Registering in the ETS with post-1989 forest land

Things to consider before you apply

Before you submit an application to register in the ETS, make sure:

you understand the implications for you or your organisation
your land is eligible
you understand the differences between post-1989 forest land standard forestry and permanent forestry, and how you earn and pay units for these
it would be cost-effective for you to join the ETS, and if the number of units you would receive would make it worthwhile
you understand what liabilities you might face if you decide to leave the scheme
you seek professional advice if it is needed.

These topics are explained below on this web page, with links to other relevant information.

Your responsibilities if you register in the ETS

If you register in the ETS, you'll have some responsibilities. People and organisations registered in the ETS are known as "ETS participants" under the law. They must, for example:

report the amount of carbon in forest land in emissions returns at certain times
keep records of their forest management
keep records of any calculations of the amount of carbon gained or lost in the forest
tell us if the situation changes, for example, if there is a change in who owns the forest.

You will need to pay an annual charge for being registered in the ETS with post-1989 forest land. This charge is $30.25 (excluding GST) per hectare of post-1989 forest land you have in the ETS.

If you have carbon accounting areas that mostly contain native forest younger than 6 years old, you can request for these areas to be excluded from the annual charge.

Find out more about the annual charge and other fees

If you register and then don't meet your ETS responsibilities, you may receive a penalty or an infringement notice and fee.

You may also be prosecuted. If you are convicted of a criminal offence, you could be liable to pay a fine or face imprisonment.

Read about penalties in the ETS and how to avoid them

Your responsibilities when land enters the ETS

Before you apply, make sure the land is eligible

If you plan to apply to register in the ETS with post-1989 forest land, make sure your land is eligible. There are 2 aspects of land eligibility to consider.

Requirements that define "forest land" in the ETS based on its species, size, crown cover, and proximity to other forest in the application.
Rules that decide what sort of ETS forest land it is – based on when it was planted or established and what was on the land before.

If you can't work out if you have eligible post-1989 forest land, you could:

consider hiring and asking a consultant for advice
apply for an emissions ruling about your forest land eligibility.

Find out about eligible post-1989 forest land

How to request an emissions ruling

Decide whether the post-1989 forest land will enter the ETS as standard or permanent forestry

From 1 January 2023, you can decide whether your post-1989 forest land will enter the ETS as:

standard forestry
permanent forestry.

Standard forestry

If you register and the post-1989 forest land enters the ETS as standard forestry:

you’ll earn and pay (surrender) New Zealand Units (NZUs, units) based on averaging accounting in your emissions returns
because the forest land enters the ETS under averaging accounting, you’ll only earn units during the first rotation of your forest until the ETS-specified average age of the forest
under averaging accounting, there are specific rules for determining what is the first rotation of forest land in the ETS
there are no restrictions on harvesting if you replant the forest so that the land isn’t considered deforested under ETS rules
you can remove the land from the ETS at any time, although you must pay (surrender) any units received for the land if you do.

Standard forestry in the ETS

Find out more about earning units under averaging accounting

Definition of "first rotation" for a forest that enters the ETS under averaging accounting

Permanent forestry

If you register and the post-1989 forest land enters the ETS as permanent forestry:

you’ll earn and pay (surrender) units based on stock change accounting in your emissions returns – these units are tagged to show that they come from this kind of forest
limited selective harvesting of permanent forests is allowed without penalty - more than 30% tree crown cover must remain in each hectare of forest.

For 50 years, you can only remove areas of permanent forestry from the ETS:

with approval from the Minister of Climate Change who must be satisfied certain conditions are met, or
if a natural event permanently damages the land so that you cannot re-establish forest land, or
if exempted under secondary legislation by Order in Council, or
by deforesting the land, paying (surrendering) units for the deforestation, and accepting the clear-fell penalties.

After 50 years in the ETS, you’ll have some options. You can choose to keep the land in the ETS as standard or permanent forestry, or remove the land from the ETS completely.

Find out more about permanent forestry in the ETS

Learn about earning and paying (surrendering) units under stock change accounting

Preparing your application to register in the ETS

There is some preparation involved in applying to register in the ETS. This section explains what's needed.

You can choose to appoint a representative to apply to register on your behalf. Representatives can advise you about ETS rules and help with your decision-making. They can also help with other ETS applications and other ETS responsibilities.

Find out about appointing a representative in the ETS and what they can do on your behalf

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Ask for consent, if needed

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You’ll need written consent from the other relevant parties if a forestry right or lease is registered on the land title. This applies to whoever is making the ETS application. We’ll explain this next.

If you're the landowner

You'll need written permission from the forestry rights or leaseholder if:

there is a forestry right or lease registered on the land title, and
the area covered by the agreement overlaps with the area of the forest land in your application.

If you're the holder of a registered forestry right or registered lease

You'll need written permission from the landowner before you can apply.

How to show that you have consent from interested parties

If consent is needed to register, provide it using the interested party consent form. Include the completed form with your application to register.

Interested party consent – ETS (forestry) supplementary form [PDF, 290 KB]

Sometimes an application may include a land title that has a registered forestry right or registered lease, but the area of the land in the ETS application is located elsewhere within the property. In this case you don't have to ask for consent if the 2 areas of land don't overlap.

Sending in a copy of the agreement that shows this will help us process your application.

Create a shapefile (digital map)

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You must include an electronic map of the area of post-1989 forest land with your application.

There's a certain way you'll need to map your forest land. The map must:

be in a digital mapping file format called a "shapefile"
be divided into one or more carbon accounting areas
meet our mapping requirements.

Find out about the detailed requirements for mapping ETS forest land

Making sure mapped land is eligible for the ETS

You, or a consultant, can create a new map for this application. If you appointed an ETS representative, they could also do this on your behalf. You could use an existing digital map if it meets the mapping requirements.

Keep up to date with news about our new system and other changes to ETS rules

You can apply with cutover land

You may have land that was harvested but not yet replanted (cut-over land). Cut-over land may enter the ETS if it is eligible. So you can include this in your shapefile and your application to register in the ETS. However, if it enters the ETS as standard forestry under averaging accounting, you won’t receive any units as the forest will be a second or later rotation.

Gather supporting information to show your forest land is eligible to enter the ETS

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Include information in your application that shows the area of land that is post-1989 forest land.

You can only register in the ETS if the land is eligible. This means we need to verify that the forest land:

contains species that can reach 5 metres in height in this location
contains trees that are dense enough to reach 30% canopy cover or more
area meets ETS requirements for size and width
meets other requirements for eligibility, such as being established after 1989.

Find out more about post-1989 forest land and ETS eligibility

Our fact sheet explains the information we hold at MPI to investigate land eligibility in ETS applications. It also provides examples of information that you could include with your application.

Fact sheet: Providing information to support your application to register post-1989 forest land in the ETS [PDF, 17 MB]

Use past aerial photos and satellite images to check your land is eligible

You could also check that your land is eligible before you apply. Aerial photography or satellite images taken since the 1980s can show what was on the land over time.

Aerial and satellite imagery resources used by Te Uru Rākau in GIS assessments [PDF, 204 KB]

Showing cutover land is eligible

You’ll need to show:

that the land was eligible post-1989 forest land before it was harvested (for example, include photographs, aerial photographs, or satellite imagery)
when the land was harvested or cut-over
the area of forest you will replant and when (for example, include a contract with a planting crew) or the area that is regenerating naturally (include photographs, aerial photographs, or satellite imagery).

Open a holding account in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Register (NZETR)

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All transactions involving units are made through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Register (NZETR). The NZETR is managed by another government agency, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). Before you can register in the ETS, you must open an NZETR holding account.

You'll be asked for your holding account number, if you have one, when you apply to register. Providing it when you apply is optional. You will need to supply it if your application to register in the ETS is successful.

Open a holding account in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Register – NZETR

EPA guidance about managing accounts and completing tasks in the NZETR – EPA

Earning and surrendering units

When you open a NZETR account, you will provide the legal names of the people or organisations that are applying to register in the ETS. The legal names given must match the names on the land title.

An exception to this is when an unincorporated body, such as an unincorporated trust, applies to join the ETS. They may choose to open the account under their trust name, for example.

How to apply to register in the ETS

You can apply to register in the ETS using Tupu-ake, the ETS online system.

Access Tupu-ake – Forestry ETS online system

To log in, you'll need to:

have a RealMe account (RealMe is the government's online identification service)
set up a login and password.

If you don't have a RealMe account, you'll be given the chance to set one up when you go to log in.

Once logged on, you'll be prompted for your details if you haven't already provided them. You'll find the options for registering post-1989 forest land under 'Services'.

You'll need to upload:

a shapefile (digital map) of the land in your application
a completed application form
proof of consent, if needed
supporting information that shows your land is eligible to join the scheme.

Apply to register in the ETS - form [PDF, 389 KB]

Uploading or sending large files

Let us know if you need to send us files larger than 25MB.

Email forestryETS@mpi.govt.nz

We will send you a link to a secure file upload system. You can use this to upload your shapefile or other large files.

Make sure the legal name on your application matches

When submitting your application, you will be asked to provide a legal name. This is the legal name of the entity applying to join the ETS. This can be a person, people, or one or more organisations (as long as any joint applications own the same area). You must make sure that this legal name matches:

the name on the associated NZETR holding account
if you are registering under a land agreement, the names as the rights or leaseholder recorded on the land title.

Company names should match the name in the New Zealand Companies Register or the Australian equivalent. This should also match the names on the land titles.

You can check land title names in the:

If there is a slight mismatch between legal names on land titles or agreements, such as a typo, contact us. We may be able to accept your application with a statutory declaration.

After you submit your application

We'll let you know once we've received your application.

Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, it can take some time for us to process your application.

Once we have processed your application, we'll contact you to let you know the outcome.

If your relationship to the land changes before we finish processing your application, the application becomes invalid. For example, if you’ve applied to register as a landowner and you sell the land while we’re assessing your application, we will cancel the application.

Application fee

There is a fee to process your application to register in the ETS.

Find out the current fee for applying to register in the ETS with post-1989 forest land

If your application is approved, we will record a notice of status of forest land on the land titles in your application. You will be charged an additional fee for this service.

Find out more about notices of status of forest land

How to request an emissions ruling, if needed

Emissions rulings provide an official decision on matters relating to the ETS. They are often used to check if a person would be eligible to register as a participant. This includes consideration of whether land would be eligible. This means that you can check eligibility before making the investment.

Find out more about applying for an emissions ruling

On this page

Things to consider before you apply

Your responsibilities if you register in the ETS

Before you apply, make sure the land is eligible

Decide whether the post-1989 forest land will enter the ETS as standard or permanent forestry

Standard forestry

Permanent forestry

Preparing your application to register in the ETS

Ask for consent, if needed

If you're the landowner

If you're the holder of a registered forestry right or registered lease

How to show that you have consent from interested parties

Create a shapefile (digital map)

You can apply with cutover land

Gather supporting information to show your forest land is eligible to enter the ETS

Use past aerial photos and satellite images to check your land is eligible

Showing cutover land is eligible

Open a holding account in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Register (NZETR)

How to apply to register in the ETS

Uploading or sending large files

Make sure the legal name on your application matches

After you submit your application

Application fee

How to request an emissions ruling, if needed

Keep informed with the Forestry ETS Alert

Who to contact

MPI business units