Māori Land Court application guides
How to apply for partition of
Māori freehold land
Date produced: December 2025
Last modified: June 2026
Understanding partition
Types of partition
2
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Option three – Full partition
A full partition means some or all the new blocks may be transferred to people outside the existing
ownership, hapū or group associated with the land.
Pātaka Whenua, the Māori Land Court’s new online portal, launched in June 2023. In Pātaka Whenua, landowners can find information about their whenua, search the court record, and apply to the court directly online.
Use this form if:
• the interests come from a deceased person
• you are lodging a succession application at the same time
Māori Land Court application guides
How to constitute a whānau
trust
Date produced: January 2026
Last modified: June 2026
Constituting a whānau trust
Types of whānau trust application forms
2
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The following supporting documents are needed for both application forms:
• Form B1 – consent to be appointed as truste...
Supporting documents required:
Form B1 completed by each elected trustee
draft trust order
notice, minutes and attendance list of a meeting of owners
Constituting an ahu whenua or whenua tōpu trust
Option one – application to constitute an ahu whenua
trust (Form 37)
Māori Land Court application guides
How to constitute an ahu
whenua trust or whenua tōpū
trust
Date produced: January 2026
Last modified: June 2026
2
māorilandcourt.co.nz
a sta...
Māori Land Court application guides
How to apply for succession
Date produced: December 2025
Last modified: June 2026
Before you apply
Types of succession applications
2
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Supporting documents required:
death certificate (if a death certificate is not available the Court may accept other evidence of
death you may have, for example, a photo of the deceased’s headstone or copy of the funeral
program)
minutes of a whānau hui (if appl...
Background to the review
The Panel’s appointment in June 2012 was preceded by two earlier reports released
in 2011: Owner Aspirations Regarding the Utilisation of Māori Land, Te Puni Kokiri
(2011), and Māori Agribusiness in New Zealand: A Study of the Māori Freehold Land
Resource, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2011).
As of 30 June
2025, 32 of the 41 PIR recommendations approved
by the joint judicial and Ministry of Justice steering
committee have been completed, with the remain-
ing nine in progress.
Te Kooti Whenua Māori/ Te Kooti Pira Māori Pūrongo-A-Tau - Matariki 2023 - 2024
Pūrongo
ā-Tau
Te Kooti Whenua Māori
Māori Land Court
Te Kooti Pīra Māori
Māori Appellate Court
Matariki 2023
Matariki 2024
2 Māori Land Court / Māori Appellate Court Annual Report Matariki 2023 – Matariki 2024
Nau mai e te ao
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Te Kooti Whenua Māori/ Te Kooti Pira Māori Pūrongo-A-Tau - Matariki 2023 - 2024
PŪRONGO
Ā-TAU
Te Kooti Pīra Māori
Māori Appellate Court
Matariki 2024
Matariki 2025
2 Te Kooti Whenua Māori/ Te Kooti Pira Māori Pūrongo-A-Tau • Matariki 2024 - 2025
Nau mai e te ao
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Kuhu mai e te wairua
Tū mai e te…
