Kiwis in Australia better educated, worker harder than Aussies

08:30 AEST Thu Sep 30 2010

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New Zealanders who end up living and working in Australia work on average harder and longer than Australians, an Aussie government survey has found.

The workers heading across the Tasman are generally older, professional and more focused on work, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Last year, the more than 500,000 Kiwis living in Australia had higher rates of employment than fellow Australians, AAP reports.

About 90 per cent of New Zealand men there have jobs whereas only 83 per cent of Australian men do.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Kiwis working full-time surpasses the rate of Australians by more than 10 per cent.

But we keep arriving in our droves — over the past 20 years the Kiwi population in Australia has gone up a whopping 89 per cent.

Queensland seems to be the state of choice for New Zealanders, particularly Brisbane and Surfers Paradise.

A lot of men end up working in construction and manufacturing while women take up jobs in health care or retail.

Do you think Kiwis living in Australia work harder and longer than Australians? Have your say

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User comments

Well there is an exception to every rule. Also with every rule comes an exception? I have lived here 2 years and have never had any "Automatic Benefits" given to me can expat explain where i would access these? Also i have travelled the world extensively and never 'slagged off' my neighbours across the ditch. I love living in Australia and attributing to the economy here. But i am also very proud of where I come from and will always be a KIWI. Give Kiwis and Aussies a fair go and stop stereotyping we are not ALL bad are we?

if aussies work as hard ,same benifit

I ran a business in oz where I found that I couldnt rely on the ozzy workers.The unofficial holidays and lax attitudes to work were apalling, I was really shocked. I employed over 100 staff and only had two who would show up to work when expected and actually do the job. Most have a problem with doing 'dirty' work, unfortunately most nursing, cleaning and caregiver work is dirty...I mean who are they kidding when they say they want a job cleaning but wont clean toilets??? And yes caregiver work does include wiping dirty bottoms. On the other hand, the kiwi workers were great, realistic about what was expected, turning up when expected and being willing to learn new tasks and give something a go. I came back to NZ and earn less as an RN here than what I was paying cleaners and caregivers in oz! We love NZ, I had a problem adjusting to the australian climate, so even though we enjoyed living there we came home. I miss my earnings and lifestyle as I earn only 50c more than min wage here.

I love to hear about the immigrant pride and the New zealand owned company's in Australia who only hire kiwi workers. Lets just face the facts kiwis hate Australia and they will go any extent to destroy its reputation. While Aussies are out traveling the world enjoying life, you will hear nothing other than a kiwi in another country talking about 2 things, How good new zealand is and how bad Australia is. All i know is that who cares about New Zealanders living in Australia. Most Aussies dont care about kiwis and seriously its not a big deal its not like they are from a third world country and worked hard to get here like those who are from asia. Its just a simple few hour flight and Automatic benefits. The only difference between the two country's is if Aussies moved to another country, they would respect it., Kiwis will spit on the first person they will see as soon as they hop of the ship and wave their flag around. Thats why most country's know where Australia is .

Whereas Kiwis literally had to work twice as hard in New Zealand so they are pretty much use to working long tiring hours. Some Aussies truly think they are worth more than they are getting. Be thankful for what you’ve got and getting it could always be worse! For example you could be living in a poor country such as New Zealand!

Kiwis in Australia better educated, "worker harder" than Aussies worker harder, Really ? pick up your game New Zealand! Paul

i believe so...go kiwis go....we are hard workers us kiwis its just unfortunate we have to migrate elsewhere to get our moneys worth and to prove our worth.

Having managed a business in Australia (Brisbane) I can honestly say for the most part YES. Kiwi's will also go the extra mile on the job and will give anything a go. They tend to be more reliable and dont subscribed to unofficial holidays. Kiwi's will also clean up after themselves and others where most Australian workers 'work to rule', as they see it. Go Kiwi's you will always get a job from me!

"worker harder"..??? Perhaps the author shouldn't be making such claims

Wasn't it Sir Robert Muldoon who said that when Kiwis emigrate to Australia, it raises the IQ of both countries ?