Australia's Home Affairs Minister has admitted the country is treating New Zealanders like second-class citizens.
Speaking to Q+A, Clare O'Neil said "that's something that's really been bothering me for a long time, and I know, bothers our prime minister Anthony Albanese".
"I think we have reached a real change in the tone and tenor of this relationship and that's largely built off this really deep and genuine friendship between our two prime ministers," she said.
"So we are having a look at the moment about what we can do to make this fairer because the truth is that Australians in New Zealand are treated in a very different way than New Zealanders are in Australia and it's something the government wants to address."
It comes just five months out from significant changes that are expected to make it easier for New Zealanders to become Australian citizens.
Speaking earlier this year, Albanese said Australia didn't "want people to be temporary residents forever".
The current system has been labelled "confusing" and "overly complex" by advocacy group Oz Kiwi.
For many New Zealanders they have to meet strict criteria around when they moved to the country, along with income tests, or pay expensive sponsorship fees.
For those who exist on a temporary Special Character Visa, they're largely denied access to disability payments, jobseeker support, and student loan services, despite paying the same taxes as citizens.
O'Neil said these policies are on the table for change.
"One of the things that's really interesting is that for a bunch of kind of complex legal reasons, New Zealanders can't transition to become Australian citizens in the way that migrants from other countries around the world are able to do," she said.
"So even though we've got this beautiful close relationship with New Zealand. In some ways, Kiwis are worse off than other migrants living in Australia."
501 policy going nowhere
Another sticking point between the two countries has been Australia's 501 deportation policy.
It sees New Zealand citizens who commit a serious crime deported back to Aotearoa, even if they've lived in Australia for most of their lives and have families there.
O'Neil told Q+A that this policy was not going anywhere.
"I think this is an important national security policy for our country," she said.
"Most countries in the world have the ability to eject people who are foreign, because, you know, they're not our responsibility."
However, she said the immigration minister is able to make individual calls on cases, and said this advice would likely be updated to take into account how long New Zealanders had lived in Australia.
"Ultimately, the thing here is about common sense and about making sure that the relationship between New Zealand and Australia is strong.
"It's pretty clear from Kiwis that they're upset about some of the implications of this where I think it is unjust, and it is unfair to New Zealand, and those are the areas that we're looking at making adjustments."
The upcoming changes are expected to be formally announced on ANZAC Day 2023.
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