Updates
3 June 2026 – Changes to fees and charges confirmed
Changes to service fees and charges for forestry in the ETS come into effect on 1 July 2026. The Climate Change (Forestry) Amendment Regulations 2026 and Climate Change (Emissions Rulings: Fees and Charges) Amendment Regulations 2026 give effect to these changes.
Service fees for forestry in the ETS
Climate Change (Forestry) Regulations 2022 – NZ Legislation
Climate Change (Emissions Rulings: Fees and Charges) Regulations 2010 – NZ Legislation
Changes to the annual charge
The annual charge is being reduced from $14.90 to $10.28 per hectare for post-1989 forest land in the ETS.
Charges for part of a year have been changed to apply to both new and existing ETS participants. This means that if you apply to register in the ETS or apply to add more land into the ETS part way through a financial year, you will be charged for the portion of the year that the land is in the scheme.
Reduced and time-limited annual charge for mature forests
A reduced and time-limited annual charge will apply for mature forests. A mature forest is defined as:
- a forest under averaging accounting that has reached its average age
- a forest under stock change accounting that has reached the last age specified for that forest type in the carbon tables.
As long as a forest meets the eligibility criteria for post-1989 forest land in the ETS as a mature forest, a 45% reduction to the annual charge will apply for 2 mandatory emissions returns periods. After that, no annual charge will apply for that land.
New service fees
Eight new service fees are being introduced for forestry in the ETS.
These fees come into effect on 1 July 2026.
| Service | Cost (excl GST) |
|---|---|
| Applying to remove 1 or more carbon accounting areas from the ETS (for permanent forestry) for any reason | $401.49 |
| Applying to remove 1 or more parts of 1 or more carbon accounting areas from the ETS (for permanent forestry) for any reason | $1,003.73 |
| Submitting a post-1989 offsetting notice (P89 release criteria notice) | $200.75 |
| If we remove a notice of status of forest land from your land title | $373.75 |
| Request for a review of decision | $401.49 |
These fees come into effect on 1 January 2027:
| Service | Cost (excl GST) |
|---|---|
| If we must assess an emissions return when you have failed to submit a required emissions return | $401.49 |
| If we must amend an emissions return when you have submitted an incorrect emissions return | $401.49 |
| Applying for a permit in the LUC class 6 ballot | $66.92 |
Updates to existing service fees
Service fees are calculated by multiplying the hourly rate with the average number of hours it takes to carry out a service. All existing service fees have been updated to reflect:
- a reduced hourly rate from $165 to $133.83 per hour (excluding GST)
- adjustments to the average number of hours it takes to carry out a service.
For a full list of changes to existing service fees, see Appendix 1 on page 45 of the stage 2 cost recovery impact statement [PDF, 861 KB]
8 April 2026 – Summary of submissions released
We received 18 submissions on this consultation. We've prepared a summary of what submitters said.
