If you are travelling through an Australian airport on your way to or from New Zealand, you may need to apply for an Australian visa before travelling. Please be sure to consult your travel agency or your airline before departure to confirm whether or not you are transiting Australia on your way to or from New Zealand.
Some travellers to Australia do not need to apply for a visa to transit if they meet certain criteria. For information concerning your eligibility to transit Australia without a visa please refer to Transiting through Australia without visa arrangements [external website].
Travellers who are not eligible to transit Australia without a visa must obtain a visa, such as a Transit Visa (Subclass 771). For further information relating to this visa and details on how to apply please refer to Transiting through Australia [external website].
If you have other activities planned in Australia (e.g. tourism, training, etc.) or your stay will be longer than 72 hours, you must apply for an appropriate visa before travelling. For further information on the types of visas available, please refer to Australia visas and immigration [external website].
If you are the holder of another Australian visa (e.g. Working Holiday visa or a Tourist or Visitor visa) your permitted period of stay in Australia commences when you first enter Australia, even if you only transit Australia to travel onwards to New Zealand. For Working Holiday visa holders, any time spent outside Australia while on your first or second Working Holiday visa does not extend the length of the visa.
If you are the holder of a single-entry visa to Australia, and you plan on transiting through Australia on your way to New Zealand, please be advised that your entry will be taken as the time at which you transited Australia. As such, your visa will no longer be valid after this point and you will not be able to re-enter Australia on that visa.
