What are customary interests?
The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (the Act) provides for the recognition of customary interests in various ways, including through the recognition of:
- customary marine title
- protected customary rights
- wāhi tapu and wāhi tapu areas in customary marine title areas.
How maps are used
Maps are used by:
- iwi, hapu or whānau groups applying for recognition of the customary interests
- decision makers (either the Minister or the High Court) to consider the applications and record their decisions.
The guidance can be used to support either of the pathways available:
- direct engagement with the Crown
- High Court hearing.
It is intended to enable the production of clear maps with sufficient information to enable applicants, their agents, and decision-makers to reliably identify the extent of each application area under consideration.
To provide flexibility and avoid unnecessary work at the early stages, the guidance provides for 2 stages of boundary depiction accuracy:
- an initial application map to indicate the application areas during the pre-determination processes
- a refined map with more detail and accuracy for later stages of the process.
In some cases, a survey plan, based on a refined map, is needed to support a final agreement or recognition order. The Surveyor-General will publish separate cadastral survey guidelines for the preparation of such survey plans under the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021.
Guidance document
The aim of this guidance is to ensure areas describing the extents of customary interests are clearly identified in graphic form.
This guidance was published in January 2024 to meet a pressing need. It is now partially out-of-date as it has been affected by the requirements in the Prescription for surveys of Customary Marine Titles published by the Surveyor-General in December 2025.
This guidance will be updated. In the interim surveyors and spatial professionals should use it in conjunction with the more up-to-date requirements of the prescription, and contact LINZ with any queries.