As he comes to the end of two years based in Sydney as TVNZ's Australia Correspondent, Aziz Al Sa'afin reflects on the cost of living on each side of the Tasman.
The first thing I noticed in Sydney wasn’t the skyline or the traffic. It was the birdsong. Louder, more insistent, unlike the tūī back home.
Two years ago, I wrote about that moment as a way into a bigger question: Was life really better across the ditch? Bigger wages, cheaper flights, brighter horizons.
Now, as I return to New Zealand, the irony is sharp. Kiwis are leaving in record numbers at the very moment I am leaving Australia behind.
How the numbers stack up as Kiwi exodus continues - watch on TVNZ+
Stats NZ recorded a net migration loss of 30,100 people to Australia in 2024, the biggest outflow since 2012.
And it is not just families or retirees. In 2024, as many as 40% of departures were aged 18 to 30. Nurses, tradies, graduates, the same groups I met during my Brain Drain series, are still leading the charge.
While Australia has always pulled Kiwis in, this feels like a second great exodus.
Money in the bag, pain at the checkout
All prices below are in NZ dollars.
Australians are still ahead on income. Average full-time earnings are now about $2220 a week, compared to $1679 in New Zealand.
That gap offsets higher Australian rents. Sydney’s median rent is close to $880 a week, compared to $650 in Auckland.
Home values are steeper too, with Sydney over $1.36 million versus Auckland’s $1.07 million.
But ask families on either side of the Tasman whether they are better off and the answers blur. Inflation has eased in Australia to 2.1%, but that means prices are still going up – just not as fast. In New Zealand, it's running higher, at 2.7%.
Groceries and power bills bite, mortgages linger. New Zealand is no better, with world-leading food costs and only modest relief from rate cuts.
Sometimes the detail tells the story. A kilo of tomatoes? Cheaper in Sydney. A flat white? Around $5.50, with predictions it could soar to nearly $9 to $13 by year’s end. Power bills? Quarterly in Australia, monthly in New Zealand. The kWh cost is similar, but the Australian cycle feels easier on the wallet.
Opportunity versus reality
The attraction is clear: higher wages, broader industries and now a faster pathway to Australian citizenship.
But Australia is not without its cracks. Productivity is stagnating. Life in sprawling cities comes with its own price, from crowded housing to longer commutes and infrastructure that still struggles to keep pace.
New Zealand, for all its economic headaches, still holds something harder to measure. Smaller communities, shorter commutes, quieter lives. Sometimes you only see their value when you leave.
So is the Land of Oz all it's cracked up to be?
Two years ago, I asked whether Australia was really better. I have since seen both sides: The promise of opportunity, doors that swing open faster, salaries that stretch further.
And the price that comes with it – supermarket bills that sting, rents that climb, and the relentlessness of scale.
Now, as I return home, the birdsong feels like the right metaphor again. Different notes, different calls, each with their own beauty and burden.
Is Australia better off than New Zealand? Two years on, the answer is more complicated than I once thought.
But for the tens of thousands of Kiwis still packing their bags, "better" – whatever that means – is a song they cannot resist following.
How the numbers stack up as Kiwi exodus continues - watch on TVNZ+
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