How to Transfer KiwiSaver to Australian Super (and Back)

Under the Trans Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme, you can move your entire KiwiSaver balance into a complying Australian super fund once you’ve permanently emigrated to Australia or move Australian super into a KiwiSaver scheme once you’ve permanently emigrated to New Zealand. The transfer itself is tax free in both directions, but it’s all-or-nothing (no partial transfers), one-way once completed for that money (you can’t later route it to a third country), and it doesn’t fully merge with your new account — the transferred money keeps its country-of-origin access rules and, for KiwiSaver-to-Australia moves, generally counts against Australia’s non-concessional contributions cap, currently A$130,000 for 2026–27.

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What the scheme actually is

The Trans-Tasman Retirement Savings Portability scheme has operated since 1 July 2013, letting people move retirement savings with them when they permanently relocate between Australia and New Zealand, instead of leaving an account behind or being taxed on an early cash-out. Source: Inland Revenue Tax Policy. The scheme is voluntary on three sides: yours, your KiwiSaver provider’s, and the receiving Australian fund’s. Not every KiwiSaver scheme accepts inbound transfers, and not every Australian super fund accepts outbound ones — you need to check with your specific provider before assuming it’s possible. Source: ATO.

Transferring KiwiSaver to Australian super fund

Who’s eligible

You need to have permanently emigrated to Australia. “Permanently” is doing real work here: temporary visas, working holidays, or an intention to return to New Zealand within a few years don’t qualify you, and if you move back to New Zealand later without having transferred, the option simply stays open until you do genuinely settle in Australia for good.

What you can transfer, and to where

• You must transfer your entire KiwiSaver balance — the ATO explicitly states that partial transfers from a KiwiSaver scheme to a complying Australian super fund are not allowed.
• The receiving fund must be a complying superannuation fund regulated by APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority). You cannot transfer into a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF).
• Confirm with your chosen Australian fund that it actually accepts KiwiSaver transfers before starting the paperwork — plenty don’t.

Source: ATO, Trans-Tasman retirement savings transfers.

The non-concessional contributions cap catch

This is the single most important number in this whole process, and it changes every year or two, so double check it before you transfer.

When KiwiSaver money lands in an Australian fund, it’s treated as a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution and counts against your non-concessional contributions (NCC) cap — currently:

Financial year	Annual NCC cap
2026–27	$130,000
2025–26	$120,000
2024–25	$120,000

Source: ATO, Non-concessional contributions cap.
If you’re under 75 and your total superannuation balance is below the relevant threshold, you may be able to use the bring-forward rule to access up to three years of caps in one go — up to $390,000 for 2026–27 — which matters if your KiwiSaver balance is large. If your total super balance was $2.1 million or more at the end of the previous financial year, your NCC cap drops to nil, meaning you can’t transfer anything into an Australian fund that year without triggering excess-contributions tax. Source: SuperGuide, Non-concessional super contributions guide 2026–27.

Practical takeaway: if your KiwiSaver balance is anywhere near six figures, get personalised advice on your total super balance and bring-forward eligibility before transferring, not after. Exceeding the cap can trigger extra tax and force you to release money back out of the fund.

Tax treatment

• The transfer into the Australian fund isn’t taxed by either country.
• Unlike a transfer from, say, a UK pension, a KiwiSaver transfer isn’t treated as a “foreign superannuation lump sum” in Australia, so there’s no assessable-income tax event on entry. Source: GRA.
• The only possible Australian-side cost is if you breach the non-concessional cap, in which case excess-contributions tax can apply.

Also Read: Employer KiwiSaver Contribution Lower Than Expected

Access rules — this is where people get caught out

Money doesn’t fully “become” ordinary Australian super once it arrives. IRD’s original guidance is explicit: transferred KiwiSaver savings can generally be accessed from the Australian fund once you reach age 65 (the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 qualifying age), not Australia’s own (lower) preservation age. Source: GRA, citing the Trans-Tasman Portability Scheme legislation; Horizon Group summary.

• No first-home withdrawal: transferred KiwiSaver funds cannot be used for an Australian first-home deposit scheme, unlike ordinary Australian super under some first-home-saver arrangements.
• No third-country transfer: once KiwiSaver money is in Australia, it can’t later be moved to a super scheme in a third country if you emigrate again — it’s parked in the Australia–New Zealand corridor only.
• Coming back to New Zealand: if you return home, the same money can be transferred back into a KiwiSaver scheme, following the same rules in reverse.

Transferring Australian super to KiwiSaver

Who’s eligible

You need to have permanently emigrated to New Zealand, or be an eligible New Zealand citizen with unclaimed Australian super held by the ATO. Some guidance also notes an upper age bound tied to New Zealand’s superannuation qualifying age — check your personal eligibility with IRD or a KiwiSaver provider rather than assuming. Source: Horizon Group.

What you can transfer

• Your entire complying Australian super balance — again, no partial transfers.
• You can also transfer ATO-held unclaimed super money (USM) if it’s held in your name.
• Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are excluded — you can’t transfer an SMSF balance directly under this scheme.
• There’s no cap on the amount you can bring into KiwiSaver, because New Zealand’s system doesn’t impose contribution caps the way Australia’s does. Source: Canstar; Simplicity.

Tax treatment

Legislatively, an amount of Australian-sourced retirement savings transferred into a KiwiSaver scheme under the portability arrangements is treated as exempt income at the point of entry under section CW 29B of the Income Tax Act 2007, so there’s no New Zealand tax bill on arrival. Source: IRD Tax Policy, Summary of proposed amendments. Once inside KiwiSaver, ordinary NZ investment income tax rules (broadly 10.5%–28% via the Portfolio Investment Entity, or PIE, regime) apply to future earnings, compared with Australia’s flat 15% tax on fund earnings — a structural difference worth understanding if you’re deciding whether to transfer or leave money in Australia. Source: IRD Tax Policy, Trans-Tasman portability fact sheet.

Access rules

• The Australian-sourced component transferred into KiwiSaver can generally be withdrawn from age 60, provided you meet the Australian definition of retirement for that portion.
• Any New Zealand-sourced component — your own contributions, your employer’s, and any government contributions — still follows ordinary KiwiSaver rules and isn’t accessible until age 65.
• You cannot use the Australian-sourced portion for a KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, even though NZ-sourced KiwiSaver balances can normally be used this way. You may, however, be able to use interest earned on the Australian-sourced portion for a first-home purchase. Source: Inland Revenue Tax Policy; Simplicity.
• If you later re-emigrate to Australia and transfer the money back, it’s treated as Australian-sourced funds, so any amount you transferred back to New Zealand won’t be eligible for a first-home withdrawal at that point either. Source: ANZ.

Step-by-step: how the transfer process works

1. Confirm eligibility. Check you meet the “permanent emigration” test for the direction you’re transferring, and that you hold (or can open) an account in the destination country — an APRA-complying Australian fund, or a KiwiSaver scheme.
2. Check both providers participate. Contact your current provider and your intended destination fund to confirm each accepts Trans-Tasman transfers. This step alone rules out a meaningful number of funds on both sides.
3. Get the right form. KiwiSaver-to-Australia transfers generally require a Trans-Tasman portability approval form completed by the Australian provider, alongside a transfer application form you complete yourself. Australia-to-KiwiSaver transfers use the equivalent Trans-Tasman transfer form from your provider’s app or website. Source: ANZ; Simplicity.
4. Provide proof of permanent emigration. Typically a statutory declaration and identity verification, plus (for Australia-to-NZ transfers) your New Zealand IRD number.
5. Submit and wait. Processing commonly takes 10–15 working days after your provider confirms the transfer, though this varies by scheme — some report longer timeframes depending on both funds’ internal processes. Source: Simplicity.
6. Confirm receipt. Send the confirmation email from your original provider to the receiving fund so they can match and process the incoming payment.

Should you transfer, or leave it where it is?

Transferring isn’t automatically the right move. Reasons people choose to leave their super or KiwiSaver in place instead:

• You’re not certain the move is permanent. The scheme is designed for permanent emigration; if there’s a real chance you’ll return within a few years, keeping accounts open in both countries avoids an irreversible decision.
• Consolidation vs. diversification. Some people prefer holding retirement savings in both currencies and both regulatory systems as a form of diversification, rather than consolidating everything into one country.
• Fee and investment differences. Compare ongoing fees, investment options and expected earnings tax treatment (Australia’s flat 15% vs. New Zealand’s PIE-based rates) before assuming consolidation is automatically better.
• First-home plans. If an Australian first-home deposit scheme or a KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal is part of your plan, remember the cross-border restrictions above apply specifically to transferred money, not to savings you contribute fresh in your new country.

Because the rules around contribution caps, total super balance thresholds and tax residency are genuinely complex and change from year to year, this is a case where speaking to a licensed financial adviser in the destination country — someone who can see your specific balance, age and total superannuation position — is worth the cost before you submit a transfer form.

Frequently asked questions