PM Jacinda Ardern made a direct request of Australian PM Scott Morrison to deport genuine Kiwis - not Australian problems, at their meeting in Sydney.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has laid a challenge directly to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, asking him publicly to stop deporting Australian problems to New Zealand.

In her remarks following the bilateral meeting Ardern said she understood why Australia would deport genuine Kiwis - but not New Zealand citizens whose full lives had been in Australia.

"Send back Kiwis, genuine Kiwis - do not deport your people, and your problems," Ardern said.

9NEWS Jacinda Ardern and Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Scott Morrison debated a "corrosive" deportation policy in Sydney earlier this year.

This statement was made right beside Morrison on the shores of Sydney harbour.

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"I am not asking that Australia stops this policy- you have deported more than 2000 individuals and amongst them will be genuine Kiwis who do have to learn the consequences of their actions. But amongst those 2000 are individuals who were too young to become criminals on our watch," Ardern said.

Penny Bradfield/Auspic Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the start of the bilateral meeting.

"They were too young to become patched gang members. Too young to be organised criminals. We will own our people. We ask that Australia stop exporting theirs."

But Morrison immediately shot back to say there was no way the policy would be changing.

"You commit a crime here, you're convicted, you do your time, you go home," Morrison said.

Penny Bradfield/Auspic Jacinda Ardern meets with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

He said the policy was in Australia's "national interest" and there was no way it would change.

"We would have no objection to any country anywhere that would apply the same rule in terms of Australian citizens who commit crimes here," Morrison said.

Ardern said politics was "testing" the relationship between the two countries.

"Friendships aren't just reaffirmed in times of tragedy, they must stand up to the test of politics. And in the face of politics, the New Zealand and Australia relationship is being tested," Ardern said.

She said the rights of Kiwis were being eroded in Australia despite the fact most were model citizens.

Ardern said that the two countries had "gnarly issues" to discuss at the beginning of the bilateral meeting on Friday.

"We do have some gnarly issues to discuss. But we are strong enough to handle when it gets gnarly. We speak frankly. Probably more frankly than most of our international relationships," Ardern said.

She has described the deportation policy as "corrosive" to the relationship and was planning to bring up detailed statistics and individual cases with Morrison on Friday.

Morrison was one of the architect's of the 2014 law change which began the deportations.

For his part he said there were "difficult issues" in the relationship.

According to Government figures obtained by Stuff, at least a third of the Australian residents deported to New Zealand have not stepped foot here for more than 10 years. Under New Zealand law, if a person has lived here for 10 years, with very few exceptions, they are legally considered New Zealand's problem.

Ardern was planning to underline the fact that the vast majority of New Zealand expats were big contributors to the Australian economy, and that the deportations had caused a surge in organised crime.

Her meeting with Morrison follows a three-day trip to Fiji.