- New and updated guidance
- New factsheet - Investing in solar and wind farms
- Discretionary exemptions
- Ngā Hui Whakamārama
- Recent decision summaries
Kia ora koutou, and welcome to our first overseas investment Pānui for 2025! I hope you’ve had a restful break and managed to find some sunshine over the holidays.
The overseas investment team is right back into it, and we’re looking forward to continuing the great progress made in 2024 on improving application timeframes and processes.
This week we’ve released new guidance on investments in solar and wind farms, which provides important information about how such developments are treated under the Overseas Investment Act, and what to be aware of when making an application.
You can read more and find a link to the new guidance below, as well as a link to our recently updated guidance on discretionary exemptions.
A reminder that the quickest way to get a response from the overseas investment team is by using our online contact form, or emailing us at oio@linz.govt.nz. This will ensure your enquiry is directed to the right person, and that our response to you can be tracked and retained.
You can find a full list of ways to contact the overseas investment team here: Contact the Overseas Investment Office
Ngā mihi
Rebecca McAtamney
Head of Regulatory Practice and Delivery
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand
New and updated guidance
New factsheet - Investing in solar and wind farms
We have produced new guidance about investing in solar and wind farms under the Overseas Investment Act 2005.
Solar farms in particular are becoming more common in New Zealand, with several land acquisitions for solar purposes consented under the Act since 2022. To date, all solar farm related applications have received overseas investment consent.
This new guidance outlines the criteria for consent for solar and wind farms, and helps investors and their legal advisors understand the differences in how solar and wind farms are treated under the Overseas Investment Act.
It also highlights aspects of solar farm developments that are different to wind farms, including land tenure arrangements and complementary land use.
The new guidance is available here: Overseas investment factsheets | Overseas investment Guidance
Discretionary exemptions
We have also updated our online guidance on discretionary exemption applications.
This guidance highlights the factors we may take into account when assessing exemption applications, and includes an example of an exemption scenario.
Discretionary exemptions are available in limited circumstances, and in many instances an application for consent is more appropriate. If you are considering applying for a discretionary exemption, we recommend you contact us early to arrange a pre-application meeting.
Ngā Hui Whakamārama
Our next Ngā Hui Whakamārama session will be held at 10:30am on Tuesday 18 February, and invites will be sent out soon.
These sessions are designed specifically for lawyers who regularly advise overseas investors. You’ll receive an invitation for February’s seminar if you’ve attended a previous one. If you haven’t received earlier invitations, please email us at oio@linz.govt.nz to sign up.
We are always keen to hear if there are any topics of interest you would like us to discuss. You can email us at oio@linz.govt.nz with any suggestions you have for our upcoming sessions.
Recent decision summaries
Decision summaries are published the month after a decision is made. The latest decision summaries are listed here, including standing consent notifications.
Benefit to New Zealand
202400699 - Beehive Demetra Limited
202400644 - QS Infrastructure Pty Ltd, QIC Investments No. 1 Pty Ltd and QIC Investments No. 2 Pty Ltd
202400720 - CDL Land New Zealand Limited
202400122 - Inside Out LLC
Sensitive Business Assets only
202400605 - CC Maverick Pte. Ltd.
Special forestry
202400722 - Ponga Silva Limited
Residential land development
202400716 - Amazon Data Services New Zealand Limited
Fishing quota
202400406 - Maruha (NZ) Corporation Limited
Standalone Investor Test
202400682 - GMR Airports International B.V., the Netherlands, and GMR Airports Limited
Exemption – Discretionary
202400743 - Proxima Residences Limited as trustee for Proxima Residences Trading Trust
202400749 - Withheld under s(9)(2)(a) of the Official Information Act.
202400785 - 1000243587 Ontario Limited
Exemption - Farm land advertising
202400637 - Withheld under s9(2)(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act.
202400785 - 1000243587 Ontario Limited
Getting in touch
As always, we recommend contacting us before applying to reduce delays in the assessment and decision process.
For media enquiries please contact the Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand Communications team.
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Media contact
Email: media@linz.govt.nz