Information about whenua is generally held by the district office that is located closest to that land block. You can visit one of our offices to view:
current and historic ownership lists for whenua Māori
minutes of hearings of Court and Registrar decisions
current and historic memorial schedule information recording leases, occupations and other land uses
orders made by the court or a Registrar – including:
title orders (creating Māoriland)
trust order...
The Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025
introduces new provisions that allow owners of Māoriland
and water service providers to appeal to the MāoriLand
Court over decisions about access to Māoriland for water
infrastructure.
This information helps us to find the correct records relating to your whānau and whenua so we can make sure the land is being transferred to the right people.
TITLE IMPROVEMENT
Te Kooti Whenua Māori – MāoriLand Court
For more information, go to maorilandcourt.govt.nz
Te Kooti Whenua Māori – MāoriLand Court (MLC) is the
New Zealand Court that hears matters relating to Māoriland.
The Act also allows for appeals to the Māori Appellate
Court in relation to decisions of the MāoriLand Court
around access to Māoriland for water infrastructure.
Now, landowners and other court users can choose to resolve
disputes related to Māoriland through a free tikanga-based
dispute resolution service provided by the MāoriLand Court.
All applications should be lodged with the Registrar in the District in
which some of all of the land is located
Fee: $23.00
If there is insufficient room on the form to provide the required infomation you should continue your application on a separate
sheet of paper
MĀORILAND COURT CONTACT DETAILS
This application mat be lodged with the Registrar at your local MāoriLand Court office
Office use:
Application: ACCEPTED / REFUSED
Dated: ............
This is also a good opportunity to review the way
your trust keeps and provides information.
How can I find out more?
If you have further questions, contact a MāoriLand Court office.
Former Chief MāoriLand Court Judge, who then became a
Justice of the High Court, ET Durie provided the following analyses of the nature of Māori rights to land;
Maori see themselves not as masters of the environment but as
members of it.
Ngā tono $68
$68 applications
Succession to Māoriland
Transfer of shares in Māoriland
Establishment of a trust over Māoriland
Adding, reducing, or removing trustees of a trust which manages Māoriland
Determining the ownership of structures on Māoriland
Occupation of Māoriland
Ngā tono $228
$228 applications
Partition, subdivision, amalgamation and aggregation of Māoriland
Anything...
