Documents show Defence officials began pitching the benefits of joining the AUKUS military alliance months ago.
The Defence Minister, Judith Collins, is expected to raise the prospect of joining the non-nuclear part of the deal, called Pillar 2, in talks with her counterpart in Melbourne.
Pillar two is focused on developing and sharing military technology between the AUKUS partners, Australia, the UK , and the US, including drones and hypersonics.
Collins told Australian media that New Zealand must not freeload and might even be able to help out through its space industry.
Collins spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
