Introduction

Learn about the fees you might be charged during the life of your concession.

Your fees depend on the type of concession you have.

Processing fees

As well as ongoing concession fees, you will pay a processing fee for your application. This fee can vary depending on the complexity of the application and whether it needs to be notified or not.

These are the minimum rates for processing fees:

  • Concessions – non-notified- $2065 plus GST
  • Concessions – complex non-notified-$2565 plus GST
  • Concessions – notified $3425 plus GST
  • Wildlife authorities- cost is dependent on processing time and charge out rate
  • Research and Collection-cost is dependent on processing time and charge out rate
  • Minimum impact activity (Crown Minerals Act) - $500-$850 plus GST
  • Access Arrangements (prospecting, exploration and mining)-low impact-$2150 plus GST
  • Access Arrangements (prospecting, exploration and mining)-medium impact-$3000-$30000 plus GST
  • Access Arrangements (prospecting, exploration and mining)-high impact-$50000-$100000 plus GST

Public notification costs

If your proposed activity has to be notified to the public because there are likely to be significant environmental effects over the duration of your activity your fee will include the cost of public notification and hearings.

The fee for notification is at least $3,425. Costs can be higher dependent on:

    • whether the application needs to be advertised in a local newspaper or the 4 daily newspapers published in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin
    • the number of submissions received
    • if hearings are required
    • if further staff time needs to be covered

We will provide an estimate of the likely cost when your application is received.

Current and past consultations where DOC has sought public comment

Annual management fee

Your annual management fee will cover the time required by DOC to manage your concession.

It is likely to be between $150.00 plus GST and $500.00 plus GST depending on the level of ongoing management that your concession requires. This includes collecting activity fees, invoicing for rates and administering rent reviews. 

Monitoring fee

DOC performs monitoring of issued concessions. Monitoring includes both the effects and contract compliance of the concession activity. The extent and frequency of monitoring depends on your specific concession.

A monitoring fee recovers the associated costs including staff time and mileage. In some circumstances a fixed annual rate may be charged. This is an Annual Environmental Monitoring Fee.

Activity fees

See the information below for the minimum fees that apply to your concession. Occasionally the fees will vary depending on the circumstances of your activity.

Some activity fees are calculated using a percentage of revenue fee. See more on How we calculate a percentage of revenue activity fee.

You can enquire how much your fees are likely to be in your pre-application discussion. The actual amount will be determined by DOC once you have submitted your application.

Your fees will be reviewed every three years. After we complete your fee review if you do not agree with our assessment, your concession agreement will tell you the process to follow. You'll also need to use a rental review reconsideration form:

Activities listed below:

Accommodation

Accommodation activity fees are typically charged as a percentage of revenue or on a land value percentage where no revenue is generated.

Note: baches on public conservation land have a minimum activity fee of $2,000.00 per annum.

Aircraft

The indicative fees for commercial flights taking off or landing on public conservation land are below. These fees are all charged per person. Where loads are being delivered without passengers the fee will be single drop-off or pick-up fee multiplied by the maximum seating capacity of the aircraft used. 

These fees do not apply to non-commercial operators. If you are using a private aircraft for recreational use the activity fees are waived and the management fees are discounted by 50%.

  • Single drop or pick-up – $22 + GST
  • Single glacier landing – $28 + GST
  • Shuttle service – $33 per person within a two-week period + GST
  • Multiple sites – $40 per day + GST
  • Multiple sites including glacier – $46 per day + GST
  • Heli-skiing – $50 per day + GST
  • Hovering – equates to a landing and will be charged as above

Beehive placement 

To host beehives on public conservation land there is a base rental fee of $30.00 + GST per hive, per annum. 

Hives where there is Manuka honey production attract a $75.00 + GST per hive fee per annum. Alternatively the operator may choose to pay $10.00 + GST per hive, per annum plus 10% of the annual revenue from those hives (if DOC is able to remotely monitor hive production). 

Easements

Access/easement activity fees will generally be applied as set out below.

Where an easement services more than one lot, the fee will be calculated by multiplying the relevant easement fee by the number of lots or beneficiaries that the easement serves.

The easement fee will depend on both the nature of the activity (ie access, water pipe, powerline) and which category the applicant or beneficiary falls into (ie non-commercial, minor commercial or commercial).

Example: An easement application is received for water pipelines servicing 20 beneficiaries/lots of land. Ten of the beneficiaries are classified as minor-commercial, seven are commercial and three are non-commercial. The pricing will be as follows:

  • 10 x minor commercial water pipeline fee ($1,000.00 + GST) + 7 x commercial water pipe fee ($1,665.00 + GST) + 3 x non-commercial water pipe fee ($400.00 + GST).

Non-commercial easements

Access

  • Foot $400.00 + GST pa
  • Livestock Bridge $400.00 + GST pa
  • Cycle $400.00 + GST pa
  • Vehicle $530.00 + GST pa

Pipeline

  • Storm water/sewer $400.00 + GST pa
  • Water pipes $400.00 + GST pa

Power

  • Underground and overhead cable $335.00 + GST pa

Telecommunications

  • Fibre optic cable $400.00 + GST pa

Minor commercial easements

Minor Commercial easements are generally small but support a commercial activity.

Access

  • Foot $1,000.00 + GST pa
  • Livestock Bridge $1,000.00 + GST pa
  • Cycle $1,000.00 + GST pa
  • Vehicle $1,330.00 + GST pa

Pipeline

  • Storm water/sewer $1,000.00 + GST pa
  • Water pipes $1,000.00 + GST pa

Power

  • Underground and overhead cable $665.00 + GST pa

Telecommunications

  • Fibre optic cable $665.00 + GST pa

Commercial easements

Commercial easements support larger scale commercial activity. When assessing the fee, how often the easement is used should not be a consideration.

If a valuation is not required use the fees below.

Access

  • Foot $1,665.00 + GST pa
  • Livestock Bridge $1,665.00 + GST pa
  • Cycle  $1,665.00 + GST pa
  • Vehicle $1,995.00 + GST pa

Pipeline

  • Storm water/sewer $1,665.00 + GST pa
  • Water pipes $1,665.00 + GST pa

Power

  • Underground and overhead cable $1,665.00 + GST pa

Telecommunications

  • Fiber optic cable – single activity $1,330.00 + GST pa

Fiber optic cable – part of Network:

  • Base fee $1,995.00 + GST pa
  • $3.00 per meter charge + GST pa

Fees charged may vary for significant commercial easements.

Note: easement activity fees will be adjusted annually to account for consumer price index (CPI, or inflation) increases.

An environmental premium may also apply in specific areas, for example, national parks.

Grazing 

A percentage of land value is the standard method DOC uses for pricing grazing activity fees. The standard calculation uses a rate of 6% of land value.

On occasions where the standard method is not appropriate, the following methods may also be used to ensure that the activity fee is set at a market rate:

  • Sock unit equivalent pricing
  • Carrying capacity of the land
  • Land use capability

An environmental premium will apply to the fee calculated using the methods above. You can view the relevant premiums here: Land type definitions.

Where the annual rental is likely to exceed $8,500 per annum, an independent valuation may be required to determine the concession fee.

For cropping and similar activities where the land is not directly being grazed, a comparable approach to the methods used to set grazing fees may be taken.

Guiding 

Guiding includes but is not limited to:

  • Guided walks
  • Events
  • Guided vehicle trips, both motorised and non-motorised, except cycling tours on named trails. Refer to Guided tours - cycling.

Transport operations, such as shuttles and boat/water taxis, are priced separately.

Different fee structures apply, depending on the scale of operations:

  • For large operators (DOC fee is greater than $10,000 + GST pa) or operators with a high daily ticket price (benchmarked at a price to consumers of $350/day GST included or more), a percentage based fee is applied.
    This is generally 7.5% of gross revenue, but can vary depending on market factors and the proportion of activity on public conservation land.
  • For other operators, a standard per-person fee is applied.

Standard per-person fees

The standard per-person fees are set out in the table below. These fees are currently being updated, with a phase in period to allow concessionaires to adapt as needed.

Length of guiding activity 2023 2024 2025 GST
One hour or less $1.00 $1.50 $2.00 plus GST
More than 1 hour but no more than 4 hours $5.00 $6.25 $7.50 plus GST
More than 4 hours but no more than a calendar day $10.00 $12.50 $15.00 plus GST

These fee periods will apply for the first ‘activity return’ period starting during that year. If your activity return is based on a year end 31 March, the 2024 fees will apply from 1 April 2024 onwards.

Activity return periods are set out in your contract and relates to the period where you provide usage information to DOC. 

More information on these changes is available in our newsletter update

Fees are based on the amount of time guiding takes place on public conservation land during a calendar day (the 24-hour period from 12:00am to 11:59pm).

Example: A guide brings a group of walkers onto public conservation land at 4 pm on Saturday and off the land at 10 am on Sunday. The $10.00 + GST rate (for a trip more than 4 hours) would be charged twice per person – once for the Saturday and once for the Sunday.

Children between 5–17 years inclusive are charged 50% of the above fees, if the ticket price is reduced for children by the operator. Children under five are free.

Guided tours – cycling 

The fees for popular cycle tracks are listed below. These fees are all charged per person. 

  • Great Lake Trail – $10.00 + GST
  • Timber Trail – $10.00 + GST
  • West Coast Wilderness Trail – $5.00 + GST
  • Queenstown trails, Jacks Point and Lake Hayes – $1.00 + GST
  • Mountains to Sea – $10.00 + GST
  • Motu Trail (full trail) – $10 .00 + GST
  • Motu Trail (less than 4 hours) – $5.00 + GST
  • Rimutaka Cycle Trail – $10.00 + GST
  • Te Ara Ahi – $1.00 + GST
  • Queen Charlotte Track – $10.00 + GST
  • St James Cycle Track – $10.00 + GST

For trails not listed above refer to the standard guiding fees. 

Children between 5–17 years inclusive are charged 50% of the above fees. Children under five are free. 

Extraction 

Gravel extraction fees

Extraction fees are comprised of two components:

1. A fee for the right to access public conservation land to carry out extractions

  • This fee is the same as the easement fee for commercial operators using a vehicle for access: $1,995.00 pa plus GST.

2. A fee per cubic metre of gravel extracted, the price varies based on the location of extraction:

  • For 'normal' rock/gravel extraction on the West Coast of the South Island: $1.00 per cubic metre plus GST.
  • For 'normal' rock/gravel extraction outside the West Coast of the South Island: $2.00 per cubic metre plus GST.

Gravel processing

If the site has a gravel processing facility to crush and grade gravel, a fee assessment is undertaken to determine the fee.

Gravel storage/stockpiling fees

The fee for storing gravel depends on the area of land required:

Storage and stockpiling fees
Land area Fee Volume GST
1 to 1,000 m2 $0.65m per m2 plus GST
1,001 to 4,000 m2 $0.55/m2 per m2 plus GST
4,001 to 6,000 m2 $0.50/m2 per m2 plus GST
6,000 to 10,000 m2 $0.44/m2 per m2 plus GST
10,000 m2 + $0.44/m2 per m2 plus GST

Other extractions

The same fee structure as above applies. However the cubic metre fee differs:

  • For landscaping and decorative rock (ie schist), $6.50 per cubic metre plus GST.

Parking and transport for commercial operators 

Parking fees

There is an annual activity fee of $1,050.00 + GST per annum per concession/vehicle, and an annual management fee of $250.00 + GST. 

Transport services

Transportation activity fees apply to shuttle or car relocation services. Shuttle services are provided when persons are transported to and from a trail end by a company. Car relocation services relocate private cars from one end of the trail to another. Both activities have different fees.

Activity fee pricing for transportation services
Relocation service fees
Per vehicle, per trip (ie per relocation) $7.00 + GST per vehicle

Shuttle service fees
Per person to one road end $2.50 + GST per person
Per person to/from both road ends $3.50 + GST per person

Tongariro Crossing*

Special fees apply to transportation services for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing:

  • Crown activity fee: $4.10 plus GST per person transported
  • Community service/contribution fee: $3.00 plus GST per person transported

These charges are consistently applied for all persons transported, regardless of if an operator is transporting a person to one or both road ends.

Retail activities 

If revenue is known the fee is 7% of gross annual revenue (as confirmed in the annual report). 

If revenue is not known, the fee is 6% of the property value plus GST. 

Sporting events 

The fees for events are the same as for guiding fees

Telecommunication facilities

There are two standard rental rates:

  • Rental Rate 1 (the lessee provided normal access and power easements)
  • Rental Rate 2 (DOC provided access and power).

Rates are further categorised according to the size of the facility.

The rental rates are:

Facility size Rental Rate 1 Rental Rate 2
Small 1 $3,270.00 + GST $3,760.00 + GST
Small 2 $6,545.00 + GST $7,520.00 + GST
Medium 1 $11,450.00 + GST $13,165.00 + GST
Medium 2 $14,175.00 + GST $16,300.00 + GST
Large 1 $19,625.00 + GST $22,570.00 + GST
Large 2 $27,255.00 + GST $31,345.00 + GST

Telecommunication facility definitions.

An environmental premium may also apply in specific areas, for example, national parks.

For assistance in assessing the size of your facility and the rental rate that will apply, contact your local DOC office.

Note: telecommunication facility activity fees will be adjusted annually to account for consumer price index (CPI, or inflation) increases.

An environmental premium may also apply in specific areas, for example, national parks.

Watercraft activities

The fees for watercraft activities are the same as for guiding fees.

Land type definitions for calculating environmental premiums

Status of land Premium
National Park, Nature Reserve, Ecological Area, National Reserve, Wilderness Area or Wilderness Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuary or Sanctuary Area 40%
Conservation (Forest) Park, Scientific Reserve, Historic Reserve, Wildlife Management Reserve, Scenic Reserve, Wildlife Refuge 25%
Recreational Reserve, Government and Local Purpose Reserves, Other Reserves, Stewardship Area, Water Course Area, Marginal Strip 10%
Open Pasture Under Grazing in Category III land status and unprotected, or non-reserve land held for administration purposes No premium
Back to top