Pastoral Occupation Licences & Special Leases
No new pastoral occupation licences are available.
LINZ administers pastoral occupation licences in the South Island high country. Here you can find out more about how pastoral occupation licences differ from pastoral leases, their current status and the review process and special leases.
Pastoral occupation licences
Licence conditions
Pastoral occupation licences are typically short-term licences allowing a farmer to access high country land to graze stock over the summer months. Unlike pastoral leases, pastoral occupation licences have a fixed term and there is no right of renewal.
In the past, the Crown has granted licences for pastoral occupation on a number of Crown properties. Historically, pastoral occupation licences were issued where the Crown had yet to decide the future of the land. The Crown Pastoral Land Act established fixed goals for these properties. Consequently, pastoral occupation licences are being reviewed and phased out.
Current status of licence
Find out more information about the status of a pastoral occupation licence in the Crown pastoral list:
Review process
Under section 86 of the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998, the Commissioner of Crown Lands must review Crown land held under an unrenewable pastoral occupation licence. Other unused Crown land may also be reviewed.
You can read the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 on the NZ Legislation website.
The role of the Commissioner of Crown Lands is outlined in LINZ's Crown property role.
Review outcomes
The Crown Pastoral Land Act specifies new outcomes for land held under pastoral occupation licences and unused Crown pastoral land. These include retaining the land under Crown ownership as a conservation area or reserve, freeholding, or disposal as a special lease.
The process followed when reviewing pastoral occupation licences is similar to the process for tenure review of pastoral leases.
When reviewing other Crown land, the Commissioner of Crown Lands must take into account the objects of Part 3 of the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998.
The objects of Part 3 are to:
- promote the management of Crown land in a way that is ecologically sustainable
- enable the protection of significant inherent values of Crown land
- subject to the above two points, make it easier to
- secure public access to and enjoyment of Crown land
- complete freehold disposal of Crown land capable of economic use.
Special leases
These are leases that are created for a special purpose that allow grazing of the land for pastoral farming purposes. Leaseholders are subject to a range of restrictions on other use of the land.
Stages in review of other Crown land
Find out more about review of Crown land that is not in pastoral lease or pastoral occupation licence. more...
