Cautionary tale for those transiting Australia on two separate airlines - I’m USA citizen flew DPS>SYD on Virgin Australia, with same day connecting flight SYD>AKL on AirAsia. Virgin does not have an international agreement with AirAsia, which means I couldn’t be seen as a transit passenger. In order to get my Virgin ticket issued I needed an Australian visa. Luckily I was able to apply for a visa and get it issued on the spot since I’m American.

When I landed in SYD was able to use intl transfer and avoid immigration altogether, even though I didn’t have my airasia boarding pass. Not sure if this issue was specifically with Virgin and Airasia or just Airasia. Either way, if transiting Aus on two separate tickets it’s best to confirm ahead of time or just apply for Australian visa to be safe.