Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

Introduction

You could also call this:

"Checking if Things are Fair According to a Special Agreement"

Illustration for Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

You can make claims about things that affect you because of the Treaty of Waitangi. A special group, called a Tribunal, will look at your claim and make recommendations. The Tribunal will check if some things are fair according to the Treaty. You can ask the Tribunal to look at things that you think are not fair. The Tribunal will then decide if these things are consistent with the Treaty. This helps to make sure the Treaty is followed. The Tribunal's job is to help with the practical application of the Treaty. This means they look at how the Treaty affects you in real life. They want to make sure the Treaty's principles are being followed.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM435367.

This page was last updated on 17 February 2026 — View changes

Highlights from this law

5: Functions of Tribunal

What the Waitangi Tribunal does to help with important Māori issues and claims.

6: Jurisdiction of Tribunal to consider claims

The Tribunal can help if you think you've been treated unfairly by the government.

7: Tribunal may refuse to inquire into claim

The Tribunal can say no to looking into a claim if it's not important or if you have another way to solve the problem.

8: Jurisdiction of Tribunal to consider proposed legislation

The Tribunal checks new laws to see if they are fair to Maori people according to the Treaty of Waitangi.

8A: Recommendations in respect of land transferred to or vested in State enterprise

What happens to Maori land given to a State enterprise and how it can be returned

8C: Right to be heard on question in relation to land transferred to or vested in State enterprise

Having a say about land given to a State enterprise

8HJ: Claims relating to land vested under New Zealand Railways Corporation Restructuring Act 1990

Claims about land that used to be owned by the government and is now owned by a railway company

9: Right to petition House of Representatives unaffected

You can still ask the House of Representatives for help with a problem by sending a petition.

Topics:

Māori affairs > Treaty of WaitangiRights and equality > Anti-discrimination

1: Short Title, or

"The name of this law is the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975."

Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

Reprint as at:: 2026-02-10
Assent:: 1975-10-10
Commencement:: 10 October 1975

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.

This Act is administered by the Te Puni Kōkiri.

An Act to provide for the observance, and confirmation, of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by establishing a Tribunal to make recommendations on claims relating to the practical application of the Treaty and to determine whether certain matters are inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty