SIM card for Australia and New Zealand
 

I'll be visiting Australia and NZ for 3 weeks in November and I will need a SIM card to use my phone. Data only is required. Is there something I can pick up at the airport when I arrive in Melbourne or will I need to get a SIM card for each country?

You will need separate SIM's for Au & NZ, as they are different countries and have different phone carriers. Roaming data in the other country would be very expensive.

Au
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...australia.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ocea...australia.html
SIM cards available at MEL airport near international arrivals landside.
You need an identification check, which the phone booth guys will do

NZ
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...w-zealand.html
https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom...ki/New_Zealand

Vodafone have service in both AU and NZ, and I believe they do offer some travel sim card covering both countries. You can look for a Vodafone reseller at MEL and ask.

However most likely the cheapest options will be to get a different SIM for AU and NZ. If any AU SIM works in NZ it will be at a price premium.

You can also look into international travel SIM cards, which may be available online, offering reasonable rates in multiple countries.

If you're landing in Auckland, you can pick up a data-only SIM card from Spark as you walk through the duty-free area (5 gb for ~$30 USD).
I've never flown to MEL, but if it's anything like SYD, there are a bunch of cell phone stores and kiosks in the arrival hall (I got an Optus SIM card, 10 gb for ~$15 USD if I recall correctly)

I use a separate SIM for business trips to NZ even though going for only a few days.

You can get them in AKL arrivals.

Same for Australia at MEL or SYD but the choice is better downtown.
The big providers are in every street.

I generally find data very cheap in Australia compared to some other places I go.
(download maps when you're on WiFi and GPS guidance will cost you next to nothing. Even if you don't it's not bad)

As a local, I appreciate Optus' bundles that come with a decent amount of data for minimal cost.

You could perhaps pick up a $30 SIM card from them (pre-paid lasts about a month). One of my friends had the same, and paid $2 extra per day to use roaming in Hawaii during her overseas trip.