How Kiwis returning home from Australia feel about NZ economy

A lot of Kiwis who come home from Australia do it for family reasons. Photo / 123rf

Thousands of Kiwis have fled to Australia chasing better opportunities and higher wages. But what about those who have returned home to an economy in recession, soaring costs of living - and a market where job advertisements have fallen by 30 per cent and some roles that used to attract 30 applicants are getting 300. Carmen Hall reports.

‘They think NZ has gone down the drain’

Glen Mathews said the cost of living was “just as out of control in Aussie” in his experience.

He moved back to Tauranga last year after 18 years in Australia, including a 12-year stint working in the mines.

The chef knew about a dozen people who had come home in the last three years and were earning the same, if not more.

“I find most Kiwis who have left to live in Aussie will tell you it’s the best thing they have ever done, I don’t believe a lot of them.

“They are saying that to justify why they have gone. They think NZ has gone down the drain in the last few years, but they won’t look at the big picture.

“The whole world is unfortunately going through the same thing … at the end of the day, I’m happy here.”

Mathews said he loved being back around family and while he earned “a couple of dollars an hour less”, his weekly commute was down 20km on Sydney, while vehicle registrations were cheaper in NZ.

“I don’t have to pay $150 a month in health insurance any more, I don’t have to pay income protection in case I get hurt, prescription medications are a lot cheaper.”

Best of all, it “isn’t so hot you can’t stand it and I can have whisky after work for about a third of the price in Aussie”.

‘Trapped and living week-to-week’

Michael Marcantelli when he was living in the Gold Coast. Photo / Supplied

Michael Marcantelli ended up destitute in Tauranga when he moved back from the Gold Coast where he worked as a security guard. His relationship broke up and now he works in Warkworth.

“I feel trapped and I’m living week-to-week in poverty.”

He regrets coming home.

“I am disappointed because it isn’t the same New Zealand I left 22 years ago. It’s tough, there just doesn’t seem to be the same disposable income, I’m earning less money.

“I’m having to watch every single penny.”

The 53-year-old was grateful he could board with a friend and said he would go back in a heartbeat, but was resigned to that potentially never happening.

‘I knew deep down where my heart lies’

Paul and Stacey Gundersen with their children Cody and Grace. Photo / Supplied

Paul Gundersen lived in Australia for 20 years and originally went for a change of scenery. He lived in Victoria, Queensland and the Sunshine Coast and owned a landscaping business.

“I met a girl … and I just sort of settled into the rhythm of life.”

But in October he moved to Whitianga with his Australian wife and two children.

“Australia never felt like home. It was a great time, but I knew deep down where my heart lies.

“Our kids are thriving here, so it was well worth it for us.”

He acknowledged “things cost a bit more and we did drop a little bit in wages”. However, they loved the pace of life with no traffic lights and good fishing.

“It’s like taking a couple of steps back in lifestyle and in general.”

$395 a week more in Aussie

Recruitment company Hays told RNZ last month some roles were paid significantly more in Australia.

It was ahead of its latest salary guide with “typical” salaries across a range of roles.

Hays NZ managing director David Trollope said it was a competitive job market but people in fields such as HR, healthcare and engineering would find it easier to secure new roles.

A site engineer in the construction sector, for example, could earn 50% more in Sydney.

But in some other roles, pay was more similar. A cyber security role would be paid $140,000 in New Zealand but $145,450 in Sydney, Hays said.

A chief operating officer at a firm with $50m-$500m in turnover might get $325,000 compared to $540,000 in Australia.

Australia’s average full-time weekly total earnings were $2110 in November 2023. In New Zealand in the September quarter, the average for all fulltime equivalent employees was $1558.

30 applicants then, 300 now

Shannon Barlow of Frog Recruitment said Kiwi workers were ready to recharge this summer after a challenging year. Photo / Supplied

Frog Recruitment managing director Shannon Barlow said the number of Kiwis leaving far outnumbers those returning.

“We’re seeing more Kiwis return from the US, UK, Europe and Asia, rather than from across the ditch.”

It was hard to compete with Australia dollar for dollar, “especially if you consider long-term prospects with the huge difference in superannuation”.

She believed New Zealand was showing signs of emerging from the current “hard times” but Australia had “harder times ahead”.

“The grass might seem greener now, but there’s no guarantee it will stay that way.”

Kiwi job seeker volumes were roughly up three or four times on last year “across the board”.

“At the extremes, for some business support and supply chain roles where we were happy to get over 30 applications last year, we are now reaching nearly 300 applications within a week.”

Hospitality, retail and residential construction slows

Ryan and Alexander Recruitment Agency director Bernadette Ryan-Hopkins. Photo / Supplied

Ryan + Alexander Recruitment Agency co-director Bernadette Ryan-Hopkins said some clients were overwhelmed with applications and coming to them.

“They don’t have the systems or the time to manage their candidates in the way they would like to. We are putting this down to the current state of the employment market.”

Hospitality, retail and residential construction had slowed.

“But we are seeing a steady volume of roles coming through from most other sectors.”

It had not particularly noticed an increase in Kiwis returning home from Australia or overseas.

“Traditionally we see people returning to NZ for family reasons primarily. The kiwifruit industry within the Bay has had an excellent season, particularly compared with the previous two years and in our experience when the kiwifruit industry is doing well, business positivity across the Bay grows and this is something we are seeing right now.”

‘Instability for some households’

Personnel Resources Rotorua consultant Caitlin Hendrikse. Photo / Supplied

Personnel Resources Rotorua consultant Caitlin Hendrikse said the economic climate had created instability for some households and people tended to react in two ways.

“We have some candidates that know where they stand with their current employer and don’t want to risk moving jobs and other candidates who are feeling the increase in living costs and want to know if their current salary aligns with the market and if there are other opportunities out there paying a bit more.”

It was seeing more Kiwis coming home, mostly at the later stages of their careers for family reasons.

Hendrikse said it was fielding more than 100 applications for popular roles from administration, engineering, operations and logistics/supply chain.

Hard-to-fill roles were accounting, healthcare and IT/IS.

“These roles generate quite a strong international interest, whilst experienced local candidates can be hard to find.”

NZ job ads fall by 30%

Job ads on Seek were 30% lower in the year to May and 5% fewer compared to April.

Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said it was an incredibly tough labour market with declining ad volumes in most regions and in all sectors.

“Construction jobs fell the most in May, and have recorded the greatest decline this quarter, with jobs in engineering and construction some of the industries most impacted. We know there have been major cuts to the public sector and in May this was mostly felt outside the major metro regions, with a 7% decline in regional public sector roles month-on-month.”

After rising for seven consecutive months, applications per ad remained steady.

Growth in advertised salaries had slowed since February, but at 4.4% in the year to May was still outpacing inflation, he said.

“Some of the strongest growth was as a result of collective agreements taking effect over the past year, including for nurses and primary teachers.

“Even with the CPI falling to 4%, many industries are now recording growth slower than inflation, and with quarterly growth sitting at 0.8%, this is the slowest advertised salaries have grown in 18 months.”

By the numbers NZ vs Aussie

• The average national home value is $931,438 in NZ compared to $852,793 in Australia. Tauranga’s is $1,031,394, compared to Brisbane’s $915,405
• Average national weekly rentis $573 in NZ and $686 across the ditch. In Tauranga, it is $663 compared to $709 in Brisbane
• 24,200 more people left New Zealand for Australia in the year to September 2023 than returned, well above the typical net migration loss of 3000 a year from 2014 to 2019
• There were 18,000 migrant arrivals from Australia to New Zealand in the year to September 2023 and 42,200 migrant departures from New Zealand to Australia.