New Zealanders will get the opportunity to travel quarantine-free to Australia in the first stage of a travel bubble deal between the two countries in two weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says that the quarantine-free travel will begin from midnight on Friday, October 16.

New Zealanders will be allowed to fly into NSW and the Northern Territory.

It is expected that Australians will be given the opportunity to head to New Zealand at a later date.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison smoothed out all the details of the arrangement with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern on Friday.

“This will allow New Zealanders and other residents in New Zealand who have not been in an area designated as a COVID-19 hot spot in New Zealand in the preceding 14 days to travel quarantine free to Australia,” Mr McCormack said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

Mr McCormack said that the Commonwealth definition of a COVID-19 hot spot was three locally acquired cases over a rolling three-day average.

However, there was no date yet for when Australians would be able to travel to New Zealand.

“Certainly if (Ms Ardern) wants to have Australians going to New Zealand, then that will be up to her and New Zealand as to how those arrangements can be put into place and under what conditions they can be put into place,” Mr McCormack said.

“But as I’d say, Northern Territory and New South Wales — very much open.”

Mr McCormack said the trans-Tasman travel bubble was the first stage of the government’s plan to “open up Australia to the world”.

South Australia has since opened up its domestic border but will not be part of the first travel bubble Mr McCormack said.

However he says it is expected to be the “next cab off the rank”.

He said other states could follow if they accepted the Federal Government’s COVID-19 hot spot definition.

There are no plans to expand the international bubble beyond New Zealand yet, but the option may be a possibility soon.

“We may well extend this. We want to open up Australia to the world. This is the first part of it,” McCormack said.

“We will wait and see how this unfolds, we will wait and see the success of this.

“I know Foreign Minister Marise Payne is working with many of our Pacific island friends at the moment, but for the Pacific Islands that want to go to New Zealand (and) be there for a fortnight, they can avail themselves of this opportunity.”

Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert said that the announcement has given the travel industry “a welcome injection of hope”.

“We applaud the Federal Government for driving this through,” Mr Culbert said.

“Pre-COVID New Zealand was Sydney Airport’s second busiest passenger route behind the USA. We’ve been preparing for the ramp up of international passengers from the day restrictions came in and we’re looking forward to giving our Kiwi cousins a safe and warm welcome from October 16.”

“I hope very soon to see New Zealanders coming and holidaying in Australia,” Mr Morrison told the National Press Club in Canberra this week.

“I can’t tell you Australians will be able to holiday in New Zealand, but that’s their problem. I’m happy for Kiwi tourists to come here and spend money in NSW and South Australia. They’re very, very welcome.”