LUC class restrictions on post-1989 forest land

Restrictions on registering post-1989 land in the ETS

From 31 October 2025, there are restrictions on how much exotic forest on Land Use Capability (LUC) class 1 to 6 land you can register as post-1989 forest land in the ETS.

The changes are intended to restrict how much farmland is converted to exotic forest and registered in the ETS.

On this page, find out about:

• the LUC class system
• land that is restricted from entering the ETS
• land that is not affected by these restrictions
• identifying the LUC class of your land
• registering restricted forest land in the ETS

Government media release

Government delivers on promise to protect productive farmland from ETS – Beehive

About the LUC classification system

The LUC classification system classifies land based on how well it can support various productive uses over time. Land is classified based on features such as climate, soil, slope, vegetation, and erodibility.

There are 8 LUC classes. LUC 1 is the most productive land and LUC 8 is the least productive.

An introduction to LUC – Landcare Research

Land that is restricted from entering the ETS

Post-1989 forest land is restricted from entering the ETS if all the following apply:

• the land was not forest land on 31 October 2025
• the land has an LUC class of 1 to 6
• the forest species on the land are mostly* exotic.

Because of these restrictions, land can meet the other criteria to be eligible to enter the ETS as post-1989 forest land, but the amount you can register may be restricted due to its LUC class.

Find out what post-1989 forest land is

Land that is not restricted from entering the ETS

There are some exceptions to the restrictions. 

Forest land on LUC class 7 and 8 land is not restricted from entering the ETS. The land must still meet other ETS eligibility criteria.

LUC class 1 to 6 land is not restricted if any of the following apply to the land.

• It is indigenous forest land.
• It was forest land on 31 October 2025.
• It's exempt Māori land.
• It's identified as high- or severe-erosion-prone land in a regional or district plan.
• It's Crown afforestation land.
• It is unmapped, meaning it is not on the national scale LUC map.
• It is unfarmed land.

Find out more about land that is not restricted and how to apply to register it

What is unfarmed land?

Unfarmed land means that none of the land in the land title:

• has been used for farming purposes in the 5 years before applying to register it in the ETS
• is LUC class 1 to 6 land that is forest land with mostly exotic forest species that were planted in the 5 years after the land stopped being used for farming purposes.

Farming purposes can be:

• arable
• horticultural
• pastoral, or
• a mix of these.

If any land on a land title is used for farming purposes, the whole title is considered to be actively farmed.

Identifying the LUC class of your land

To identify the LUC class of your land you can either:

• use the national scale LUC class map from New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited (formerly Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research), or
• get a property scale LUC assessment at your own cost. The assessment must follow the methodology set in regulations.

How to identify the LUC class of your land

Registering restricted forest land in the ETS

If your land is restricted forest land, you can register up to 25% of LUC class 1 to 6 land on an individual farm in the ETS.

There will also be 2 ballots each calendar year for permits to register forest land on LUC class 6 land. Each ballot has 7,500 hectares to allocate, but if a previous ballot did not allocate all its area, the area could be higher. 

You can register forest land under both the 25% allowance for LUC class 1 to 6 and the LUC class 6 permit. Any forest land registered using a LUC class 6 permit is additional to the 25% allowance.

Forest on LUC class 1 to 6 land may also qualify for a transitional exemption from the restrictions. 

Find out more about the options

About the 25% allowance for LUC class 1 to 6 land

Using the 25% allowance to register restricted forest land in the ETS

Use a permit from a ballot to register LUC class 6 land

Transitional exemptions from the restrictions and how to apply

Find out more

Read more about the policy changes to restrict farm-to-forest conversions