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Information about applications and consent
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand manages approximately 1.2 million hectares of Crown pastoral land in the South Island high country, including 156 pastoral leases, on behalf of the Crown.
Written consent is required from the Commissioner of Crown Lands or their delegates, prior to undertaking some activities on a Crown pastoral lease ('discretionary activities').
A new consents regime came into effect on 17 November 2022 to support the implementation of the reforms to the Crown Pastoral Land Act. The changes introduced in November are intended to enable greater protection of the inherent values of this iconic land and provide increased transparency of how it is being managed.
Information on applying for activity on Crown pastoral land
Leaseholders of Crown pastoral land can apply to carry out a range of activities. These are divided into 'discretionary' activities, which are pastoral activities that require written consent, and 'permitted' activities, which do not require written consent.
Leaseholders are provided a Notice of Decision once the Commissioner of Crown Lands or the delegated decision maker has considered an application.
Read our information for leaseholders
Application decision summaries
Summaries of Crown pastoral land application decisions are available on our Information releases page:
Crown pastoral land application data
We publish a monthly snapshot of data relating to applications for discretionary activities on Crown pastoral land, and other applications like recreation permits, transfers and subleases, and easements.
In the lead-up to Crown Pastoral Land Act reforms in November 2022, we recevied an expected increase in the number of applications of activity from leaseholders. We are prioritising applications based on urgency, complexity of activity and where they require lease visits or extra technical support.
Applications received prior to 17 November 2022 are being processed according the previous regime, under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 and Land Act 1948, and those received from 17 November 2022 are being processed according to the new regime, under the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Act 2022.
Our portfolio managers are continuing with planned lease inspections and administering the pastoral estate. If an application has been received, they will be processed as part of their inspection.
Crown pastoral land activity – data snapshots
Snapshot of Crown pastoral land activity data as at 28 March 2023
Crown pastoral land activity applications received before 17 November 2022
Applications processed under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 and Land Act 1948.
| Application status | Total |
|---|---|
| Received | 386 |
| Active | 329 |
| Complete | 45 |
| Withdrawn* / written approval not needed | 12 |
* Applications have been withdrawn in consultation with Applicants because they are now permitted activities from 17 November 2022.
| Application outcome of those completed | Total |
|---|---|
| Granted | 34 |
| Granted in part | 10 |
| Declined | 1 |
Activity breakdown of active applications
Crown pastoral land activity applications received from 17 November 2022
Applications processed under the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Act 2022
| Application status | Total |
|---|---|
| Received | 5 |
| Active | 3 |
| Complete | 2 |
| Withdrawn* / written approval not needed | N/A |
During this period there were 4 applications that were for commercial recreational permits and 1 for an easement.
Of those completed
| Application status | Total |
|---|---|
| Granted | 2 |
| Granted in part | N/A |
| Declined | N/A |
Previous data snapshots
Contextual information
In the weeks leading up to the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Act 2022 coming into effect Toitū Te Whenua received an increase in the usual number of applications received.
We are working closely with leaseholders to prioritise urgent applications, such as applications for activity that is seasonally dependent, or is proposed to take place this year.
Where possible we are processing applications for the same geographic areas together, which is more efficient and allows streamlined consultation with the Department of Conservation and iwi. We’re also working quickly to identify where the desired activity falls within the permitted criteria under the new legislation, meaning additional processing is not required.
The number of applications received has now slowed following the rise in the lead-up to the November 2022 changes.