Key terms
Crown Land
In terms of Part 6 Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, land (other than Māori customary land and Crown land reserved for Māori) that has not been alienated from the Crown for a subsisting estate in fee simple has the status of Crown land.
Crown land reserved for Māori
Crown land set aside or reserved for the use/benefit of Māori.
General land
Land (other than Māori freehold land and General land owned by Māori) that has been alienated from the Crown for a subsisting estate in fee simple has the status of General land.
General land owned by Māori
Land (other than Māori freehold land) that has been alienated from the Crown for a subsisting estate in fee simple has the status of General land owned by Māori, while that estate is beneficially owned by a Māori or by a group of persons of whom a majority are Māori.
Māori customary land
Land held by Māori in accordance with tikanga Māori.
Māori freehold land
Land, the beneficial ownership of which has been determined by the Māori Land Court or had the status of Māori freehold land before the commencement of the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.
Māori reservations
Section 338 Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 enables the Māori Land Court to make an order to set apart as Māori reservation any Māori freehold land or any General land.
Survey Plan
Māori Land Court documentation often refers to a survey plan. In terms of this guidance a survey plan is considered to be a cadastral survey dataset (CSD), as defined by section 4 of the Cadastral Survey Act 2002.
Taonga-Tuku-Iho
Broadly translates to caring and nurturing the treasures handed down from our ancestors.
Tikanga Māori
Māori law, customary law, attitudes and principles.
What is Māori Land?
Section 129 of the (TTWMA) classifies all land in New Zealand into one of the following statuses:
- Māori customary land
- Māori freehold land
- General land owned by Māori
- General land
- Crown Land
- Crown land reserved for Māori.
Māori land usually refers to Māori freehold land, which is often held by multiple owners in different shares and under multiple ownership structures, including:
- Māori Incorporation
- Māori Trusts
- Māori Trustee
- Māori Reservation.
Of the 26.4 million hectares of land in New Zealand, about 1.3 million (4.9%) is Māori freehold land, which is administered by the Māori Land Court (Te Kooti Whenua Māori).
Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993
Surveyors are most likely to interact with Part 14 of the TTWMA - Title reconstruction and improvement. Section 286 sets out the principal purpose:
... to facilitate the use and occupation by the owners of land owned by Māori by rationalising particular landholdings and providing access or additional or improved access to the land.
... the court may make partition orders, amalgamation orders and aggregation orders, grant easements and lay out roadways ...
Section 287 confirms the Māori Land Court’s exclusive jurisdiction to make the orders listed in section 286.
The Māori Land Court (Te Kooti Whenua Māori)
The Māori Land Court (MLC) is New Zealand’s oldest and longest established specialist court with a long and complicated history that has been affected by many shifts in direction. Originally the Native Land Court, it was established by the Native Land Act 1862 to investigate, determine and record the titles of Māori customary land. Its successor, the Māori Land Court operates under the authority of TTWMA and is a very different body from its 19th-century ancestor. It is important to recognise that land is taonga tuku iho of special significance to Māori people. The primary objective of the MLC is to promote and assist in the retention of Māori land and General land owned by Māori in the hands of the owners and the effective use, management, and development, by or on behalf of the owners, of Māori land and General land owned by Māori.
150 years of the Māori Land Court | MLC
māorilandcourt.govt.nz
Pātaka Whenua is the online portal that holds the MLC electronic record, including minutes and orders that enables the search and access of all Māori land information.
The Māori Land Court Rules 2011 (MLCR) sets out how the Court operates, including how applications are received, reviewed, notified, processed and concluded. It also sets out how appeals are heard by the Māori Appellate Court.
MLC Orders requiring a CSD
The following rules are relevant to the surveyor’s interactions with the MLC.
Rule 7.7 MLCR requires that the following orders must include a plan of the land that is the subject of the order.
- An amalgamation order
- An order creating freehold title
- A partition order
- An order creating an easement or right of way
- An order laying out a roadway
- An occupation order
- Any other order that allocates or defines an area of land or that requires a plan for the order to be effective.
Rule 7.7(3) MLCR outlines the cases in which the CSD (plan) must be:
... of a standard that will produce a land transfer title of the same status as the existing land transfer title for the land subject to the order ...
These being:
- an amalgamation or occupation order
- an order creating freehold title
- a partition order
- an order creating an easement or right of way
- an order laying out a roadway
or any other order that allocates or defines an area of land or that requires a plan for the order to be effective.
Rule 4.6 MLCR provides for applications for relief against forfeiture, partition orders, the grant cancellation or variation of an easement, laying out of a roadway, reasonable access to landlocked Māori land, Occupation orders or the setting apart of a Māori reservation. This rule notes that the plan may be a sketch plan although the Judge may require a more comprehensive plan to be filed.
Rule 4.6 should be read in conjunction with Rule 7.7 which sets a higher standard.
Other orders requiring a CSD are exchange orders and encroachment orders. Exchange orders enable the exchange of Māori freehold land for other Māori freehold land or General land. General land owned by Māori may also be exchanged for other General land whether owned by Māori or not. An Exchange order will vary the boundaries of a title due to a land exchange. An encroachment order varies the boundaries of a title and addresses encroachments in a similar manner to a boundary adjustment under the LTA.
Occupation orders are not generally supported by a CSD although the scheme plan needs to contain sufficient detail to meet the requirements of the Māori Occupation Orders Regulations 1994 and rule 13.15 MLCR.
Māori Occupation Orders Regulations 1994
Rule 13.15 MLCR
The setting aside of an area as a Māori reserve, particularly if it is only over part of a block, will need to be supported by a CSD. If fully over Māori land a CSD may not be required however, if the reservation is over (or partly over) General land it will.
Māori Freehold Land Registration Project
Under section 123 TTWMA, an order affecting title to Māori freehold land is required to be registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017 (LTA).
However, registration has not been consistently applied and by 2006 approximately 15,000 title orders were un-registered, creating a disparity between the MLC record and the land transfer register.
One of the principal reasons for this was the cost of survey. Although many historical title orders had been made subject to survey, the cost of surveying these partitions to cadastral rule standards had proved to be prohibitive and the surveys had not been carried out. This meant that the parcels were not recorded in the cadastre nor were they able to be viewed spatially in Landonline.
The Māori Freehold Land Registration Project (MFLRP), a joint venture between Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and the MLC, ran from September 2006 until May 2010 to address this issue.
The MFLRP allowed partition boundaries to be defined on CSDs computed from existing survey data without field survey in accordance with the ‘Interim standard for computed cadastral survey datasets for Māori freehold land’ (LINZS10000). This standard enabled computed CSDs to be approved by LINZ and the MLC. Computed parcels were spatially recorded and searchable in Landonline.
It also enabled the Registrar-General of Land (RGL) to provide provisional registration under section 124 TTWMA. Partitions defined by computed CSDs were registered as 'computer interest registers' in the Provisional Register. Provisional titles are now qualified titles in Landonline, and any new ‘provisional’ titles will now be ‘qualified’.
The MFLRP was in place until 24 May 2010 when the Rules for Cadastral Survey 2010 (the CSR 2021 predecessor) came into effect.
Computed CSDs are not sufficient for the issue of guaranteed titles under the LTA and boundaries created on computed CSDs are required be defined by survey in terms of CSR 2021 if they are to be used in future surveys.
See also:
Māori Land CSDs - Reinstatement of computed Māori land boundaries
Surveys to support Partition Orders
A partition order is the most common order requiring licensed cadastral surveyor involvement. Although similar in many respects to General land subdivision, the process differs considerably, and surveyors need to understand the MLC process when undertaking a survey to support a partition order, or any other MLC order.
A partition is the division of a parcel of Māori land into two or more separate parcels. A partition order confers, upon registration, a title to each new parcel, dividing the ownership to match the new configuration, without the need for a transfer or other LTA instrument.
However, a full partition is a subdivision and, under section 301 TTWMA, the MLC is unable to partition the land without the consent of the relevant territorial authority in accordance with Part 10 Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Council planners, when issuing resource consent for the partition of Māori land, are bound by their District Plan requirements and relevant legislation. Reserve contributions are often levied which may consist of a financial contribution or land in lieu of a financial contribution, although the local authority does not have the power to require an esplanade reserve to be set aside or an esplanade strip to be created (section 301(4) TTWMA).
A partition into parcels to be held by owners who are members of the same hapu is exempt from Part 10 of the RMA (section 304 TTWMA). However, if the new parcels are to be built on, building consent will still be required from council and if, at a later date, the partitioned land will no longer be held by members of the same hapu, resource consent will be required. If the ownership of any land is transferred outside the hapū, the MLC can require a portion of the land to be set aside as a Māori reservation for the common use and benefit of the people of Aotearoa despite anything in the RMA, effectively a reserve contribution taken from the land to be sold.
General land owned by Māori land can either be partitioned or subdivided. The subdivision process is the same as the subdivision of General land under the LTA and the RMA, requiring the creation of allotments on a deposited plan.
The partition process through the Māori Land Court
The partition process usually begins with an owner or group of owners applying to the MLC for their undefined shares in a block to be partitioned out into a separate portion. The application requires a ‘plan of land’ as outlined in rule 4.6 MLCR and, although it need only be a sketch initially, the Judge may ask for a more comprehensive plan. For full partitions the scheme plan will need to be approved by the territorial authority under Part 10 RMA.
Applicant(s) often engage a surveyor to produce a scheme plan of the partition and consult with the local Territorial Authority regarding building or resource consent requirements.
Stage 1: Application received
The application is received by the court, and a Case Manager is assigned, who prepares the application, refers it to Chambers, and completes any pre-Court directions.
Stage 2: Preliminary hearing or judicial conference
In most cases, a preliminary hearing or judicial conference is held before the matter is set down for a substantive hearing. This ensures the application is in order and time tabling directions are given to each party to file submissions or memorandum of counsel.
Stage 3: Substantive hearing
In most cases, this is a formal hearing. The applicant and any whānau (in support or not) or witnesses are sworn on oath before giving their evidence. There may be several hearings before the MLC Judge grants orders conditional upon survey. The site is usually visited to help the Judge understand the layout of the land in comparison to the scheme plan, sketch plan or diagram filed with the application.
The MLC generally allows 12 months for the survey plan to be submitted to the MLC for approval.
Stage 4: Post-hearing proceedings (survey)
The hearing minutes are transcribed and provided to the surveyor. When undertaking a partition order survey, or a survey to support any MLC order, the surveyor must comply with the MLC approved scheme plan, the hearing minutes and any MLC directions. The completed CSD is submitted to the MLC for approval as to the requirement of the order(s). This is similar to obtaining section 223 RMA approval from the relevant territorial authority for a fee simple subdivision of General land. If any discrepancies are identified the Judge may grant further orders to progress the application. The surveyor may be summoned to attend a hearing or directed to respond in writing if anything depicted on the plan is challenged.
If there are no challenges, the MLC Case Manager confirms all details on the draft CSD correspond with the Court orders, including appellations and TA certifications, if applicable. The Case Manager then advises the surveyor to lodge the CSD with LINZ. Court documentation or communications relevant to the partition should be submitted as supporting documents to the CSD. If not, processing of the dataset is likely to be placed on hold until the intent of the survey is understood. This is to ensure the CSD is not approved when it is not fit for purpose.
It is approved as to survey when deemed to be compliant with the CSR 2021. The surveyor advises the Case Manager when the CSD has been approved, who then undertakes final checks of the approved CSD, drafts the certificate of approval and refers it to the Judge for signing and sealing pursuant to rule 7.7(6) MLCR.
The plan is not made live in the cadastre until the certificate of approval and the approved CSD has been submitted to LINZ. The status is changed from ‘Approved as to Survey’ to ‘Approved by the Māori Land Court’. It is then moved from the approved layer to the live layer in Landonline, thereby updating the cadastre. The Case Manager is advised once this is completed.
Stage 5: Registration
The signed court orders, the approved ML CSD and associated titles documentation are submitted to LINZ for registration and the issue of the new titles, with any associated encumbrances. Once the registration process is complete, the MLC records are updated, including their online records in Pātaka Whenua. A copy of the completed order(s) is distributed to all parties.
CSD requirements for surveys to support Partition Orders
Survey Purpose
Māori land CSDs have a survey type of Māori Land (ML), which is created from the selected survey purpose available in Landonline. Any of the survey purposes chosen in Figure 1 will create a ML dataset.
The dataset type can be either ‘survey’ or ‘parcels without survey information’.
Figure 1: Māori Land survey purposes available in Landonline (Survey)
The survey purposes listed in Figure 1, other than partition, are addressed in the following sections:
Note two are very rare.
The CSD requirements for Partition CSDs are generally relevant to the other survey purposes.
Parcel Intent
The parcel intent for a Māori Land primary parcel is ‘Māori’. In circumstances where the CSD is supporting an order exchanging General land and Māori land the parcel intent of the Māori land becoming General land is ‘Fee Simple Title’ and the General land becoming Māori land is ‘Māori’.
Standard non-primary parcel intents are appropriate, including ‘Easement’. Restricted Māori Roadways, similar in nature to a right of way should use the parcel intent ‘Easement’. However, if the MLC has declared the roadway to be a separate primary parcel, similar in nature to a road, use the parcel intent ‘Māori’.
Māori land appellations
The MLC has sole jurisdiction over the appellation assigned to each partitioned parcel, which the CSD must accurately reflect. However, MLC appellations are generally in accordance with the rule 44(1) CSR 2021 convention of block name, unique parcel identifier and CSD number.
Rule 44(2) allows for an alternative legal description authorised by the MLC with specific reporting for non-standard appellations required by rule 72(q).
A unique identifier should be a sequence of alternating letters and numbers as per table 4, rule 45.
Defined by survey
The partition order must account for the new partitions and the balance land within the block(s); therefore, the location of the last surveyed peripheral boundaries must be defined, and the new partitions defined to fit inside the periphery in a similar manner to General land subdivided under the LTA. Computed boundaries must be defined by survey.
Defining only some of the blocks in a partition is not an acceptable practice as the MLC must be satisfied that the remaining parcels in the land under survey are not disadvantaged. Any shortage or excess in area resulting from the partition must be appropriately apportioned, either to each new partition or shared equally among all the defined parcels.
Circumstances can arise where the partition areas defined by survey differ considerably from the areas depicted on the scheme plan upon which the partition order decision is based. If this difference has not been addressed at the hearing or by the MLC plan approval process, it is incumbent on the surveyor to clarify the differences to the satisfaction of the MLC before submitting the CSD to LINZ for approval as to survey.
Easements
An easement(s) over land being partitioned that has only been shown in a partition order application sketch must be defined by survey over all of the land under survey rather than left undefined.
Water boundaries
Where the parcel(s) under survey contains a water boundary, that boundary will be either
- accepted
- adopted
- defined by survey, or
- in a minority of cases, made an irregular boundary or right-lined.
Due to their ambulatory nature, the position of the water body may change over time, whereas the boundary may not. Accretion or erosion of the water boundary are variations to the agreed boundaries which will likely require MLC consultation, including agreement of the affected applicants, before MLC dataset approval is granted. This should be considered by the court before lodgement to LINZ for approval as to survey.
The Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 confers a special status on the Whanganui River as its own legal entity. Sections 48 to 55 may be relevant to any survey involving a water boundary within the river catchment.
Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017
Refer to:
Tidal water boundaries
A full partition of Māori freehold land with a tidal water boundary needs to consider the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACAA).
Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011
As hapū partitions do not require territorial approval under Part 10 RMA, there is no requirement to deal with common marine and coastal area parcels. However, should the land be transferred out of hapū ownership at a later date, the MLC will require the parcel(s) to be dealt with under section 304(3)(b) TTWMA. It may be beneficial to deal with any MACAA requirements at the time of survey so the land could be transferred later, however this is a matter the surveyor should clarify with the hapū and the MLC before commencing the survey.
Refer to:
Ground marking
Rule 35 CSR 2021 requires all new boundary points to be ground marked unless this requirement is waived by the MLC under rule 35(1)(b). Specific reporting is required by rule 72(r).
Rule 35 CSR 2021
Rule 72 CSR 2021
Where the surveyor discovers a situation that requires ground marking under rule 35(2) then the requirement trumps any exemption offered by rule 35(1). If exemption is granted by the MLC under 35(1)(b) and rule 35(2) is applicable, then clarification and possibly dispensation should be sought from LINZ.
Refer to:
Partition examples: ML 576194 and ML 481893
ML 576194 is an example of a dataset to support a partition order issued under section 289 TTWMA, to partition Hairini 6D1B11 Block into new blocks Hairini 6D1B12, 6D1B13, 6D1B14 and the residue block 6D1B15.
Figure 2: The survey header of ML 576194 reflects that it has not yet been approved by the Māori Land Court.
ML 576194 has been approved as to survey but not yet approved by the Māori Land Court. The ‘Approved as to Survey’ status indicates that the signed court orders, the approved ML CSD and associated titles documentation are yet to submitted to LINZ for registration.
Once approved by the MLC, the survey header status changes to ‘Approved by the Māori Land Court’, as shown in example ML 481893.
Figure 3: The survey header of ML 481893 reflects that it has been approved by the Māori Land Court, and the partition process has been completed.
Partition Order 262 Waikato Maniapoto MB 96, updating the earlier Partition Order 224 Waikato Maniapoto MB 289 are both attached to the dataset (ML 576194) as supporting documents in Landonline.
Surveys to support Amalgamation Orders
Amalgamation orders (under section 307 TTMWA) are used in situations where the MLC considers that the land held land in separate titles can be more conveniently worked or dealt with in common ownership under one title, such as land parcels having a different status.
The MLC relies on a CSD to define the boundaries of the amalgamated parcel(s). Datasets to support exchange orders, for example, may have a survey purpose of ‘Amalgamations’ if the exchange involves General and Māori Freehold land. The exchanged General land is often amalgamated with Māori Freehold land and its status changed to Māori Freehold land.
The amalgamation order cancels the original separate titles. Interests such as mortgages or leases which affect the separate titles may be adjusted to reflect the amalgamation.
An amalgamation example is included with the exchange example in the next section.
Surveys to support Exchange Orders
Exchange orders are authorised under sections 310 to 314 TTWMA and can involve Māori Freehold land, General land owned by Māori, General land or Crown land that is subject to Part 2 of the Māori Affairs Restructuring Act 1989 (to facilitate the use of Māori land for farming). CSDs supporting an exchange order have a survey purpose of either ‘Amalgamations’ or ‘Partition’.
Exchange and amalgamation example: ML 397037
An example of a dataset to support a combined exchange, amalgamation and status order to exchange Part Lot 2 DP 24658 for Parts Otuarumia C2A2B Block.
Part Lot 2 DP 24658 (0.1152 Ha) is amalgamated with the balance Otuarumia C2A2B Block and its status changed to Māori Freehold land. Parts Otuarumia C2A2B Block (0.0698Ha and 0.1520Ha) are amalgamated with Part Lot 2 DP 24658 and become General land comprised in RT 490063.
Exchange, Amalgamation and Status Order 188 NA 148-155 that this CSD supports is attached to the dataset as supporting documents in Landonline.
Surveys to support Roadway Orders
Access is an important consideration when dealing with Māori land. Roadways are either unrestricted (primary parcel) or restricted (non-primary parcel) and can be laid out under a stand-alone roadway order, as part of a partition order or as part of any other order.
Unrestricted Roadways (primary parcel)
An unrestricted roadway is essentially the same as a legal road, although the ownership and status of the land does not change. The public has the same rights to use the roadway as they do to use a legal road, unless the public’s rights have been limited. An unrestricted roadway is depicted as a primary parcel since it is not an encumbrance and must be defined by survey.
Roadway orders are subject to local authority control under section 348 Local Government Act 1974 (LGA) as specified in section 318 TTWMA. However, it is the responsibility of the MLC to ensure that all relevant legislation has been complied with prior to granting the order and the surveyor is not obliged to confirm that the necessary consents have been obtained prior to lodging the dataset with LINZ for approval as to survey.
CSD requirements for Unrestricted Roadway CSDs
Unrestricted roadway orders are supported by a ML CSD with the roadway captured and depicted as a primary parcel defined by survey. The MLC assigned roadway appellation must be correctly captured in Landonline.
Unrestricted roadway datasets have a survey purpose of Roadway. Roadway orders may be granted as part of a partition order, in which case a survey purpose of Partition is appropriate. The parcel topology is primary, and the dataset type is either survey or parcels without survey information. The parcel intent is Māori.
Unrestricted roadway example: ML 492840
ML 492840 is an example of an unrestricted roadway order issued by the MLC as part of the partition of a larger block (the Asher Block). The survey purpose is ‘Partition’, and the roadway has the agreed appellation of Asher Block Roadway Block. The roadway connects to local roads at either end, between Asher Block Lots C and E. In this instance, under section 320 TTWMA, the Roadway Order enabled this roadway to be declared road and vest in the Tauranga City Council. The final parcel intent in Landonline has been updated to reflect its status and topology.
The MLC orders 107 Waikato Maniapoto MB 290 and 112 Waikato Maniapoto MB 285-286 (including the unrestricted roadway order) that this CSD supports are attached to the dataset as supporting documents in Landonline.
Example: Unrestricted roadway order as part of a partition.
Restricted Roadways (non-primary parcels)
Section 318(2) TTWMA enables the MLC to issue roadway orders that restricts those entitled to use the access and their rights of access. A restricted roadway can be likened to a private way as defined in section 315 LGA and is depicted as a non-primary parcel as it is an encumbrance.
CSD requirements for Restricted Roadway CSDs
Restricted roadway datasets also have a survey purpose of ‘Roadway’. As non-primary parcels, the parcel topology is either ‘secondary’ or ‘tertiary’ and the dataset type is either ‘survey’ or ‘parcels without survey information’. The parcel intent is ‘Easement’, and the parcel appellations must be in terms of the approved scheme plan and/or the hearing minutes.
Restricted Roadway Example: ML 545449
An example of a roadway order enabling access to Uekaha A6 Block, a landlocked block of Māori Freehold land. An access (right of way) was ordered to be laid out over the neighbouring Māori Freehold land and adjoining General land to the Waitomo Valley Road.
The applicant had obtained approval from the Waitomo District Council pursuant to section 348 LGA as the roadway connects to a public road. The order restricts the roadway users to the owners of specified blocks of adjoining and neighbouring land.
Restricted Roadway Order 185 Waikato Maniapoto MB 244 that this CSD supports is attached to the dataset as a supporting document in Landonline.
Access other than Roadway orders
Order granting reasonable access to landlocked land
Section 326B(5) TTWMA gives the MLC Judge the option of granting reasonable access to land-locked land.
Private rights of way (non-primary parcels)
Private rights of way created over Māori freehold land require MLC approval and in this case a s 348 certificate LGA is required before LINZ can accept the easement instrument for registration. This is because compliance with the LGA is not one of the matters the MLC is able to consider when granting its approval.
Infrequently used Survey purposes
Two survey purposes are rarely used. Advice should be sought from LINZ to confirm requirements for a CSD if the survey purpose is anticipated to be Consolidations or Revesting.
Consolidations
Surveys to support Consolidation Orders to consolidate Māori land blocks are rare. None have been created in Landonline and there are few examples that pre-date it. LINZ records indicate there have been no new consolidation schemes since the mid 1950's so it is unlikely that a surveyor will need to use this survey purpose.
Revesting
Revesting datasets are used to support orders that change the status of General land and vest it as Māori Freehold land. These datasets are also rarely used as the land parcel(s) revesting as Māori Freehold land under a vesting order have most likely been defined on a CSD and are already contained in a Record of Title, and therefore vests in its entirety and do not need to be defined on a new CSD.
The only recent example of a revesting style of CSD is SO 501402. A portion of legal road (Section 1) vested in the Rotorua District Council was stopped, revested under a MLC vesting order as Māori Freehold land and laid out as Roadway. The dataset was submitted to LINZ as a Legalisation Survey Office (SO) CSD due to the initial road stopping action, however had the chain of custody not involved a statutory action, it could have been submitted as a ML Revesting CSD.
Easements affecting Māori land (non-primary parcels)
There is no limit on the type of easements or easements in gross the MLC can create over Māori freehold land. From a survey perspective parcels are captured and depicted in the same way as easements over General land. From a title registration perspective, they are not quite the same. Easements are either created by MLC Order or registered via an easement instrument. The latter may require confirmation from the MLC.
The easement order may include a plan defining the easement area, which can be a ML CSD, a Land Transfer (LT) CSD, a scheme plan or a sketch plan as directed by the Court. Easements over land being partitioned that has only been shown on a sketch plan must be defined by survey rather than left undefined over all of the land under survey.
Easements can be created over Roadways.
Refer to:
Exceptions to using ML CSDs
Not all surveys over Māori land require a ML CSD. Surveys to support a private easement not subject to a MLC order, or boundary reinstatement surveys, are two examples where a LT or SO CSD can be used instead. If there is any doubt as to which dataset type to use for a particular survey, the surveyor is encouraged to submit a Survey Information Complex Request to LINZ for clarification.
Māori Reservations
The TTWMA provides for the establishment of Māori reserves over both Māori freehold land and General land. Typically, reservations are set aside over land that is culturally, spiritually or historically significant to Māori. Common purposes include papakainga, marae, urupa, church sites, or sports and recreation grounds. Reservations can also be set aside over fishing grounds, springs, timber reserves, places of scenic interest and wahi tapu sites.
A Māori Reservation is often over part of the underlying land and therefore would be depicted as a non-primary parcel as the land reverts back to the original owners if the reservation is cancelled, If land is already reserved, part or all of the of the reserve can be reclassified. This will usually be done as a non-primary parcel and memorialised on the existing title, depending on if held in a title or a Gazette Notice etc.
In order for a title to be issued for a Māori reservation, it requires a survey of the reservation, a Māori Land Court order setting apart the land as a Māori reservation, and a Trustee Order from the Māori Land Court vesting the reservation in the trustees.
Any title issued for a Māori reservation does not remove the land from the title in which it is held. Rather it is treated like a lesser estate, similar to a title for a lease of a fee simple estate.
An earlier example of a sketch plan depiction of a Māori Reservation is Instrument 11700724.1 on RT 348014. However, the TTWMLA was amended in 2021, and reservations are now created via a Māori Land Court order and not by Gazette Notice. It is unlikely that a sketch plan would now be acceptable as the land is required to be adequately defined.
Reservations are potentially an area where clarification through the Landonline request process should be sought before commencing the survey.
Depiction of non-primary Māori Reservation parcels in Landonline
In Landonline there is currently no parcel intent for Non-primary Reservations, so a work-around is necessary by capturing the reservation using a parcel intent of Lease to populate the reservation area in hectares. However, this results in the line weights for the reservation parcel being non-compliant with Schedule 7 Table 10 of CSR 2021.
LINZ will rectify the work-around as a post approval amendment by
- changing the Parcel Intent from Lease to Māori
- changing the line weights of the reservation boundaries from a thick primary parcel line to a thin non-primary parcel line
- amending the total area.
It is recommended the surveyor comments on this problem and the work-around needed in the survey report in order for this to happen once the dataset has been approved as to survey.
The capture options in Landonline (survey) are scheduled for future enhancement to cater for this type of dataset. Meanwhile there may be other CSD’s where this issue has occurred or could occur, and it suggested that the surveyor submits a Survey Information Complex Request to LINZ for assistance.
Example: ML 585135 and ML 601373
ML 585135 defines a Māori reserve as a primary parcel. However, in this instance the owners’ intent was for the Māori Reservation parcel to be depicted as an encumbrance against their freehold interest in the block, as a non-primary parcel, rather than a primary parcel. A new ‘parcel without survey information’ dataset, ML 601373, was prepared to capture and present the Māori Reservation as a non-primary parcel instead.
Nohoanga Sites (Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998)
Nohoanga (literally meaning a place to sit) traditionally refers to the seasonal occupation sites which were an integral part of the mobile lifestyle of Ngāi Tahu Whānui as they moved around Te Waipounamu (the South Island) in pursuit of food and other natural resources.
A series of Nohoanga site plans were prepared as part of the Ngāi Tahu settlement. These aspatial CSDs depict non-primary rights, defined on a photodiagram, associated with campsites near rivers that support mahinga kai activities for a set number of days per year. An example is Southland SO 12245.
These site plans were completed under the rules and guidelines in place at the time of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 and requirements for a similar definition may now differ. It is suggested that that the surveyor submits a Survey Information Complex Request to LINZ for advice on current requirements if preparing a CSD for Nohoanga or similar sites.
Reinstatement of computed Māori land boundaries
Rule 114(1) CSR 2021 prohibits the reinstatement of a boundary point or a boundary vector defined on a Māori land CSD that is annotated computed plan – area and boundaries not defined by survey on a boundary reinstatement CSD. A full survey and CSD is required when placing a boundary mark in this situation. The expectation is that new titles will be raised, uplifting the existing provisional / qualified title status.
Definition of multi-polygon parcel Māori land blocks
Situations arise where the MLC decides that a Māori land block should be a multi-polygon parcel, that is two or more parcels have the same appellation and a single polygon. The parcels are linked together and an area for each polygon is supplied together with a total area.
Multi-polygon parcels usually arise from the creation of a new block which is effectively the balance of the existing block when a part is partitioned out. ML 511558 is an example of such a multi-polygon parcel (Allotment 157D2B Te Puna Parish Block ML 511558, Parcel Id 7859348, RT 963339).
CSR 2021 does not permit the creation of new multi-polygon parcels and Landonline does not support their capture. Therefore, separate parcels should be captured by the surveyor, which are then converted to one multi-polygon parcel post-approval by LINZ, either after approval as to survey or when the MLC Approval is recorded.
In situations where the creation of a multi-polygon parcel is a required by a MLC order, the surveyor should submit a Survey Information Complex Request to LINZ for assistance.
More examples of Māori Land Plans can also be found in the Approved cadastral survey dataset examples page.