News and changes to the ETS

31 October 2025

Restrictions on converting farmland to exotic forestry registered in the ETS

On 4 December 2024, the Government announced policy changes intended to restrict how much farmland is converted to exotic forest and registered in the ETS.

On 23 September 2025, the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme – Forestry Conversions) Amendment Bill became an act.

The act came into effect on 31 October 2025.

Applications to register in the ETS submitted from 31 October 2025 are now processed under the new rules.

Find out more about Land Use Capability class restrictions on post-1989 forest land

Find out more about the policy changes

16 April 2025

Have your say on proposed changes to forestry in the NZ ETS

We want your feedback on proposals relating to updates to forest types and default carbon tables for exotic forests in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and other regulatory amendments. The consultation closes at 5pm on 23 May 2025.

Read more about the consultation and have your say

25 March 2025

Limits to converting farmland to exotic forestry registered in the ETS

On 4 December 2024, the Government announced policy changes intended to limit how much farmland is converted to exotic forest and registered in the ETS. The regulations are intended to come into effect in October 2025.

More information was released on 25 March 2025 about how the proposed restrictions would apply to people converting farmland to exotic forestry. This includes how the restrictions are proposed to apply to people who took steps to convert farmland to exotic forestry for registration in the ETS before this policy was announced. It also explains how the proposed new restrictions will affect people who began their farm-to-exotic forestry conversions in the ETS after this policy was announced.

23 December 2024

Update to penalty for failing to surrender or repay units on time

An updated penalty is coming into effect for forestry participants who fail to surrender or repay units on time, when owing less than 25,000 units on average per year. This penalty applies when the liability results from forestry activities carried out from 1 January 2025. If the liability results from forestry activities carried out before 1 January 2025, the existing penalty applies.

Read more about this penalty

17 December 2024

Change to annual charge for forestry in the ETS

Forestry Minister Todd McClay has announced that there will be a 50% reduction to the annual charge per hectare for post-1989 forestry ETS participants. The charge will be reduced from $30.25 per hectare per year to $14.90.

It will come into effect in January 2025. We expect invoicing for the 2024–25 financial year to begin in February 2025.

Cabinet has also approved adjustments to regulations to reduce costs for participants using the field measurement approach (FMA) during the shortened 2023 to 2025 reporting period. These will come into effect in March 2025.

Media release: Government confirms reduction to forestry ETS annual charge – Beehive

Read more about service fees for forestry in the ETS

4 December 2024

Limits to converting farmland to exotic forestry registered in the ETS

The Government has announced policy changes intended to limit how much farmland is converted to forest and registered in the ETS. The regulations are intended to come into effect in October 2025.

Media release: Protecting NZ food production and ETS credibility – Beehive

14 October 2024

Independent review of forestry ETS operational costs

The Minister of Forestry requested an independent review into the operational costs of the forestry ETS run by Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service. The review focused on whether the current operation of forestry ETS services:

• meets the needs of participants
• is fit-for-purpose, scalable, and has the ability to adapt to future change
• is on track to achieve the intended benefits of the ETS transformation programme, and
• is being run in a cost effective way, given it is a bespoke service.

Read the review report:

Review of forestry ETS operational costs – Grant Thornton (7 June 2024) [PDF, 1.8 MB]

Related documents released in February 2025:

Independent review of the operational costs for delivering the forestry – Cabinet paper [PDF, 685 KB]

Appendix One – ETS Forestry Overview, Participation and Service Delivery (Sub24-0016) [PDF, 2.2 MB]

Independent Review of the Operational Costs for Delivering the Forestry – Minute (ECO-24-MIN-0003) [PDF, 687 KB]

23 October 2024

Have your say on resetting the ETS annual charge for post-1989 forestry participants

We want your feedback on 2 proposals relating to cost recovery settings for forestry in the ETS. We anticipate that changes would be made by early 2025. The consultation closes at 5pm on 13 November 2024.

Read more about the consultation and have your say

14 June 2024

No annual charge in the 2023/24 financial year

An annual charge for post-1989 forest land registered in the ETS came into effect on 19 October 2023. The Minister of Forestry has announced that there will be no annual charge on registered post-1989 forest land for the 2023/24 financial year (1 July 2023-30 June 2024). This applies to:

• forest land which was registered in the ETS on 19 October 2023, and
• forest land registered after then.

The minister has also announced there will be a review of the annual charge for the 2024/25 financial year (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025). MPI expects the review will conclude and the rate determined before invoices are issued for the 2024/25 financial year.

Media release: Government cancels forestry ETS annual service charges for 2023-24 – Beehive

Read more about service fees for forestry in the ETS

29 February 2024

Forestry ETS service delivery costs review

The cost of operating the forestry component of the Emissions Trading Scheme is to be independently reviewed. The review will take up to 6 weeks starting in March.

Government announces independent review of forestry ETS costs – Beehive

Terms of reference [PDF, 161 KB]

19 October 2023

Annual charge calculation and increase in service fees

The annual charge for post-1989 forest land registered in the ETS is now in effect. The amount you are charged will be calculated based on the number of hectares registered to your account on 19 October 2023. We will notify you in November when your annual charge invoice is available through Tupu-ake.

From 19 October 2023, the fees charged for some ETS services increased.

Read more about the annual charge and service fees

4 October 2023

All cabinet papers and minutes considered by Cabinet in relation to Tranche 2 of the Cost Recovery, Climate Change (Forestry) Amendment Regulations 18 September 2023, are now available online.

Refer to the Forestry ETS Alert (4 October 2023) for details

Cabinet papers and related documents

21 September 2023: Changes to the fee structure for forestry in the ETS

On 18 September, changes were made to the cost recovery settings in the forestry component of the Emissions Trading Scheme. These changes mean that prices for ETS participation will increase from 19 October 2023.

The changes are:

• a new annual charge of $30.25 per hectare of registered post-1989 forest land
• new fees on 22 existing and new services.

Refer to the Forestry ETS Alert (21 September 2023) for details

19 June 2023

Have your say on proposals to redesign the permanent forest category in the ETS

We are seeking your views on proposals to redesign the ETS permanent forest category to better support the Government's forestry and climate change objectives, as well as Māori aspirations for their land. Submissions close at 11:59pm on 11 August 2023.

Read more about the proposals and have your say

2 May 2023

Have your say on proposed changes to the ETS in response to recent severe weather

We are seeking feedback on 3 proposals to help forestry participants in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) manage the impacts of the severe weather events.

Submissions open on 2 May and close on 10 May 2023.

Read more about the consultation and make a submission

22 March 2023

Have your say on the second set of proposed cost recovery fees and charges

We are seeking feedback on changes to cost recovery settings for forestry in the ETS. For this consultation, we're looking at introducing new fees for 22 services and an annual charge for 6 services.

Submissions about these fees and charges close on 3 May 2023.

Read more about the cost recovery consultation and make a submission

24 January 2023

The new ETS online system, Tupu-ake, is now available.

Read more about the new ETS online system

12 January 2023 – Increase in service fees for forestry in the ETS

From 12 January 2023, fees charged for some ETS services increased.  Services affected include:

• applying to register in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
• applying for an emissions ruling
• transferring land ownership, and
• submitting emissions returns.

There were no changes to fees for registering or adding less than 10 hectares of land.

Read more about service fees for forestry in the ETS

11 January 2023

Updated mapping and geospatial standards

These standards have been updated and come into force on 11 January 2023:

• Field Measurement Approach Standard
• Field Measurement Approach Information Standard
• Geospatial Mapping Information Standard

The Field Measurement Approach

Mapping ETS forest land

Update - 23 December 2022

The current ETS system is now unavailable and will not come online again. The new ETS online system, Tupu-ake, will be online from 24 January 2023.

Read more about the new ETS online system

Update - 22 December 2022

Increase in service fees for forestry in the ETS

13 December 2021

Preliminary assessments to cease

Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service will stop issuing preliminary assessments from 24 December 2021. This is part of a move to improve the efficiency of processing applications to register post-1989 forest land in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

This change will apply to all lodged applications still in the processing queue as at 24 December 2021, and new applications submitted after that date. The eligibility of land to be registered into the ETS as post-1989 forest land will be decided based on information available at the time.

Read the Sustainable Forestry Bulletin

7 December 2021

New exemption from pre-1990 deforestation obligations for less than 50 hectares   

One of the amendments to the Climate Change Response Act 2002 introduced a new exemption from pre-1990 deforestation obligations.

Landowners who intend to deforest less than 50 hectares of pre-1990 forest land that is Māori land, or had 10 or more owners on 1 September 2007, may be eligible to be exempt from deforestation liabilities.  

This new exemption type is in addition to the existing "less than 50 hectare" exemption.

Find out more about this exemption

3 November 2021

Proposed amendments to the forestry regulations

The Cabinet paper on the direction of several major amendments to the forestry regulations is available to download.

Cabinet has agreed to:

• the mechanics for how averaging accounting will work in practice
• the definition of temporary adverse events to implement the new exemption from paying carbon liabilities after events that damage and clear the forest (for example, fires or storms)
• how the penalty for clear-felling a permanent forest will be set
• policies for applying the field measurement approach (FMA).

Find the Cabinet paper and supporting documents

Changes to forestry from January 2021

You can decide whether to transfer ETS participation when you grant a forestry right or lease

It is now up to you whether you transfer your ETS participation to the other person (a "transmission of interest") when you grant a forestry right or lease over your forest. You will need to opt in to a transfer of ETS participation – if you do not opt in, participation will not be transferred.

This change does not affect the status of current forestry rights or leases. For these, participation will return to the landowner when the lease or right is finished.

Buying, selling, or transferring ETS forest land

A new definition of "re-establishment" makes it easier to include supplementary planting

Re-establishment of forest land must still happen primarily through natural regeneration of indigenous forest species. However, it can now include some supplementary planting to help this process. 

A new penalty regime

A new penalty regime effective from 1 January 2021 covers:

• failure to surrender or repay units on time
• errors in emissions returns
• failing to submit a return
• payment of penalties
• entitlements while an obligation is outstanding.

There are new rules for transferring leases or rights for land registered in the ETS.

The fixed price option is also being removed, so participants must meet their surrender obligations with units.

Read more on penalties and the Emissions Trading Scheme

Read the announcement in the Sustainable Forestry Bulletin (December 2020)

New price controls in the ETS

The Amendment Act introduced the ability for the Government to hold auctions of New Zealand Units to align the supply of units in the ETS with New Zealand’s emission reduction targets. The first auction was on 17 March 2021. The Amendment Act also introduced new price controls alongside auctioning.

Regulations on auctions, limits and price control settings for the NZ ETS – MfE

Minor changes that started on 23 June 2020

You have more time to surrender or repay units

When the Environmental Protection Authority issues a surrender notice, you have 60 working days to surrender or repay units. The surrender notice describes your obligations and includes the due date.

You must notify "interested parties" when you join or leave the ETS, and add or remove land

You must notify any "interested parties" if you:

• apply to join or leave the ETS
• add or remove land from the ETS.

If you are the landowner, you must notify any person with a registered forestry right or lease over the land.

If you are the holder of a registered forestry right or lease you must notify the landowner. If the Crown has an interest in the land you also need to notify the Crown.

It's now easier to ask for an emissions ruling

If you want to know if something will have ETS implications, you can ask the Te Uru Rākau to make an emissions ruling. For example, before you clear some trees, you can ask us if this counts as deforesting pre-1990 forest land.

The process for emissions ruling has changed. It is now easier to find out if land will be eligible before you apply to register in the ETS.

The timing for mandatory emissions return periods is being re-aligned

Emissions return periods usually last for 5 years. The current mandatory emissions return period runs from January 2018 to December 2022.

Reporting to the Paris Agreement also has a 5-year cycle, but this is from January 2026 to December 2030, then 2031 to 2035, and so on. To align our reporting with the Paris Agreement, the next mandatory emissions return period will run for 3 years from January 2023 to December 2025.

From January 2026, mandatory emissions return periods will return to a 5-year cycle.

Transmissions of interest are changing for executors or administrators of an estate

The transmission of interest process is changing for executors and administrators dealing with the ETS obligations of a participant who has died.

If you administer more than one estate, you must treat them separately. This means that outstanding liabilities from one estate will not impact another. You will not become an FMA participant if you are administering estates with a combined area exceeding 100 hectares.

Executors and administrators do not need to submit an emissions return when they come into possession of the land. An emissions return is only required when the land is passed on to the successors.