Announced in Queenstown on 1 October, the policy commits a National government to work with Australia on a trial before the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which the two countries host jointly from 21 October to 19 November 2028.
Under the proposal, eligible Australian and New Zealand passport holders would submit their passport and travel details digitally before departure and complete the New Zealand Traveller Declaration in advance. They would then rely on a smartphone, digital credentials and facial biometrics through more of the airport journey, with dedicated trans Tasman arrival lanes at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Travellers who trigger a border alert, cannot be matched to their passport or need further checks would return to standard processing.
What does not change
Paperless does not mean passport free. Travellers would still need to hold a valid passport; the change is that they would no longer have to present it physically. Biosecurity rules stay as they are, with declarations still required and bags still liable to inspection.
What already exists
Much of the groundwork is in place. The Trans Tasman Seamless Travel Group was set up in 2023 following a commitment by Anthony Albanese and then Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. It is chaired jointly by the Australian Border Force Commissioner and the New Zealand Customs Service chief executive, and includes airlines, airports and tourism representatives. In 2024 Albanese and Christopher Luxon endorsed the group’s approach. Australia committed to trialling a digital incoming passenger card, which New Zealand has had since 2023, and New Zealand committed to upgrading its eGates. New Zealand’s eGates operate at the same four airports named in the policy. In May 2025 Customs said around 70 per cent of arriving and departing passengers were processed through them. In September this year Customs said it was about to start replacing the eGates at Auckland Airport, timed to coincide with the reconfiguration of the international departures area that moves security screening ahead of border control. On the Australian side, the digital Australia Travel Declaration has been trialled since October 2024, starting on selected Qantas flights from New Zealand. More than 450,000 passengers have used it. In July the Australian Government said the pilot would extend to Perth and Adelaide before the end of this year, followed by a phased rollout to all international airports and seaports over 12 to 18 months.
What it would take
On the New Zealand side, the first requirement is the election result. National would then need to fund the trial, assign it to an agency and build it alongside the eGate replacement already scheduled at Auckland. On the Australian side, the decision rests with Canberra. Australia would have to agree to the technology, the checks and the information sharing involved. National’s policy names arrival lanes at New Zealand airports only and does not say what Australia would build for travellers heading the other way. Timing is the pressure point. Australia’s own digital declaration rollout runs to between mid 2027 and early 2028 on the published timetable, leaving a narrow window before the October 2028 deadline.
The visitor levy question
The wider tourism policies being campaigned on this election do not touch the trans Tasman market directly. Australian and Pacific Island visitors are exempt from the International Visitor Levy, which was raised from $35 to $100 in 2024. For long haul inbound markets, National would reset how the levy is spent from 1 July 2027. The Department of Conservation would receive $100 million a year and a new Tourism Priorities Fund $50 million a year, with the remainder paid to councils according to their share of international visitor guest nights. National puts the council share at $86 million in 2027/28, rising to $106 million by 2030/31, or about $385 million over four years. It has committed not to raise the levy for three years and says the $105.1 million cost to the Crown over four years would come from future operating allowances.
Nothing changes for clients now. Current passport, eGate and arrival card rules apply on both sides of the Tasman. Australia remains New Zealand’s largest visitor market, with a record 1.59 million arrivals in the year to June 2026, so even modest time savings at the border apply to a large volume of travellers. On the most optimistic timetable, a trial would begin shortly before the T20 World Cup in late 2028, and only if voters and Canberra both say yes.