Forests

Our role

Historically, the Crown owned plantations of exotic tree species throughout New Zealand but the majority of these forests were sold between 1990 and 1992. The land itself was retained by the Crown for transfer to iwi under Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

We manage these lands on behalf of the Crown, and administer the licences the Crown has granted to forestry companies to grow trees on the land. The rents from these licences are transferred to the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, which holds and invests these proceeds on behalf of future successful Treaty of Waitangi claimants.

Accessing Crown forest land

If you want to access or to use Crown forest land, please contact the Crown property team.  

Crown forestry licences

If you want to find out more about a Crown forestry licence, you can order a copy of a land record using our Land Record Search. 

When placing an order, select “Computer Register (Certificate of Title) – Current with Diagram” and enter the Computer Interest Register Number noted in the following list.