Development of the Bill
On 15 November 2024 the Government released two discussion documents that include proposals to:
- explore charging for access to some public conservation land, and
- streamline concessions and planning processes and enable more flexibility around land exchange and disposals.
On 2 August 2025 the Government announced key policy decisions following public consultation. These policy decisions led to the development of the Conservation Amendment Bill.
On 7 May 2026 the Government introduced the Conservation Amendment Bill to Parliament.
What the Bill will do
The Bill will provide a more streamlined and flexible conservation system by:
- streamlining the planning framework to improve efficiency and better enable economic activity on conservation land
- allowing for more efficient and effective processing of concession applications, and ongoing management of concessions
- enabling greater flexibility to exchange and dispose of conservation land
- providing clarity on te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi (Treaty) obligations
- increasing revenue to help maintain and enhance the visitor experience on conservation land
- enabling international visitors to be charged for access to specified parts of conservation land.
Progress through Parliament
On 12 May 2026 the Conservation Amendment Bill had its first reading in Parliament.
It is now going through the legislative process, including select committee and a further two readings in Parliament, before potentially becoming law.
Changes to land disposal and exchange provisions
On 25 June 2026 the Government announced it will remove provisions from the Bill around the disposal or exchange of conservation land.
Government acts on conservation bill concerns: Media release 25 June 2026.
Environment Committee releases interim report
On 3 September 2026, the Environment Select Committee released an interim report on their examination of the Conservation Amendment Bill.
The report notes the change to the Government's position on the Bill's provisions relating to land exchange and disposal, and the Minister's request that those provisions be deleted from the Bill.
The Committee requested the Parliamentary Counsel Office provide a redrafted version of the bill with the land exchange and disposal provisions removed. This version of the Bill was published alongside the interim report. This draft is a 'consultation draft' to support ongoing discussion of the Bill and does not reflect the final position of the committee.
Oral hearings on the Bill are ongoing. However, the committee does not expect to conclude the process during this term of Parliament. The Environment Committee of the 55th Parliament is likely to hold further hearings, and make further changes to the bill, following the election.
The interim report can be found on Parliament's website.
More information and documents
More information about the Bill and released documents can all be found here: