Nature & Scope of Functions

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) carries out a range of activities that underpin social and economic activity, and public services that benefit New Zealanders every day. Our work supports activities as diverse as buying a house, navigating the seas, and sending emergency services to the right place.

LINZ's purpose is to:

• maintain and build confidence in property rights in land and geographic information, and
• encourage land information markets to develop and mature.

We carry out three core roles relating to our purpose:

• transaction management – maintaining and operating the regulatory framework and systems for rights and transactions involving land
• information management – generating, collecting, compiling, and providing geographic information, and information relating to property rights and transactions, and
• land management – administering a range of Crown-owned lands for the benefit of the New Zealand public.

Transaction management

Buying property is one of the biggest investments New Zealanders can make. It is important the framework is clear and the system works well. For investment and transactions involving land to happen smoothly, New Zealanders and overseas investors need to know exactly what they are transacting and what their rights and responsibilities are. They also need to be able to carry out the transaction easily and at reasonable cost. LINZ oversees the regulatory framework and systems for defining, and dealing in, property rights in land. Our transaction management functions include:

• maintaining and improving regulatory frameworks used to define and transact land
• administering the process by which land is transferred, including creating new titles, and recording changes of ownership and interests in land
• providing a secure environment for buying, selling and subdividing land through guaranteed titles for property dealings, and an accurate system of land boundary definition
• providing a nationally consistent valuation system for rating purposes, and
• administering New Zealand's inbound investment regime under the Overseas Investment Act 2005.

Information management

An effective system of property rights depends on having authoritative land information that gives property rights meaning 'on the ground'.

Beyond defining property rights, geographic information serves a wide range of purposes. These range from essential services, such as national security and emergency service responses, to defining electoral boundaries and for commercial applications. This information is increasingly being used by organisations and individuals to plan and run their businesses, as well as provide products and services. It also has significant potential to help local and central government planning and management. Our information management functions include:

• ensuring New Zealand has high-quality databases for survey, mapping, hydrographic and property activities, and
• working across the wider land information sector to ensure useful, varied geospatial¹ information is readily available to support innovative use of this information by others.

Land management

LINZ manages almost three million hectares of Crown land, which is around 8% of New Zealand's land area. This includes 1.6 million hectares of high country pastoral land in the South Island, Crown forest land, approximately 4,000 properties, and river and lake beds. By managing Crown land effectively and efficiently, LINZ aims to protect New Zealanders' interests by ensuring the best economic, social and environmental outcomes are achieved from the use of this land. Our land management functions include:

• acquiring, managing and disposing of Crown land we are responsible for
• managing the relationship with Crown pastoral leaseholders in the South Island high country
• managing liabilities arising in relation to Crown land we are responsible for, and
• administering the framework for disposal of Crown lands by other government agencies.