A significant number of Maori people are returning to New Zealand from Australia - some of whom are coming back for their tertiary studies.
Trans-Tasman migration researcher Paul Hamer has been looking at the recent 2013 census information that shows that of the 43,300 people who were in Australia five years ago, 19.5 percent stated they were Maori.
He is also researching why some Maori are returning home and says one reason could be to do with government restrictions placed on New Zealanders in Australia in 2005 to receive student loans.
That has resulted in thousands of New Zealanders who have missed out on studying at university, he believes.
Mr Hamer says the higher number of Maori people returning also indicates that tangata whenua are probably more mobile than other New Zealanders.
