During the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries, thousands of Māori would emigrate from New Zealand to pursue employment opportunities in blue collar occupations such as shearing, construction, manufacturing, and mining.

[5][6] Māori chiefs continued to trade with Europeans in Australia, bringing back rare goods to New Zealand.

Many Māori lived in the Rocks area around the Whaler's Arms tavern, reflected in the streetname "Maori Lane".

Calwell subsequently reversed his previous statement and allowed Māori to continue entering Australia on the same terms as white New Zealanders.

[12] In the 1970s and 1980s, Māori hit by a downturn in their home country's economy emigrated to Australia in search of work.

[9] Between 1984 and 1999, the closure of the freezing works and factory industries in New Zealand, where the majority of Māori were employed, led many to emigrate to Australia.

[13][9] In 1998, a survey of 1,149 New Zealand-born Maori in Australia conducted by Te Puni Kōkiri, the Department for Māori Development, found that motivations for emigrating to Australia included better employment opportunities, family reunification, starting a new life, seeking better weather, education, and sports, and to escape Māori politics or negative experiences in New Zealand.

In addition, some Māori men came to Australia to play rugby while others migrated to avoid having to pay child support to their families.

While New Zealanders arriving in Australia have freedom to work through a non-protected Special Category Visa, they are unable to access social security, tertiary student loans, and other economic opportunities unless they obtain permanent residence.

[16][17] In December 2014, the Australian Government amended the Migration Act to facilitate the cancellation of visas for non-citizens who had served a prison sentence of more than 12 months and "character grounds."

[19] According to a 2014 report published by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, legislative restrictions on access to social security, student loans, and housing, an economic downturn in Australia, and perceived racism has led a growing number of Australian-based Māori to return to New Zealand.

[20] In mid-August 2019, a Māori group known as the Ngāti Rangihou Kanguru hapū laid claim to 112 acres of land in Parramatta in Sydney, claiming that local Indigenous Australian leaders had entrusted the land to the Māori King with the help of Anglican priest Samuel Marsden.

[21][22][23] In mid-April 2023, the Australian Government announced a new direct citizenship pathway for New Zealanders living in Australia including Māori.

The 2001 census also revealed that 35.5% of the Australian Māori population lived in New South Wales, 29.7% in Queensland (including 19,000 in Brisbane), 14% in Victoria, and 6% in other territories.

[28] There are significant Māori communities in certain suburbs of Sydney (Penrith, Parramatta, Liverpool, Blacktown, Campbelltown) as well as Brisbane (Woodridge, Forest Lake, Wynnum, Redbank), Gold Coast, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth.

[4] By 2013, a Dominion Post report estimated that there were more Māori living in Queensland than in ten of New Zealand's sixteen regions.

The reduced citizenship rates among Māori reflects legislative changes to Australia's immigration policy in 2001 including the establishment of a Special Category Visa for New Zealand citizens, which allows them to work but limits access to social security benefits.

[33] According to Te Puni Kōkiri, 54% of Australian-born Māori have high school qualifications in comparison to 55% for non-Māori New Zealanders and the Australian national average of 59%.

[34] Dr Tahu Kukutai and Dr Shefali Pawar, of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA) at the University of Waikato, have attributed the lower Māori participation in tertiary education to changes to immigration legislation in 2001 which restricted access to social security and student loans for Australian non-citizens.

[39] Only about 7.9% of Māori migrants in Australia were self-employed, compared to the non-Māori New Zealand figure of 14.3% and the Australian national average of 15.3%.

In addition, an estimate 40% of Māori in Australia provided unpaid childcare in contrast to the Australian national average of 30%.

At present, Māori language classes exist in Australia in an attempt to preserve Te Reo there, and there is a Māori-language radio station in Sydney.

The showband era began waning during the late 1970s, leading many musicians to continue their careers as soloists or smaller cabaret groups that played in north Queensland, Sydney, and the Gold Coast.

[44] One notable musician was the Young Polynesian Darren Rehu, who played kapa haka and featured as a child star on QTQ-9's Happy Go 'Round show.

He also played backing for the state productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King musical in Australia.

[45] Sydney was also home to two kapa haka (traditional Māori performance arts) groups Te Huinga Waka and Tupuranga.

Stewart Simpson emigrated from Kawerau to Australia to play rugby and subsequently became the manager of the Australian national beach volleyball team.