Your result
Australia — Marriage
Possible
Whether your partner can sponsor you turns on a distinction that is easy to miss: not every New Zealand citizen living in Australia can. The law requires an eligible New Zealand citizen, and that is a defined status rather than a description.
Broadly, a New Zealand citizen holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa counts as eligible if they were in Australia on 26 February 2001, or were in Australia for at least twelve months in the two years before that date, or hold a certificate of that status — and otherwise if they meet health and character requirements and were usually resident in Australia at the relevant time. A New Zealander who moved to Australia more recently and holds only a Special Category visa often does not meet it, however long they have since been there.
There are two clean ways around this, and both are worth checking before assuming the route is closed. Your partner may have become an Australian permanent resident or citizen at some point without it being front of mind — and since 1 July 2023 New Zealand citizens on a Special Category visa have been able to apply for Australian citizenship directly, without first obtaining a permanent visa, so a partner who has lived in Australia for four years may be able to become a citizen and sponsor you straightforwardly.
Establish your partner's exact status first, through the Department of Home Affairs' visa entitlement verification service. If they are an eligible New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a citizen, the partner visa runs on entirely ordinary terms from there.