Offenders deported back to New Zealand from Australia at the end of their jail time will soon be subject to new monitoring and supervision conditions.
Justice Minister Amy Adams says the regime will mean criminals sent back home will be subject to the same sort of oversight as they would have been if they had served their prison sentence in New Zealand.
She says it will be carefully balanced.
"Some of these offenders are pretty nasty sods, others are people who at least on the face of it have been caught up in a reasonably tough Australian system," she told reporters on Tuesday.
"We have to balance keeping New Zealanders safe and not overly punishing people."
Ms Adams says 167 have already been sent back by Australia and 585 are waiting to be processed.
When the backlog has been cleared, she expects between 150 and 200 a year will be returned.
The 167 won't be subject to the new regime, which has to be passed by parliament, but the Department of Corrections can apply for supervision orders against them.
Under the proposed new laws the regime will automatically apply to deported offenders who:
* Were sentenced to more than a year in prison in another country
* Return to New Zealand within six months of their release from custody
* Were imprisoned for behaviour that would be an imprisonable offence under New Zealand law.
The period of supervision will be based on the length of each offender's overseas sentence.
The announcement comes amid concerns about the number of New Zealanders being deported from Australia under tough new immigration rules.
The rules, which came into effect in December, mean anyone who isn't an Australian citizen and who has been sentenced to a prison term of 12 months or more, can be deported.
It could potentially affect around 1000 New Zealanders and Wellington has been moving to ensure authorities have detailed information about Kiwis being home.
A register of deported offenders has already been set up and an information-sharing agreement between New Zealand and Australia means authorities will now get more details about deportees.
Ms Adams wants the necessary laws to implement the supervision regime passed as soon as possible.
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