NZ to get more information on criminals sent from Australia

New Zealand will get more information on criminals being deported from Australia. Photo / Thinkstock

New Zealand will get more information on criminals being deported from Australia under an information-sharing arrangement just signed.

The next step is for the law to be changed so deportees are subject to the same oversight as they would have been if they served their prison sentence in New Zealand.

The development comes as Prime Minister John Key pushes Canberra to increase the threshold of criminal offending at which New Zealanders living in Australia are sent across the Tasman.

Last year the Australian Government passed a law which meant non-Australian offenders who served a prison sentence of at least a year were detained and deported.

It has led to close to 200 New Zealanders - some of which have lived most of their life in Australia - being held in deportation centres, including on isolated Christmas Island.

That has led to unhappiness from New Zealand, with politicians from both ends of the political spectrum condemning Australia's actions as not in the Anzac spirit.

Today, Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse announced the signing of the new information-sharing agreement.

It comes after a commitment in February between Mr Key and former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to share more information.

While concerns about the scope of Australia's deportation policy remained, Mr Woodhouse and Ms Adams said the agreement would enable authorities here to assess the risk of those deported to New Zealand.

"This arrangement will provide New Zealand agencies with up to six months' advance notice of potential upcoming deportations, and provide for the sharing of information prior to arrival that will help New Zealand better manage the return of New Zealand citizens such as criminal conviction records, summary of offences, case history, gang connections, fingerprints and photographs," Mr Woodhouse said.

"It's a significant improvement on what Australia has been able to provide New Zealand and gives police the information they need to make more informed assessments about the risks posed by deported offenders."

Ms Adams said now the information-sharing arrangement was agreed, a law change could be made to ensure offenders who arrive here were subject to the same oversight as they would have been if they served their prison sentence in New Zealand.

"I expect to take a paper to Cabinet to confirm these arrangements shortly."

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has met New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully and Mr Key in New York this week, and afterwards said the Australian Government would talk further about its policy of detaining and deporting non-Australian offenders who have served a prison sentence of at least a year.

Mr Key said his message was "pretty blunt". Ms Bishop said she would ask Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to talk to Mr Woodhouse but gave no indication the policy would be reviewed.

That meeting has not been arranged yet, a spokeswoman for Mr Woodhouse said today.