Kiwi voters in Australia for NZ election

Kiwis living in Australia have the option of voting in New Zealand's general election pitting the conservative Nationals government against Labour under new leader Jacinda Ardern.

WHO ARE THEY?

* About 640,000 Kiwis live in Australia

* Only 33,000 are registered to vote this year

* NZ citizens living in Australia who have gone home at least once in the past three years are eligible to vote.

WHEN THEY NEED TO VOTE BY

* Voting for New Zealanders in Australia will close at 4pm AEST on Friday.

* Voting in New Zealand ends on Saturday at 7pm NZEST.

* The three most popular polling booths in Australia during the 2014 general election were in Melbourne, Perth and on the Gold Coast.

HOW DO THEY VOTE?

*Kiwis in Australia can either vote online or head into one of 16 polling stations located across Australia: Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Perth and Sydney.

*It is compulsory for a NZ citizen to be registered on the electoral roll but voting is optional.

MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA

*About 20,500 Kiwis emigrated to Australia in the year to April 2017 but at least one in four of those New Zealand citizens were born overseas, according to Stats NZ.

*Migration from New Zealand has dropped to 20,500 last year from 27,600 an average on previous years.

*New Zealanders wanting to become Australian citizens need to have lived for at least four years in Australia before they can apply.