Send Money to Australia From NZ: NZD to AUD Transfers Compared

New Zealand to Australia is the busiest money corridor this country has. More than 600,000 New Zealand-born people live in Australia, which means a constant two-way flow of family support, salaries, rent, property deposits, KiwiSaver decisions and the practical business of people moving back and forth across the Tasman. The good news is that this corridor is cheap and fast if you use the right route — and roughly five to ten times more expensive if you use the wrong one.

We earn a commission if you open an account with some of the providers listed on this page. It never changes the rate or fee you pay, and it never changes our rankings — our comparison figures come from each provider's published pricing.

NZD to AUD transfer costs compared

Cost scales differently depending on how a provider charges. Percentage-based pricing costs more as the amount grows; a flat fee costs proportionally less. Bank pricing is the worst of both worlds — a flat fee plus a percentage margin buried in the rate. The table below shows approximate total cost across three common amounts, based on published pricing and typical bank FX margins in this corridor.

Provider	NZ$1,000	NZ$5,000	NZ$20,000	How they charge
Wise	~NZ$3.40	~NZ$17	~NZ$66	Mid-market rate + conversion fee from 0.25%, no rate markup
XE	~NZ$6	~NZ$30	~NZ$120	No upfront fee, small margin in the rate
OFX	~NZ$8	~NZ$39	~NZ$120–160	Rate margin, tightens on larger amounts, dealing desk negotiable
CurrencyFair	~NZ$8	~NZ$42	~NZ$166	Fee plus margin, peer-matching option
TorFX	~NZ$10	~NZ$51	~NZ$150–200	Rate margin, no fee, dealer service
NZ bank (online transfer)	~NZ$20–35	~NZ$77–110	~NZ$310–420	NZ$5–20 fee + 1.5–3% margin hidden in the rate
NZ bank (in branch)	~NZ$40–55	~NZ$95–130	~NZ$330–440	NZ$25–30 staff-assisted fee + same margin
PayPal	~NZ$45	~NZ$227	~NZ$900	Fee plus a rate margin of roughly 3–4%

Wise figures at NZ$1,000 are from Wise's own published quote for a bank-transfer-funded NZD→AUD transfer. Other figures are derived from third-party comparison data collected August 2026 for a NZ$5,000 transfer, and scaled — they are indicative, not quotes. Bank ranges reflect the spread across ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank published fees plus typical retail FX margins. Rates and margins move daily. Always confirm the exact amount your recipient will receive on the provider's quote screen before sending.

Two patterns matter here. At NZ$1,000, the difference between the best and worst option is around NZ$40 — annoying but survivable. At NZ$20,000 it is several hundred dollars, and at bank rates on a NZ$100,000 property deposit the margin alone runs to NZ$1,500–3,000. The second pattern: funding method changes the price. On a NZ$1,000 Wise transfer, paying by bank transfer costs NZ$0 in fees, from your Wise balance NZ$3.39, by debit card NZ$6.22 and by credit card NZ$14.65. Same transfer, four different prices, purely down to how you pay. Credit card is also the option most likely to be treated as a cash advance by your card issuer, which adds interest from day one.

How fast does money reach an Australian bank account?

This is one of the fastest corridors in the world, because Australia's New Payments Platform settles domestic transfers in close to real time. Once your money reaches the provider and is converted, the payout leg into an Australian account is nearly instant.

• Wise: often seconds to a few hours. Wise reports that roughly 74% of its transfers arrive in under 20 seconds and about 95% within a day, and the AUD corridor is among its strongest.
• XE, OFX, TorFX, CurrencyFair: usually same day to two working days, depending on when your funding cleared.
• New Zealand bank transfer: typically 1–3 working days for AUD, sometimes longer. Faster than most SWIFT corridors because the banks have Australian operations, but still slower than digital.
• Anything submitted after about 4pm NZT on a Friday: plan on Monday, unless you are using a provider that pays out instantly from a pre-funded balance.

What actually creates delays in this corridor is rarely the network. It is a name mismatch, a mistyped BSB, or first-transfer verification. Australian banks increasingly run confirmation-of-payee checks, so "Dave Smith" going to an account registered as "David John Smith" can bounce or be held.

What details do you need? BSB and account number

To send AUD to an Australian bank account you need three things:

1. BSB — Bank State Branch, 6 digits. Often written as 123-456. It identifies the bank and branch. Every Australian account has one, and it is on statements, in internet banking, and on the app's account details screen.
2. Account number — usually 6 to 10 digits. Do not include the BSB in it.
3. Account name, exactly as registered. Full legal name, in the same form the Australian bank holds it. Not a nickname, not initials.

You do not normally need a SWIFT/BIC code when sending AUD to an Australian account through a digital provider, because the money is paid out on the local network rather than by international wire. Your bank may ask for one if it is sending by SWIFT. You also do not need the recipient's address for a standard personal transfer, though some providers ask for it as part of their compliance checks.

Two things worth adding: put a clear reference on the payment — "rent August", "invoice 4471", "Mum" — because it is what both of you will search for later; and for the first transfer to a new recipient, send a small amount first, confirm it landed, then send the rest. On a NZ$40,000 transfer, spending NZ$3.40 on a NZ$100 test payment is cheap insurance against a transposed digit.

Moving to Australia permanently

If you are relocating rather than sending a one-off payment, the order of operations saves you real money.

Open an AUD account before you go

The awkward gap for most people moving to Australia is the first few weeks: you have arrived, you have not got an Australian bank account yet because you need an address and a tax file number, and meanwhile you are paying for a rental bond, furniture and groceries. Every card tap in that window costs you a foreign transaction fee plus a rate markup on a New Zealand card.

A multi-currency account solves the sequencing. You can hold AUD and get Australian local account details before you land, convert your NZD when the rate looks reasonable rather than in a panic on arrival, and spend from the AUD balance directly with no conversion at the till. Wise provides local account details for AUD along with USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, CAD, SGD, HUF, RON and TRY, and holds 40-plus currencies.

Move the lump sum deliberately, not all at once by accident

If you are shifting your life savings across, it is worth thinking about timing. NZD/AUD is a relatively stable pair by global standards, but a 3% move on NZ$150,000 is NZ$4,500. Two sensible approaches: split the transfer into two or three tranches over a few weeks so you average the rate rather than betting on one day, or if you have a fixed date and a large amount, ask OFX or TorFX about a forward contract to lock the rate. Wise does not offer forward contracts.

Cards and cash for the first fortnight

Take some physical cash for the first day or two — a couple of hundred Australian dollars covers taxis, a SIM card and a coffee before your accounts are working — and put the rest on a card that charges no foreign transaction fee. A Wise debit card costs NZ$14 one-off (NZ$17.40 for express delivery), and the digital card works instantly while the physical card comes by post, so order it one to two weeks before you fly. Free ATM withdrawals run up to NZ$400 per month, then 2.69% on the amount above that. Our travel money card guide for New Zealanders and our comparison of the best card to use overseas from NZ go through the alternatives.

Receiving AUD in New Zealand

The flow runs both ways, and the money leaks in the same place — the conversion.

If you are receiving Australian dollars regularly — rent from an investment property in Melbourne, contract income from an Australian client, a share of a family estate, or a salary from an Australian employer while you live here — the default arrangement is that the AUD hits your New Zealand bank account, gets converted at your bank's retail rate, and you lose 1.5–3% every single time. On AUD 3,000 of monthly rent, that is NZ$45–90 a month, or up to about NZ$1,000 a year, for doing nothing.

The alternative is to receive the AUD into an account with Australian local account details, hold it as AUD, and convert when you choose and in the amounts you choose. Your Australian tenant or client pays into what looks to them like a normal Australian account, with a BSB and account number — no international transfer, no international fee at their end.

Also check the inbound fee on your New Zealand bank account. Receiving an international payment costs NZ$10–15 at BNZ, NZ$15 at ANZ, NZ$15–25 at ASB and Westpac (and up to NZ$50 at Westpac for a foreign-currency payment to a non-Westpac customer), and NZ$12 at Kiwibank. On a monthly payment, that fee alone is NZ$120–300 a year before any FX cost.

Tax questions across the Tasman

General information only — for anything involving property, business income or a permanent move, get advice from an accountant who works on both sides of the Tasman. It is a well-trodden path and the advice is not expensive relative to the mistakes.

Sending money to family in Australia

No New Zealand tax applies to sending money overseas, and New Zealand has no gift duty — it was abolished in 2011. Your Australian relative receiving a genuine gift does not pay Australian income tax on it either, because Australia does not tax gifts as income. If you are sending regular support and one of you receives means-tested benefits or a pension in either country, that is worth checking, because the payments can affect entitlements even though they are not taxable.

Australian rental income while you live in New Zealand

Rent from an Australian property is taxable in Australia and also forms part of your worldwide income as a New Zealand tax resident. The New Zealand–Australia double tax agreement prevents you being taxed twice on the same income, generally by giving you a credit in New Zealand for Australian tax paid. You still have to file in both places. This is one of the most common cross-Tasman tax situations and one of the most commonly got wrong.

Working out where you are tax resident

You can be tax resident in New Zealand under the 183-day rule or the permanent place of abode test, and tax resident in Australia under its own rules — potentially both at once, in which case the tie-breaker rules in the double tax agreement decide. If you have moved recently, check whether you qualify as a New Zealand transitional resident, which exempts most foreign-sourced income for up to about four years from arrival. It is genuinely valuable and easy to forfeit accidentally.

KiwiSaver and Australian super: the trans-Tasman question

This comes up constantly for people moving to Australia, and it is not a money-transfer job — it is a scheme-to-scheme transfer that never touches a transfer provider.

Under the Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme, if you permanently emigrate to Australia you can transfer your KiwiSaver balance to a participating Australian complying superannuation fund. The important details:

• The transfer moves directly between the two schemes. You never receive the money, and you do not send it yourself.
• Not every Australian super fund accepts KiwiSaver transfers — participation is voluntary, so you have to check with the specific fund.
• Transferred KiwiSaver money keeps some New Zealand characteristics inside the Australian fund, including that it generally cannot be used for a first home deposit in Australia and cannot be moved on to a third country.
• The transfer is generally not taxed in either country when done under the scheme.
• You do not have to transfer. Leaving KiwiSaver invested in New Zealand is a perfectly reasonable choice, and often the better one — you keep NZ investment options and avoid the restrictions above, at the cost of managing an account in another country and carrying currency risk on your retirement savings.
• Government contributions and the member tax credit stop once you are no longer resident in New Zealand, whether or not you transfer.

Get advice specific to your balance and timeline before deciding. The decision is not urgent and it is largely irreversible in one direction, which is a good argument for not rushing it in your first month in Australia.

Which provider should you actually use?

• Regular family support or rent, NZ$500–3,000 a month: a digital service, funded by bank transfer, with a repeating payment set up so you are not re-entering the BSB every month. Wise is cheapest on published pricing at this size.
• One-off NZ$5,000–20,000: still digital. Compare Wise and XE on the landed AUD amount; the difference will be NZ$50–100 at the upper end.
• NZ$50,000+, or a property settlement with a fixed date: price Wise, then ring OFX and TorFX for a quote on your specific amount and ask about a forward contract. Their desks negotiate on large sums and Wise's published pricing does not.
• Moving permanently: multi-currency account plus a fee-free card before you fly, then a local Australian bank once you have a TFN and an address.
• Receiving AUD regularly: Australian local account details, hold the AUD, convert on your terms.
• Business paying Australian suppliers or staff: see our Wise Business guide for New Zealand for batch payments and Xero integration, and get a desk quote if the volumes are large.

For the wider picture across all destinations — including the corridors where Wise is not available — see our main guide to the best way to send money overseas from NZ. If you need physical Australian dollars in hand before you fly rather than money in an account, our city guides for Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch cover where to buy cash and what the spread costs you, and our Wise review covers the account in detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to send money to Australia from New Zealand?

A digital transfer service that converts at the mid-market rate. On published pricing, Wise charges NZ$3.39 to send NZ$1,000 to an Australian bank account when funded from your Wise balance and nothing in fees when funded by bank transfer, compared with roughly NZ$20–35 all-in through a New Zealand bank once the 1.5–3% exchange-rate margin is counted. On NZ$20,000 the gap widens to several hundred dollars.

How long does it take to transfer money from NZ to an Australian bank account?

Usually the same day, and often within minutes. Australia's payment network settles domestic transfers close to real time, so once your money is converted the payout leg is nearly instant — Wise reports around 74% of transfers arriving in under 20 seconds. A transfer through a New Zealand bank typically takes 1–3 working days. Your first transfer with any provider is slower because of identity verification.

What details do I need to send money to an Australian bank account?

The recipient's BSB (a 6-digit Bank State Branch code, often written 123-456), their account number (usually 6–10 digits), and their full name exactly as registered on the account. You do not normally need a SWIFT code when sending AUD through a digital provider, because the payout goes over Australia's local network. Australian banks run confirmation-of-payee checks, so an abbreviated or mismatched name can cause the payment to be held.

Can I open an Australian dollar account before I move to Australia?

You can open a multi-currency account that holds AUD and gives you Australian local account details, which lets you convert NZD to AUD on your own timing and spend AUD without conversion when you land. Wise offers this for AUD among nine-plus currencies. It is not an Australian bank account and has no deposit guarantee, so for salary, tax and long-term banking you will still want a local Australian bank once you have a tax file number and an address.

Do I pay tax on money I send to family in Australia?

No. New Zealand does not tax sending money overseas and abolished gift duty in 2011, and Australia does not tax genuine gifts as income for the recipient. If either of you receives a means-tested benefit or pension, regular payments can still affect entitlements even though they are not taxable, so that is worth checking.

Can I transfer my KiwiSaver to an Australian super fund?

Yes, if you permanently emigrate to Australia, under the Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme. The transfer happens directly between the two schemes rather than through a money transfer service, and it is generally not taxed in either country. Not all Australian super funds accept KiwiSaver transfers, and transferred money keeps some New Zealand restrictions — including that it generally cannot fund an Australian first home deposit. Leaving your KiwiSaver invested in New Zealand is also a legitimate option and often the better one.

What is the best rate for NZD to AUD?

The best possible rate is the mid-market rate — the midpoint between buy and sell prices that you see on a currency converter or on Google — with no markup added. Providers that use it and charge a separate stated fee, like Wise, will always beat providers that quote a "no fee" transfer at a marked-up rate, because that markup is typically 1.5–3% and is invisible. Compare on the final AUD amount your recipient receives, not on the advertised rate or fee.

Is it cheaper to send NZD and let it convert, or convert to AUD first?

What matters is who does the conversion and at what rate, not the order. If you send NZD to an Australian bank and let their bank convert it, you get that bank's retail rate with a margin you cannot see or control, plus possible inbound fees. Converting first with a provider that uses the mid-market rate and paying out AUD into the Australian account is almost always cheaper, and the recipient gets a clean, predictable amount.

How much money can I send to Australia from New Zealand?

There is no legal limit — New Zealand has no exchange controls, and neither does Australia for inbound personal transfers. Providers set their own per-transfer caps, which vary by payment method. For large amounts, expect to be asked for evidence of the source of funds, which is a normal anti-money-laundering requirement. Providers must file a prescribed transaction report for any international wire transfer of NZ$1,000 or more. Carrying NZ$10,000 or more in physical cash across the border requires a Border Cash Report to New Zealand Customs.

Is receiving Australian dollars in New Zealand expensive?

It can be, in two ways. Your New Zealand bank charges an inbound international payment fee — roughly NZ$10–25 depending on the bank, and up to NZ$50 at Westpac for a foreign-currency payment to a non-customer — and then converts the AUD at its retail rate with a 1.5–3% margin. On AUD 3,000 of monthly rental income, that combination can cost NZ$700–1,000 a year. Receiving into an account with Australian local account details and converting on your own terms avoids most of it.