New Zealanders flying to Australia could leave their passports in their bags at the airport gate under a trial National has promised to run before the 2028 T20 cricket World Cup, if it is returned to government at the 7 November election.
Christopher Luxon announced the policy on Thursday 1 October at Coronet Peak near Queenstown, alongside National’s tourism spokesperson Louise Upston. Under the plan, eligible Australian and New Zealand citizens would use a smartphone, digital credentials and facial recognition through more of the airport journey, and would not need to show a paper passport at the gate, 1News reported.
“We want a fully digital trans-Tasman experience, where eligible travellers can rely on a smartphone, their digital credentials and biometric technology through more of the airport journey, and we intend to have a trial in place around that before 2028,” Mr Luxon said.
The passport does not disappear altogether. Travellers would still need to hold a valid one and register online before they fly, submitting their passport and travel details digitally and completing the New Zealand Traveller Declaration in advance. National says dedicated trans-Tasman arrival lanes would be set up at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown airports. Anyone who triggers a border alert, cannot be matched to their passport or needs a closer look would be sent back to normal processing.
Biosecurity would not change. Travellers would still make declarations and their bags could still be inspected. “We’ve got the same safeguards around sovereignty, around risks that we may have, biosecurity, all of those things remain in place. We’re just digitising it even further and even more, and using the technology to do so,” Mr Luxon said.
In its press release, National pointed to the cricket. The 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 21 October to 19 November that year, and the party says it would work to have the trial running before the tournament starts. It describes the change as “no paper passport required at the gate and faster movement through airports, while maintaining the security and integrity of New Zealand’s border and preserving the ability of border agencies to intervene where risk is identified”.
Ms Upston framed the policy as a tourism measure. “Making it easier for Australians to visit New Zealand means more visitors exploring our cities and regions which results in more incomes for local businesses, more jobs opportunities for New Zealanders, and a stronger economy,” she said. The party notes that tourism is the country’s second-largest export earner and supports around one in nine jobs.
The idea is not new. Trans-Tasman passengers have used automated SmartGates since 2009, when the National-led Government of the day launched them. In August 2024 Mr Luxon and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese endorsed the work of the Trans-Tasman Seamless Travel Group and committed to exploring ways of moving closer to seamless travel. RNZ noted that New Zealand brought in digital incoming passenger cards in 2023, while Australia committed to trialling them in 2024.
That history gave Labour leader Chris Hipkins an opening. He said he had discussed the same idea with Mr Albanese when the Australian leader visited New Zealand. “Albo and I talked about that when he visited New Zealand. I think it was July 2023. We agreed that we would get that work done within 12 months. What’s taken them so long?” Mr Hipkins said.
He went further, suggesting Mr Luxon’s own early doubts may have slowed things down. “Why the delay? At the time, Christopher Luxon said that he was sceptical about the idea. Maybe that’s the reason it hasn’t already happened,” he said.
Mr Luxon, a former chief executive of Air New Zealand, said the idea was close to his heart. “Coming from my background before politics, I’m really a big supporter of it, and I drove a lot of that in my former life around a more seamless, domestic-like experience between Australia and New Zealand,” he said. At the same event he said, “Oh no, you need National to get things done. I mean, that’s the bottom line, isn’t it?”
The biggest catch is that New Zealand cannot do this alone. The promise is to work with Australia on a trial, which means Canberra has to agree to the technology, the airports and the checks involved. Mr Luxon acknowledged as much. “We’ll work it through with the Australians. And as Louise says, we’ll get a trial in place. We’ve got two years before the international cricket competition comes here,” he said. National has not put a cost on the policy, and no response from the Australian Government was reported alongside the announcement.
The travel industry has welcomed the idea while pointing out its limits. Julie White, chief executive of the Travel Agents Association, told Pacific Media Network the plan was “a great step forward” that would be welcomed by travellers if it made the airport experience more efficient. She was also clear about what would not change. “You still need a valid passport. You don’t actually have to now physically pull out your passport,” she said. PMN also noted that the European Union’s own rollout of biometric border checks was marred by long delays, a reminder that new systems do not always speed things up at first.
For New Zealanders with family, work or holidays across the Tasman, a smoother airport is one of the less divisive promises of this campaign. The exchange between National and Labour has been about who has been slower to deliver, not whether it should happen.
Whether a trial actually runs before the first ball is bowled in October 2028 will depend on who forms the next government and how quickly officials in both countries can agree on the detail. If you are weighing up the parties’ wider plans before polling day, you can find out which party best matches your views with our voting tool.
Would you use a phone and facial recognition instead of a paper passport to fly to Australia, or do you have concerns about the technology? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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