Table of Contents
Summarised by Centrist
A Gold Coast charity, The Nerang Neighbourhood Centre, which has spent more than a decade helping New Zealanders in Australia, says the pace of repatriations has accelerated as rising rents and low vacancy rates push people out of caravan parks and temporary housing.
General manager Vicky Rose said the centre is now having the same conversation “a couple of times a week” with New Zealanders overwhelmed by Australia’s housing market.
“Increasingly with our New Zealand cohort, the only option is going back to New Zealand, more often than not,” Rose said.
“The economic climate here is just getting worse. I dare say we’re sending a couple back a month,” she said.
One of those seeking help is Dave Porter, a New Zealander who has lived in Australia for 16 years. “We’ve tried everything, like I was working up until about four, five months ago, then I got an injury and I couldn’t work and it just, yeah, went downhill,” he said.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland has reported the state has Australia’s lowest rate of home ownership, alongside rapidly rising rents.
Those conditions are colliding with record outward migration from New Zealand.
According to Stats NZ, around 72,000 New Zealanders left the country in the year to September, most heading to Australia.
“I just hope they’ve done their research,” Rose said
Porter said returning home did not feel like a solution.
“I’ve heard from people that I know who have gone back,” he said. “Way too expensive.”
