A single Australia and New Zealand currency has been pretty much ruled out, but passport-free travel between the countries appears to be more likely.
Prime Minister John Key met his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard for talks in Australia over the weekend, and said today the countries had agreed to advance several plans.
While Mr Key said a common currency was "definitely off the table'', he was more positive about the prospect of a common border in the longer term.
"All the technological advantages we have now allow us to make that process easier and easier,'' he said.
"To go back to the days when you didn't have a passport, that is always technically possible. The only challenge is that on any transtasman flight there'll be a decent slug of people on that plane, more often than not, that are neither Australians and New Zealanders, that's always been the challenge about making it a completely domestic experience.''
Mr Key said both governments had agreed to try to come up with a significant policy change for 2013 that would "catch the attention of Australians and New Zealanders'', although it was not clear what that might be at this stage.
