Kiwi firefighters perform the haka as they farewell Australia

Kiwi firefighters have performed a powerful haka in the fire-affected NSW town of Ballina before returning to New Zealand.

The team of firefighters performed the traditional dance dressed in their uniforms on Wednesday as part of a formal farewell after battling fires and protecting Aussie homes for the last three weeks.

Mayor of Richmond, Robert Mustow, was invited to attend the performance and later posted on Facebook thanking the team for their efforts.

"This morning the New Zealand firies invited me to attend a thank you farewell at their motel in Ballina before they left for home today," he said in the status.

"They have been here for a couple of weeks fighting fires and using the Broadwater Hall as their shift change over and dining venue.

"We were honoured to be presented with a haka.

"It was wonderful to meet them during their visit and I sincerely thank them for the effort and contribution to keeping our community safe in our time of need."

In mid-November, a crew of 26 firefighters from New Zealand were flown to Australia to assist with the crisis in both NSW and Queensland.

Ballina is one of many areas in NSW that have been slammed by the bushfire emergency.

A fire is still burning roughly 15km south of Ballina although firefighters have managed to bring it under control.