main countries Australians choose to shift to.

Other preferred places include Britain, the United States and Hong Kong.

This year's report shows the number of Australians who left the country for good was the highest ever.

Just over 81,000 emigrated during the financial year - an increase of about 5.3 per cent over the 2007-2008 year.

The report said most were young and skilled workers.

Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said many people coming to New Zealand were chasing a particular job or opportunity that they could no longer find in Australia.

Others, he said, were New Zealanders who had moved across the Tasman to work and were now returning home.

"Infrastructure and mining opportunities over there have been slow, and if you've got a trade or better, it's much more likely that you'll get a job here even during a recession."

Mr O'Reilly said having many young people choosing to come to New Zealand to find jobs was only a temporary trend.

The challenge New Zealand employers faced was to get people to stay and to get them to think of it as a career as opposed to a job.

"You're more likely to leave your job if you don't like it.

"[But] if you have job prospects, promotional opportunities and you like the community and people, you're more likely to stay," Mr O'Reilly said.

Statistics New Zealand figures show that in the year ending in October, 21,200 residents moved to Australia either permanently or long-term.

In the previous October year, that figure was 34,600.

Migration to Australia has been trending down since the figures for the year to December 2008 showed 35,600 people had shifted over.

Australia's Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Chris Evans, said the report's figures reinforced the fact that there was an increasing global demand for young, highly skilled people in the international labour market.

* Australians moving to New Zealand:

1998-99 7468

1999-00 8961

2000-01 9657

2001-02 10,024

2002-03 11,333

2003-04 13,685

2004-05 13,772

2005-06 13,915

2006-07 13,917

2007-08 14,160

2008-09 14,352