Why LINZ exists

Government plays a key role in generating prosperity for New Zealanders through the creation and maintenance of the institutional and regulatory structures required for sustainable economic growth.

In the land market, this means enabling the environment necessary for private property rights to exist and develop. At its most basic, the government creates private property rights through regulation.

Over the past 150 years, New Zealand has developed a robust system for defining and protecting property rights in land. This system depends on an ability to access the geographic information that gives these property rights meaning 'on the ground'.

As well as supporting private property rights, LINZ regulates the management and disposal of the Crown’s interest in land and property in accordance with the Public Works Act 1981 and the Land Act 1948. We also make statutory decisions and ensure government agencies comply with statutory requirements when buying and selling land.

In addition, we are responsible for managing a significant amount of Crown land, and for controlling pest plants and animals on that land.

In summary, LINZ:

• provides an effective and efficient regulatory framework for defining, and dealing in, property rights in land
• maintains publicly available core geographic information that underpins property rights in land, our constitutional framework, national security, and emergency service responses, and
• efficiently manages land-related liabilities on land owned by the Crown.

Societies around the world are placing an increasing emphasis on delivering economic growth and social well-being for citizens in a sustainable way. To meet the New Zealand Government's expectations, LINZ seeks to develop and apply policies, and to make decisions that are sustainable in practice.