New Zealand's opposition leader has found some sympathy among Australian politicians to potentially allow Kiwis access to the national disability insurance scheme.
There are an estimated 300,000 New Zealanders living in Australia on special category, or temporary residency visas, who are barred from voting and access to unemployment benefits, disability allowances and public housing.
NZ Labour leader Andrew Little and MP Phil Goff addressed two Australian parliamentary committees on Wednesday requesting a fairer deal on welfare and citizenship pathways for Kiwis.
"There's a willingness there to review the anomalies that have arisen," Mr Little told reporters in Canberra.
One meeting generated robust discussion while the other one had elicited some sympathy particularly towards New Zealanders potentially gaining access to the NDIS, Mr Little said.
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He defended the lobbying trip to Australia, amid criticism from NZ Prime Minister John Key that Mr Little's intervention may jeopardise his government's diplomacy efforts.
"These issues have been around for a while, he's been prime minister for now seven years, and they are still around and haven't been resolved," he said.
It was important to make the trek across the ditch to speak to the Australian politicians about how laws are being applied unfairly and in some cases resulting in people being left destitute because they can't access support.
Earlier, some Australian MPs expressed little sympathy for the plight of Kiwis living here.
"I'm annoyed that a New Zealander can come to Australia and buy land up to many millions of dollars ... but if an Australian goes to New Zealand they can't buy more than a couple of hectares," government backbencher Sharman Stone told reporters.
Dr Stone said there were many more New Zealanders in Australia than Australians over there.
"The costs of the support is not in balance," she said.
Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus, who has thousands of Kiwis in his southeast Melbourne electorate, is familiar with their gripes.
"They are very welcome to become Australian citizens, and strangely most of them say `no I'm going to go back to New Zealand at some point'," he told reporters.
Mr Dreyfus pointed out that the two countries were separate and New Zealand had declined the opportunity to join Australia's federation in 1901.
Mr Little and Mr Goff will also visit Villawood immigration detention centre in Sydney to talk to convicted NZ criminals facing possible deportation.
