What the 2 NZ clubs won't want now is NZ players being given non visa status in the ALM. That would mean Aussie ALM clubs also scouting across the ditch as NRL clubs do now. Though NZ being in OFC & Australia being in AFC I imagine makes that change unlikely.
Some would say the quality of the ALM has already dropped since it's peak years, with Yorke, Del Piero, Broich, Berisha, Honda, Ono etc running around. But hey the Euro snobs didn't show much interest in the ALM then, so they are never going to go to games now. There will still be a sprinkling of cheapish old pros around like Ball & Wootton sharing their wisdom, so that Waine, Surman, Old, Paulsen etc are as prepared as they can be for the move north.
OFC players like Kaltak may get more of a look in.
Some would say the quality of the ALM has already dropped since it's peak years, with Yorke, Del Piero, Broich, Berisha, Honda, Ono etc running around. But hey the Euro snobs didn't show much interest in the ALM then, so they are never going to go to games now. There will still be a sprinkling of cheapish old pros around like Ball & Wootton sharing their wisdom, so that Waine, Surman, Old, Paulsen etc are as prepared as they can be for the move north.
OFC players like Kaltak may get more of a look in.
I am not sure that AUS and NZ being in two different federations has much to do with visa vs non-visa status. Is your argument based on the fact that AUS players are treated as visa-free for Phoenix (and presumably for the Auckland FC) because these two clubs are nominally Australian clubs domiciled in New Zealand?
My own thought is that visa requirement is now an internal matter for the ALM management to decide, because the league is no longer run by Football Australia.