This was published 5 years ago
New Zealand scraps departure cards for international travellers
International passengers leaving New Zealand no longer have to fill out departure cards.Credit: CHRIS SKELTON
Monday is the first day that international travellers leaving New Zealand won't have to fill out departure cards.
The often-maligned document is being scrapped, allowing visitors an easier flow through airports.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern first signalled the move in March at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum in Sydney.
Delegates at that forum said the cards were not necessary and hampered a seamless trans-Tasman experience, which affected tourism and business.
Ardern said she agreed and would be talking to statistics and immigration officials.
WHY WERE PAPER DEPARTURE CARDS USED?
Departure cards were originally used to process and account for all travellers who departed New Zealand, including information such as how long they've been in New Zealand and how long they intend to be away from the country.
Nowadays, the cards are mainly used by Statistics NZ to collect information on tourism and migration.
Departure cards were introduced in 1921, and it's estimated more than 132 million cards have been filled out since that time.
In 2017, 6.5 million cards were completed.
From November, Statistics NZ is switching to a new system which would measure the actual times.
Those hoping for an end to arrival cards are set for a longer wait.
AUSTRALIA'S DEPARTURE CARDS
Australia scrapped its departure cards for international travellers on July 1 last year. Departures were moved to a fully-automated system, though arrival cards still need to be filled out for the time being.
According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the information previously gathered via paper-based card is now collated from existing government data and is still provided to users.
One of these users is the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The ABS also revealed that over 230,000 cards went missing in March last year. According to an ABS spokesperson, that's was only about 15 per cent of the total number of departing passengers, and using the wealth of data available through the DIBP trips system, the ABS has been able to fill in any missing blanks.
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