Do New Zealand passport holders need a visa for Australia?

When you enter Australia show your completed incoming passenger card with your valid New Zealand passport to an officer. You can also answer the health and character questions on SmartGate.

As an SCV holder you have the right to work in Australia. To confirm your permission to work, use VEVO.

(a) if the travel is by a New Zealand citizen who holds and produces a New Zealand passport that is in force; or

(1) There is a class of temporary visas to be known as special category visas.

(i) who is a New Zealand citizen and holds, and has presented to an officer or an authorised system, a New Zealand passport that is in force; and

For subsection 42(3) of the Act (which deals with the classes of person who may travel to Australia without a visa that is in effect), the class of New Zealand citizens who hold and produce New Zealand passports that are in force is prescribed.

Special Category Visa (SCV) New Zealanders who enter Australia on a New Zealand passport do so under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement. Most New Zealanders are issued with a non-protected Special Category visa (SCV) (subclass 444)(external link) on arrival. This visa is not visible in passports - it is held electronically. The SCV is granted depending on certain health and character requirements, and lets New Zealand citizens live, study and work in Australia indefinitely. But it is technically a temporary visa.

enter and stay in Australia for as long as you are and continue to remain a New Zealand citizen

The visa ceases on the date you leave Australia, unless it ceases because of other reasons. These may include if we grant you a permanent visa, you become an Australian citizen, or we cancel the visa. When you leave Australia your visa will cease. You must apply for a new SCV if you want to enter Australia again.

32  Special category visas  (1) There is a class of temporary visas to be known as special category visas.  (2) A criterion for a special category visa is that the Minister is satisfied the applicant is:  (a) a non‑citizen:  (i) who is a New Zealand citizen and holds, and has presented to an officer or an authorised system, a New Zealand passport that is in force; and  (ii) is neither a behaviour concern non‑citizen nor a health concern non‑citizen; or  (b) a person declared by the regulations, to be a person for whom a visa of another class would be inappropriate; or  (c) a person in a class of persons declared by the regulations, to be persons for whom a visa of another class would be inappropriate.  (3) A person may comply with subparagraph (2)(a)(i) by presenting a New Zealand passport to an authorised system only if:  (a) the New Zealand passport is of a kind determined under section 175A to be an eligible passport for the purposes of Division 5 of Part 2; and  (c) before the person is granted a special category visa, neither the system nor an officer requires the person to present the passport to an officer.

Subclass 444—Special Category 444.1—Interpretation Note: No interpretation provisions specific to this Part. 444.2—Primary criteria Note: The only criteria are those set out in section 32 of the Act and in regulation 5.15A. 444.3—Secondary criteria: Nil. Note: All applicants must satisfy the primary criteria. 444.4—Circumstances applicable to grant 444.411    At the time of grant, the applicant must:  (a) be in Australia; or  (b) intend to travel to Australia on a pre‑cleared flight and be in immigration clearance at a port outside Australia at which pre‑clearance procedures are carried out. Note: For pre‑cleared flight see the Act, s 17. 444.5—When visa is in effect 444.511    Temporary visa permitting the holder to remain in Australia while the holder is a New Zealand citizen.