Proposed access levy
The Government is progressing work to enable international visitors to be charged to visit popular sites through a new access levy. New Zealanders and ordinarily residents will continue to access public conservation land for free.
The Government is actively investigating access charges at four sites:
- Mautohe/Cathedral Cove
- Tongariro Alpine Crossing
- Aoraki/Mount Cook, and
- Piopiotahi/Milford Sound.
Access charges will not be suitable for all conservation land. However, the Government has indicated that access charges could be implemented at a limited number of additional sites in the future.
Money from the new access levy will be ringfenced for conservation and reinvested in the area it was collected, as a first priority. It will also help fund wider regional and national conservation projects. This will help to maintain and improve our world-class visitor experiences that international visitors come to enjoy.
Conservation Amendment Bill and access charges
The Conservation Amendment Bill must become law before DOC can begin charging international visitors for access.
On 7 May 2026, the Government introduced the Conservation Amendment Bill to Parliament. Among other things, the Bill enables international visitors to be charged to enter some parts of conservation land. It also allows for new regulations to specify key components of how these charges will work.
On 12 May 2026, the Conservation Amendment Bill had its first reading in Parliament.
The Bill is now going through the legislative process, including select committee and a further two readings in Parliament, before potentially becoming law.
More information about the Bill and its progression
Government engagement
Stage one: National engagement
In November 2024 the Government released the ‘Exploring charging for access to some public conservation land’ discussion document. This discussion document sought feedback on whether access charges for some public conservation land should be introduced, including:
- who should pay
- where access charges could be used, and
- how the funding could be invested.
Over 7,400 submissions were received from the public. Key themes from consultation have been collated and summarised in a summary of submissions.
Stage two: Local engagement
Between June and August 2026, DOC undertook targeted consultation on access charging regulations, revenue allocation and implementation for the four sites being investigated.
There were 25 meetings held with Treaty partners, concessionaires, tourism operators, stakeholders, statutory bodies, councils and the general public. 25 submissions were also received.
Feedback is being used to inform policy development and advice to the Government. A summary of feedback will also be published on the Departments website in the near future.
More information and documents
More information about the Bill, access charging and publicly released documents
Contact
Direct any questions regarding this work programme to accesschargingconsultation@doc.govt.nz