Govt plan puts NZ sport teams in Australia step closer to home

New Zealand's sports teams currently based in Australia can now start to plan for games on home soil after the Government announced a plan to reopen the borders.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed New Zealand's five-step plan to reopen the country's borders to the world in 2020 on Thursday, which begins on Sunday February 27.

However, it won't be until a few months later that sport starts to return to normal, with Sports Minister Grant Robertson saying steps three and four will be when competition can thrive again.

"In step three… that will include those people who we have classed as being able to come through MIQ for sports and events," Robertson said.

"There is a classification system there built around the significance of those events. Those people will come in at that point and be able to self-isolate rather than go through MIQ."

Step three is scheduled to commence from 11:59pm Tuesday April 12 while step four isn't expected to be introduced until July "at the latest".

"When we start to talk about visa-waiver countries, such as Australia, then you'll be starting to see significantly more ability for sports and cultural events to move backwards and forwards," Robertson added.

Robertson said the Government won't give exemptions for isolation requirements, except as they have in the past for when teams request the ability to train while isolating.

The announcement means teams arriving for the Women's Cricket World Cup in March will still need to go through MIQ, but other large scale sporting events being held in New Zealand such as Women's Rugby World Cup and Men's Softball World Championships later in the year will be easier to organise.

The news also means Kiwi franchises currently situated in Australia for trans-Tasman competitions - such as the Breakers, Phoenix and Warriors - can start planning returns in 2022.

While the Warriors are hopeful of returning to Mt Smart later this year, the Breakers and Phoenix are unlikely to benefit from the announcements on Thursday with their seasons wrapped up by April.