In April, there was a net 3192 permanent and long-term (PLT) migrants to Australia, up from 2509 in April last year.
In the past 12 months, a net 30,575 people left permanently for Australia - the highest number since 2001 which was also the last time the New Zealand housing market recorded negative annual house price growth.
ANZ-National Bank chief economist Cameron Bagrie said the number of monthly PLT departures to Australia had reached the highest level since February 2001 when there was a big surge before changes in Australian benefit policies.
Net arrivals from the United Kingdom provided the largest offset to the numbers permanently heading to Australia.
In the 12 months ended April, a net 7100 people permanently migrated from the UK to New Zealand, down from 9900 in the April 2007 year.
Although net migration was down, net inflows from Asia had risen, he said.
Short-term visitor arrivals fell 11% in April, the sharpest fall since July 2005.
Statistics NZ said caution needed to be placed on the seasonally adjusted figures as they were unable to take account of the early Easter which occurred in March this year.
When the March and April arrival numbers were combined, the number of visitor arrivals was down 1% compared with the same period last year.
Mr Bagrie said there were some early signs that slowing global growth was having an impact, particularly in countries most affected by recent financial market turbulence.
Visitor arrivals from the United States were down 20% compared with April last year and short-term arrivals from the UK were down 11%.
At the same time, there was a 39% rise in visitors from South Africa.
There were limited monetary policy implications from the data as it was broadly in line with the Reserve Bank's March projections and consistent with housing market activity remaining subdued over the coming 12 months, he said.
