A spokesperson confirmed to the media on Thursday that Ardern, who resigned in 2023, plans to base herself in Australia after spending much of the past two years overseas.

Australian media reported earlier that Ardern, 45, her husband Clarke Gayford and their daughter Neve were seen house-hunting in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

“They have work there, and it brings the added bonus of more time back home in New Zealand,” the spokesperson said.

Ardern’s move comes amid a sharp rise in emigration from New Zealand. Official data released this month showed more than 60,000 New Zealand citizens left the country in 2025, with 61% heading to Australia.

The trend is expected to be a key issue in New Zealand’s general election scheduled for November, as voters and policymakers grapple with concerns over wages, cost of living and competitiveness.

Since stepping down from politics, Ardern has spent significant time in the United States, where she holds dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School.

She also serves on the board of Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, and last year released her memoir A Different Kind of Power.

Ardern rose to prominence after leading the Labour Party to power in 2017 in a wave of popularity dubbed “Jacinda-mania.”

She secured a historic landslide in 2020, winning 50% of the vote during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2018, she became just the second world leader to give birth while in office.

She was also widely praised for her response to the 2019 mosque attacks in Christchurch, when 51 people were killed, an episode that drew global attention to her empathetic leadership.

However, her tenure proved divisive domestically, particularly over strict Covid lockdowns and vaccination policies, while rising living costs during her second term eroded support among some voters.

Announcing her resignation in 2023, Ardern said she no longer had the energy to continue.

“I have given my absolute all to being prime minister,” she said at the time. “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice.”