BBC Sport understands the APL are in favour of an amendment to the Caceres Clause in line with the view of A-League clubs but it will need to be formally signed off by Football Australia.
There is no specific timeframe on how long that process will take, although it is believed to be weeks rather than months.
Paulsen’s former club, Wellington Phoenix, have said they are “seeking further information” about his loan move to Auckland.
“While the club in principle supports adapting the ‘Caceres Clause’ to allow Paulsen to return, it has a number of questions that have yet to be answered,” they said in a statement.
“Most importantly we don’t know what ‘player registration and salary cap treatment guardrails’ will be in place that the APL say will ‘balance development of the A-League while ensuring competition integrity’.”
That has left Auckland and Paulsen uncertain of whether Paulson will be available for the start of the A-League season on 18 October.
In the interim Auckland are able to register Paulsen with Football New Zealand which would allow him to take part in friendly matches.
Last season Paulsen kept 12 clean sheets in 28 games in all competitions for Wellington, helping them qualify for the A-League end-of-season play-offs.
Born in Auckland to a South African father and a mother from Namibia, Paulsen made his senior debut for New Zealand in June.
He played three matches for the Kiwis at the Olympic Games in Paris where New Zealand went out at the group stage.